Glorious Stories

I’m back for the second half of National Poetry Month with more of my favorite poetry for you–this time with the masterfully poetic lyrics of some of my favorite songs!

There’s a fairly noticeable difference between the poetry of song lyrics and poetry for its own sake, with different rhythmic values being the largest distinction. But there is something about the song lyric that I am especially fond of; the best of them are beautifully structured and incredibly poignant. There are so many wonderful lyrics that I could go on and ON about, but for the purposes of this post (and my long-held tradition), I will be limiting the number to six today.

So come along with me as we dive into my…

TOP SIX FAVORITE SONG LYRICS

6. Will, Isaac Horn/Lincoln Mick, The Arcadian Wild

I felt my soul pulled in every direction

What once was whole has chosen defection

I felt the chaos, and came with her the hail

Hail, hail creation; long live your volition,

Will we go on like we deserve a pardon

As we walk out of the garden

This song comes from the album Principium, which tells the story of Adam in the Garden of Eden, from his creation to his fall, and God’s promise to redeem him. In Will, Adam laments his folly in the choice that separated him from God. The full lyrics are laden with this bitter sense of tragedy and regret… That line, “Hail, hail creation! Long live your volition” resonates strongly with my heart and my personal battle against pride.

5. Oh Sleeper, Tyler/Maggie Heath, the Oh Hellos

The clouds overhead open up
For the wicked and just all the same
And lay low the hills, so to fill
Every valley below to the brim

The eloquent lyrics of the Oh Hellos have always amazed me. They elevate the mind not only through their excellent vocabulary, but also through the Biblical themes present in many of their albums, particularly in their Dear Wormwood album and the four Wind albums. This song, from the Eurus album, stays with me more than any of their other lyrics for some reason. I think because it acknowledges the fact that sometimes life doesn’t seem fair–but we don’t know what is going on behind the scenes, nor can we know whether what seems to be a blessing might really become justice in its due time.

4. Something A Boy Said, Sting

When we set out on this journey
There were no doubts in our minds
We set our eyes to the distance
We would find what we would find
We took courage from our numbers
What we sought we did not fear
Sometimes we’d glimpse a shadow falling
The shadow would disappear
But our thoughts kept returning
To something the boy said
As we turned to go
He said “you’ll never see our faces again,

you’ll be food for a carrion crow.”

Sting has always written such fascinating story songs. The kind that light your imagination, seize your emotions, and take root in your mind. This song, from his Ten Summoners’ Tales album, has a Western flavor, and tells the ominous tale of a group of soldiers who become increasingly disturbed as they march because of the ominous warning given to them by their captain’s son. The oracle gnaws at their courage until they cannot ignore it, and the way their tale ends is really worth listening to the song in full to hear. The way that it is worded is just so good and chilling! I can really see this song when I listen to it.

It was hard to choose which of Sting’s songs to include in this post. I almost chose Island of Souls, but that one kind of deserves its own article, it’s so good. So, more on that another day.

3. Turning Backs, Vashti Bunyan

Indifference is the hardest blow
It is the wind and icy snow
That falls on green shoots as they grow
In winter when the spring’s too slow

Indifference is the coldest hand
It is the wave that clears the sand
Of castles built by baby hands
Before the gulls come in to land

Indifference is the hardest ground
It is the stony silent sound
Of plainsong echoing unfound
Until their voices have left town

Vashti Bunyan’s wistful, emotional lyrics blow me away with the beauty of their poetry. The way she describes the cold, devastating quality of indifference is so creative, and appropriately evocative. There’s a lot of artistry in the structure as well, with attributes assigned at the beginning of each stanza signaling what will come in the next. Hardest blow in the first stanza foreshadows the coldest hand in the second, while hardest ground in the third stanza contrasts against the soft sand in the second. Brilliant wordplay, truly.

2. Third of May/Odaigahara, Robin Pecknold, Fleet Foxes

Can I be light and free?
If I lead you through the fury, will you call to me?
And is all that I might owe you carved on ivory?
But all will fade, all I say, all I needed
As a flash in the eye, I wouldn’t deny
All receded

Life unfolds in pools of gold
I am only owed this shape if I make a line to hold
To be held within one’s self is deathlike, oh, I know
But all will be, for mine and me, as we make it
And the size of the fray, can’t take it away, they won’t make it

Now we come to the lyricist that is nearest and dearest to my heart, Robin Pecknold. For some reason, the words he writes for Fleet Foxes have a way of slipping into my soul and voicing what I have felt all my life. It took me a bit to adjust to the rhythm and method of his poetry, but once I began to understand his phrasing, it was like meeting the thoughts I had never quite been able to articulate aloud. As such, Robin will get not one but two entries in this top six list, and I am not sorry.

Third of May/Odaigahara is a much longer song than this (as are many on this list), but I selected these two verses because they’ve had me in a chokehold for almost eight years. The whole song communicates an intense loneliness and yearning for togetherness in a friendship that keeps failing due to poor timing or a lack of understanding. Here, in the climax of the song, the speaker desperately casts about between ideals, wanting to be free, wanting to be wanted, despairing of any lasting happiness, all in beautiful, heartrending words. The line “to be held within oneself is deathlike, oh I know” resonated so strongly with me the first time I heard it because it felt so much like my own story. For many years I felt so locked up within myself and unable to communicate properly the depth of feeling I experienced–it was deathlike, I do know.

1. Grown Ocean, Robin Pecknold, Fleet Foxes

In that dream I’m as old as the mountains
Still is starlight reflected in fountains
Children grown on the edge of the ocean
Kept like jewelry, kept with devotion

In that dream moving slow through the morning time

You would come to me then without answers
Lick my wounds and remove my demands for now
Eucalyptus and orange trees are blooming
In that dream there’s no darkness a-looming

In that dream moving slow through the morning time

In that dream I could hardly contain it
All my life I will wait to attain it
There, there, there

I know someday the smoke will all burn off
All these voices I’ll someday have turned off
I will see you someday when I’ve woken
I’ll be so happy just to have spoken
I’ll have so much to tell you about it

In that dream I could hardly contain it
All my life I will wait to attain it
There, there, there

Wide-eyed walker, don’t betray me
I will wake one day, don’t delay me
Wide-eyed leaver, always going

For the number one spot on this list, I am including the full lyrics of Robin Pecknold’s Grown Ocean. There is so much hope in this song, so much optimism looking forward to a beautiful future. The desire for love, understanding, a family, and peace is something I deeply identify with. A place where no darkness looms, where life is plentiful and slow. I especially like the line, “I know someday this smoke will all burn off / all these voices I’ll someday have turned off”. To me, that line signifies the patient acknowledgement that what is wrong right now will be resolved someday. I might be fraught with questions, anxiety, loneliness, or feelings of inadequacy now, but I won’t always be. And I believe that.

If, for whatever reason, there was a biopic of my life (one of those quiet, poetic, life-chaning indie films, preferably), I’d want this song to be the end credits. The beautiful lyrics combined with the bright, joyous energy of the accompanying melody and instrumentals works together to make it a fantastic work which makes me look forward to things to come.

And that brings us to the end of my top six favorite song lyrics! What are some of your favorite songs? Why do they speak to you the way they do? Do you have a favorite overall composer? Let me know in the comments–I’d love to chat.

I am planning one more poetry-related thing for Glorious Stories this National Poetry Month, so stay tuned for what comes next–this time on April 30th!

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