Colbie has many self-empowering songs, but I decided to go with "Floodgates." It's one of my personal favorites from her because the song speaks about sadness, but the instrumentation turns it into a positive outcome. She assures us that we're not alone with our problems because "everybody's been broken, everybody's been down." Crying is an okay thing because everything will be solved with it: "Every tear can put out a fire." I think the message of this song is very important in everybody's life. We sometimes don't know what to do in situations because we don't want to show our sensitive sides. You can't help but its catchy refrain will be stuck in your head at first listen and always reminds you that you should let your tears fall.
Quote:
Originally posted by lovesong
sky ferreira
> sad dream
V E R S E 1 Poured myself a warm glass, and laid awake
I prayed the lord my soul to take
I thought about you all day, how we have the same face
I fell asleep so confused, parts of me remind me of you
How could I ever wish away?
C H O R U S
Only ever in dreams I wrap my arms around you.
And standing in the water with me,
I can tell you what I wanna tell you.
And I hope it's not just a bad dream,
Hope it's not just a sad dream
V E R S E 2 I wake up and I hear my phone ring,
I hear your call and I let my phone ring
When I got into my car and drove away,
I listened to the stereo play
I live by my own laws,
I stick to my guns and hold my head up to midnight sun
I hope the guilt will dim and fade,
The fire baptism engulfed in my shame
Despite it's relative simplicity, Sky actually thrives with this song which borders reality and fantasy. It's very dreamlike in it's approach to love, and creates a brilliant atmosphere that is ultimately relatable yet still fantastical.
Quote:
Originally posted by Bey_Rihstan
Brandy w/ Ray J - Another Day in Paradise (Phil Collins cover)
I've chosen Another Day in Paradise as Brandy's best lyrics because I feel that its meaning is something completely different than that of all her other songs. While most of her songs tell a story, it's usually love or relationship related and this one doesn't talk about herself. Another Day in Paradise is basically about a homeless person & their struggles in their daily life. It also tells us that we need to think twice because even though we may feel like our life is bad it could always be much worse than it actually is.
Quote:
Originally posted by HausofNiko
Lana Del Rey - Lyrics from the Heart & Soul
It's Ultraviolence.
He hit me but if felt like a kiss..
He used to call me DN
That stood for deadly nightshade
Cause I was filled with poison
But blessed with beauty and rage
Jim told me that
He hit me and it felt like a kiss
Jim brought me back
Reminded me of when we were kids
This song is so powerful... and it comes right from Lana's heart, and deep from her heartbroken soul. Lana was in a very, very abusive relationship, he bet her, broke her down, and kicked her while she was down. Calling her things like like poison. "He used to call me poison.. like I was poison ivy. This song is so powerful that you almost feel like you want to cry while listening to it, out of sympathy for Lana. The fact that she had to go through all of this breaks your own heart. Along with the perfectly crafted instrumental, the song packs a real big punch, leaving you speechless & empathetic for Lana Del Rey.
He used to call me poison
Like I was poison ivy
I could have died right there
Cause he was right beside me
Jim raised me up
He hurt me but it felt like true love
Jim taught me that
Loving him was never enough
Quote:
Originally posted by JustLuke
I've chosen Try, by Alexandra Burke as the lyrics are very real... They are relate-able to many people who have been through a situation, where you're wanting someone to give you one more chance, to not give up on them. It's simple, but beautiful.
Which is why I've chosen this wonderful song.
Quote:
Originally posted by Yvess
THE LYRICS ROUND
AVRIL LAVIGNE
Lyrics
Avril Lavigne – Give You What You Like
Please wrap your drunken arms around me
And I'll let you call me yours tonight
Cause slightly broken's just what I need
And if you give me what I want
Then I'll give you what you like
Please tell me I'm your one and only
Or lie and say at least tonight
I've got a brand new cure for lonely
And if you give me what I want
Then I'll give you what you like
When you turn off the lights
I get stars in my eyes
Is this love?
Maybe some day
So don't turn on the lights
I'll give you what you like
Emotions aren't that hard to borrow
When love is a word you've never learned
And in a room of empty bottles
If you don't give me what I want
Then you'll get what you deserve
When you turn off the lights
I get stars in my eyes
Is this love?
Maybe some day
I've got this scene in my head
I'm not sure how it ends
Is it love?
Maybe one day
So don't turn on the lights
I'll give you what you like
I'll give you one last chance to hold me
If you give me one last cigarette
By now it's early in the morning
Now that I gave you what you want
All I want is to forget
When you turn off the lights
I get stars in my eyes
Is this love?
Maybe some day
I've got this scene in my head
I'm not sure how it ends
Is it love?
Maybe one day
So don't turn on the lights
I'll give you what you like
"Give You What You Like" is such a clever song with amazing lyrics. The song has that dark vibe and the icing on the cake of this song is its LYRICS. She wrote this song with her ex husband Chad Kroeger. The lyrics is fantastically written that it makes you think how sincere this song is and how relatable it could be to anyone who is questioning the notion of love and lust.
