Best song writers of all time
 

The best song writers of all time with an example. I'll nominate Justin Hayward of the Moody Blues...

Beauty I'd always missed
With these eyes before,
Just what the truth is
I can't say anymore.

Gazing at people,
Some hand in hand,
Just what I'm going thru
They can understand.

Some try to tell me
Thoughts they cannot defend,
Just what you want to be
You will be in the end

Hayward wrote Nights in White Satin when he was 19.

Hunter;

I lit out from reno, I was trailed by twenty hounds
Didnt get to sleep last night till the morning came around.

Set out runnin but I take my time
A friend of the devil is a friend of mine
If I get home before daylight, I just might get some sleep tonight.

Ran into the devil, babe, he loaned me twenty bills
I spent the night in utah in a cave up in the hills.

Set out runnin but I take my time, a friend of the devil is a friend of mine,
If I get home before daylight, I just might get some sleep tonight.

I ran down to the levee but the devil caught me there
He took my twenty dollar bill and vanished in the air.

Set out runnin but I take my time
A friend of the devil is a friend of mine
If I get home before daylight, I just might get some sleep tonight.

Got two reasons why I cry away each lonely night,
The first ones named sweet anne marie, and shes my hearts delight.
The second one is prison, babe, the sheriffs on my trail,
And if he catches up with me, Ill spend my life in jail.

Got a wife in chino, babe, and one in cherokee
The first one says shes got my child, but it dont look like me.

Set out runnin but I take my time,
A friend of the devil is a friend of mine,
If I get home before daylight, I just might get some sleep tonight

Bob Dylan

You never turned around to see the frowns on the jugglers and the clowns
When they all come down and did tricks for you
You never understood that it ain't no good
You shouldn't let other people get your kicks for you

You used to ride on the chrome horse with your diplomat
Who carried on his shoulder a Siamese cat
Ain't it hard when you discover that
He really wasn't where it's at
After he took from you everything he could steal.

How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?

Great pick Charlie. There's rumor he may have written that song about Joan Biaz or others in the biz.

In the rock genre I nominate Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin.

If you need an example of his work, try stairway to heaven.

Or Kashmir.

Great choices - all. But the greatest song writer who has ever been, and likely ever will be - is the man in black - Johnny Cash.

Hard to pic a favorite, Sunday Morning Comin' Down, Hurt., etc. But this is one is actually the first song that I learned all the words to as a child. Still one of my favorites...

The Ballad Of Ira Hayes lyrics

Ira Hayes,
Ira Hayes

[CHORUS:]
Call him drunken Ira Hayes
He won't answer anymore
Not the whiskey drinkin' Indian
Nor the Marine that went to war

Gather round me people there's a story I would tell
About a brave young Indian you should remember well
From the land of the Pima Indian
A proud and noble band
Who farmed the Phoenix valley in Arizona land

Down the ditches for a thousand years
The water grew Ira's peoples' crops
'Till the white man stole the water rights
And the sparklin' water stopped

Now Ira's folks were hungry
And their land grew crops of weeds
When war came, Ira volunteered
And forgot the white man's greed

[CHORUS:]

There they battled up Iwo Jima's hill,
Two hundred and fifty men
But only twenty-seven lived to walk back down again

And when the fight was over
And when Old Glory raised
Among the men who held it high
Was the Indian, Ira Hayes

[CHORUS:]

Ira returned a hero
Celebrated through the land
He was wined and speeched and honored; Everybody shook his hand

But he was just a Pima Indian
No water, no crops, no chance
At home nobody cared what Ira'd done
And when did the Indians dance

[CHORUS:]

Then Ira started drinkin' hard;
Jail was often his home
They'd let him raise the flag and lower it
like you'd throw a dog a bone!

He died drunk one mornin'
Alone in the land he fought to save
Two inches of water in a lonely ditch
Was a grave for Ira Hayes

[CHORUS:]

Yeah, call him drunken Ira Hayes
But his land is just as dry
And his ghost is lyin' thirsty
In the ditch where Ira died


angela

I'm not a Johnny Cash fan at all. Country music just don't get it done for me. IMO Cash's best song is a cover of a Trent Ressner (NIN) tune anyway.

Okay, I'm an idiot - Johnny Cash didn't write Ira Hayes....

