This Week's Playlist

This week's playlist features songs with lyrics that I love or have a turn of phrase that for some reason simply resonates with me.  So with each song, I have put in one lyric (which may be one of many in the song) that just worked its  way into my head.

1. "Tears of Yesterday" by Hoobastank:  "I write your name in my breath on the window, sit and watch as it fades away."
2. "Citizen Soldier" by 3 Doors Down:  "For when they simply need a place to make their bed/right here underneath my wing you can rest your head."
3. "I'm Not Running Anymore by John Mellencamp:  "Well I got two circus clowns who like to fight/they've got one black eye and a bloody nose.  They are the hoodlums of my third wife/whatever I say they will oppose."
4. "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant by Billy Joel: "And the king and the queen went back to the Green but you can never go back there again."
5. "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" by the Charlie Daniels Band:  "My name is Johnny and it might be a sin, but I'll take your bet, you're gonna regret cause I'm the best that's ever been"
6. "Mine All Mine" by Van Halen.  "Some only see what they want to see, claiming victory oh but that's not me.  Gimme a truth, gimme something real.  I just wanna feel that it's mine, all mine."
7. "This is My Song" by Carbonleaf.  "My name is Hope, Luck just ran out.  He said he'd  return without a doubt, ah but don't you believe him.  Oh I happen to have a message from Love, she told she knows what you've been dreaming of."
8. "Grey Street" by Dave Matthews Band.  "There's a stranger who speaks outside her door, says 'Take what you can from your dreams, make them as real as anything.  Ohh, it'll take the work out of the courage.'"
9. "Hysteria" by Def Leppard.  "When you get that feeling, when you start believing."
10. "Bobby Jean" by Bruce Springsteen:  "You'll hear me sing this song, if you do you'll know I'm thinking of you and all the miles in between. And I'm just calling one last time, not to change your mind, just to say I miss you babe, good luck, good bye, Bobby Jean."
11. "If You Only Knew" by Shinedown:  "I don't regret any days I spent, nights we shared or letters that we sent."
12. "Twentysomething" by Jamie Cullum:  "Who knows the answers, who do you trust.  I can't even separate love from lust." 
13. "3x5" by John Mayer.  "Didn't have a camera by my side this time, hoping I would see the world through both my eyes."
14. "Nothingness" by Living Colour:  "This is the place I call my own, I live with the lies and the fear all alone."
15. "Solosbury Hill" by Peter Gabriel:  "TOday I don't need a replacement, I tell them what the smile on my face meant, my heart going boom, boom, boom, "Hey," I said, "You can keep my things, they've come to take me home."
16. "Time Stands Still" by Rush:  "I turn my back to the wind, to catch my breath before I start off again/ Driven on without a moment to spend and pass the evening with a drink and a friend"
17. "Home Again" by Queensryche.  "For me it wasn't easy to raise the flag and leave, but I thought that you should know how much you mean to me.  I won't be there to see you dance or hear you sing the songs we love, so please be strong, it won't be long till I'm home again."
18. "The River" by Bruce Springsteen.  "Is a dream a lie if it don't come true, or is it something worse?" 
19. "It's Probably Me" by Sting.  "The jury's out, your eyes search the room but one friendly face is all you need to see.  If there's one guy, just one guy who'll lay down his life for you and die, its hard to say, I hate to say it, it's probably me."
20. "Departure Bay" by Diana Krall:  "The fading scent of summertime, arbutus trees and firs, the glistening of rain soaked moss, going to the Dairy Queen at dusk."

There it is.  These is not everything, but I have always admired the way songwriters can put together a series of words and phrases to evoke an image, a feeling, or a thought.  Couple with music, the impact is palpable.  I can hear these phrases and lyrics and reconstruct the entire song in my head.  That is what makes these lyrics to powerful for me.