This wonderfully written song is about a distorted relationship - lovers who have both lost themselves in the midst of their relationship and therefore have succumbed to alcohol and to using sex as a coping mechanism in the hopes of replacing real love. The lyrics emphasizes how she's so lost confused between love and lust. Avril Lavigne's writing skills made this topic more better as she presents her predicament in such a spellbinding manner.
Quote:
Originally posted by Nait Phoenix
I chose "Drama" because of its clever use of lyrics to produce a soap-opera worthy love triangle full of, you guessed it, DRAMA. The rap spells out how the story plays like a narrator, using clever metaphors such as Eden's apple to spell out the danger this character has spelled out for herself falling in love with another woman's man. The singer proceeds to paint the scene in an extremely lovely way talking about "up on stage with sad music playing behind the two of them." This continues throughout the song finally ending on what seems to be a cliffhanger, which I believe was brilliant songwriting; it takes the style of modern television dramas and leaves you with a feeling of wanting to know what happens next. This song lyrically is gold, and rare to hear from Korean-Pop groups.
Dido is very abstract when it comes to lyrics and that is why she may be one of my favorite songwriters of all time because, let's be honest, every person interpretates everything in a different way. It depends on what you have lived, what you've experienced and it depends on the path your life is taking. In this song called "Quiet Times", from Dido's "Safe Trip Home" album, she is not explicit and obvious. We all know she is singing about a relationship that has ended as she starts: "You ask me where I go tonight I go back to today last year, when me and you had to make each other happier, now there's hope with everything."
In the song, Dido talks about this man as someone who brought, not only happiness, but peace to her life: "It's hard enough to feel the world as it is and hold on anything without these quiet times you've brought round here." Eventhough she goes on and on about him, she never really explains why they broke up and you can get confused when the chorus kicks in: "Now I miss you... Now I want you... But I can't have you... Even when your here."
I love how she leaves it opened because one can just identify himself with it and put his own story in it. Before I end this, I would like to quote the part that, for me, is the best in the entire song: "And you walk up in the street, and hold my hand and smile. Well, I won't be taken in, 'cause I know how it turns out and it takes me back to these quiet times coming 'round here."
Can you feel the emotion and frustration of hers? She really wants him but she can't have him. Did he cheat on her? Did he stop loving her? Is she too proud to continue things because he hurt her? Well, Dido is the only one who knows the answer but I can put myself in her shoes and cry along to this song all day.
Quote:
Originally posted by Superpower
What I love about Only The Young is that it's very different from the heartache and longing songs Brandon Flowers usually writes. It also proves how underrated he is as a songwriter. The lyrics of Only The Young encourage us to take a leap of faith, to stay young, optimistic and to be ready to break away from our struggles. It's so motivational that it's almost religious. It's about finding freedom after unshackling ourselves from everything that is not working for us. It also has the merit of probably being the only uplifting song without any clichés.
Only The Young Lyrics
Look back in silence
The cradle of your whole life
There in the distance
Losing its greatest pride
Nothing is easy, nothing is sacred, why?
Where did the bow break?
It happened before your time
And there were people there
Lovely as you'd ever care
Tonight, baby, you can start again
Laughing in the open air
Have yourself another dream
Tonight, baby, we can start again
Only the young can break away, break away
Lost when the wind blows, on your own
Only the young can break away, break away
Lost when the wind blows, on your own
Mother, it's cold here
Father, thy will be done
Thunder and lightning are crashing down
They got me on the run
Direct me to the sun
Redemption, keep my covers clean tonight
Baby, we can start again
Only the young can break away, break away
Lost when the wind blows, on your own
Only the young can break away, break away
Lost when the wind blows, on your own
And the sun will shine again
And the sun will shine again
Are you looking for a sign?
Or are you caught up in the lie?
Only the young can break away, break away
Lost when the wind blows, on your own
Only the young can break away, break away
Lost when the wind blows, on your own
Was very excited for this challenge as it should be right up Natalia’s block considering she not only writes all her music but has started to break in a new title as a songwriter for other artists, including Madonna and currently Rihanna. To be quite honest, I have to say her best personal penmanship thus far would have to be on the single Saturday Night, however, since I used that two rounds ago, I didn’t want to be redundant.
With “Marlboro Lights,” it is by a mile her best ballad on it’s respective album. An old-fashioned piano number with achingly sincere and morbid lyrics. It explores a chilling remembrance of a former flame that leads Natalia down a deadly road. “A lonely bridge / A rooftop ledge could just fix everything,” she contemplates. Lyrically, I love the contrast that they’re so vulnerable and imply such dark themes despite being a pop ballad.
P.S. Linked above, under “ATRL testimony” is a recent thread that celebrates Natalia’s underrated songwriting talents but I also wanted to link it because it’s the first time I’ve seen her talked about in a foremost positive fashion ever since the X Factor incident.
Bey_Rih, I've had about enough. I've stood all I could stand! WHY did you choose a COVER as "her best lyrics"? I know we're competing, but that just kills me throwing her under the bus like that!
Um bc I'm already @ the top and I'm not gonna use a song that could be used later on. #Strategy
Great. Even more of an insult to Brandy. You're saying none of her original songs had more lyrical strength to keep you afloat than a cover by Phil Collins?
Lyrics
