Have you seen the Freakonomics Blegs series? It’s fun. Great lines in movies, things like that. I gather that bleg is a contraction for blogging and begging, a play on words related to asking readers for contributions.
It made me think of some great lines in songs. Some of these are pure poetry. Or so it sees to me.
Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose
I’d trade all of my tomorrows for a single yesterday
Kris Kristofferson, Me and Bobbie McGee
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot
Joni Mitchell, Big Yellow Taxi
The last time I felt like this I was in the wilderness and the canyon was on fire
and I stood on the mountain in the night and I watched it burn
Emmy Lou Harris, Boulder to Birmingham
You of tender years can’t know the fears that your elders grew by. So help them with your youth, they seek the truth before they can die. Teach your parents well, their childrens’ hell will slowly go by. And feed them on your dreams.
Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, Teach Your Children
because the cops don’t need you, and man they expect the same
Bob Dylan, Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues
Once I had mountains in the palm of my hand, and rivers that ran through every day. I must have been mad, I never knew what I had until I threw it all away.
Bob Dylan, I Threw it All Away
Cowboys like smoky old poolrooms and clear mountain mornings
Patsy and Ed Bruce, Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys
I married her because she looks like you
Lyle Lovett, I Married Her Because She Looks Like You
Everybody loves the sound of a train in the distance
Paul Simon, Train in the Distance
Why am I soft in the middle when the rest of my life is so hard
Paul Simon, You Can Call Me Al
All I ever had: Redemption songs: These songs of freedom
Bob Marley, Redemption Songs
In the end, only kindness matters
Jewel, Hands
And, if you happen to speak (or read) Spanish, how about these:
Simon Blanco tuvo suerte. De tres balas que le dieron, solo una fue de muerte.
Anonymous corrido, Simon Blanco
Yo soy como el chile verde, picante pero sabroso
Anonymous, la Llorona