Peter LaFarge wrote Ira Hayes. My apologies - though Cash still remains my favorite for others, looks like I'm a big fan of Peter LaFarge!

angela

Oh and Kris Kristopherson wrote Sunday Morning Coming down....

Okay- there was SOME stuff that Cash wrote that I love.

In the meantime, excuse me while I fin my way back quietly to the shallow end of the music knowledge pool... :(

angela

John Lennon...take your pick on songs.

Kris Kristofferson wrote some powerful tomes

Me and Bobby Mcgee:

Busted flat in Baton Rouge, headin' for the train,
Feelin' nearly faded as my jeans.
Bobby thumbed a diesel down, just before it rained;
Took us all the way to New Orleans.
I took my harpoon out of my dirty red bandanna,
And was blowing sad while Bobby sang the blues.
With them windshield wipers slappin' time,
And Bobby clappin' hands,
We finally sang up every song that driver knew.

Freedom's just another word for nothing' left to lose:
Nothin' ain't worth nothin' but it's free.
Feeling good was easy, Lord, when Bobby sang the blues.
Feeling good was good enough for me;
Good enough for me and Bobby McGee.

From the coal mines of Kentucky to the California sun,
Bobby shared the secrets of my soul.
Standin' right beside me, Lord, through everything I've done,
Every night she kept me from the cold.
Then somewhere near Salinas, Lord, I let her slip away,
Lookin' for the home I hope she'll find.
And I'd trade all my tomorrows for a single yesterday,
Holdin' Bobby's body next to mine.

Freedom's just another word for nothing' left to lose:
Nothin' left is all she left for me.
Feeling good was easy, Lord, when Bobby sang the blues.
Buddy, that was good enough for me;
Good enough for me and Bobby

john lennon
bob dylan
leonard cohen
lou reed
bob marley
dee dee ramone
jeff tweedy
nick drake
paul simon

and at the very top

RAY DAVIES

richards & jagger
hunter & garcia
jim morrison

SYD BARRETT

ROGER WATERS

Hunter/Garcia

If my words did glow with the gold of sunshine
And my tunes were played on the harp unstrung
Would you hear my voice come through the music?
Would you hold it near, as it were your own?

It's a hand-me-down, the thoughts are broken
Perhaps they're better left unsung
I don't know, don't really care
Let there be songs to fill the air (note 1)

Ripple in still water
When there is no pebble tossed
Nor wind to blow

Reach out your hand if your cup be empty
If your cup is full may it be again
Let it be known there is a fountain
That was not made by the hands of man

There is a road, no simple highway
Between the dawn and the dark of night
And if you go, no one may follow
That path is for your steps alone

Ripple in still water
When there is no pebble tossed
Nor wind to blow

You who choose to lead must follow
But if you fall, you fall alone
If you should stand, then who's to guide you?
If I knew the way, I would take you home

Don Fagen from Steely Dan...

Leonard Cohen
Hey, That's no way to say Goodbye:

I loved you in the morning
Our kisses deep and warm,
Your head upon the pillow
Like a sleepy golden Storm.
Yes, many loved before us
I know that we are not new,
In city and in forest
They smiled like me and you,
But now it's come to distances
And both of us must try,
Your eyes are soft with sorrow,
Hey, that's no way to say goodbye.

I'm not looking for another
As I wander in my time,
Walk me to the corner
Our steps will always rhyme,

You know my love goes with you
As your love stays with me,
It's just the way it changes
Like the shoreline and the sea,
But let's not talk of love or chains
And things we can't untie,
Your eyes are soft with sorrow,
Hey, that's no way to say goodbye.

I loved you in the morning
Our kisses deep and warm,
Your head upon the pillow
Like a sleepy golden Storm.
Yes, many loved before us
I know that we are not new,
In city and in forest
They smiled like me and you,
But let's not talk of love or chains
And things we can't untie,
Your eyes are soft with sorrow,
Hey, that's no way to say goodbye.
Hey, That's no way to say Goodbye

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when i tire of my death metal, i secretly play this.....neil can write....neil young too
dont make fun of me, you know you love it

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Jovanotti - Piove
 

Piove, senti come piove,
Madonna, come piove,
senti come viene giù!

Piove, senti come piove,
Madonna, come piove,
senti come viene giù!

Hai visto che piove, senti come viene giù,
tu che dicevi che non pioveva più,
che ormai non ti saresti mai più innamorata
e adesso guardati, sei tutta bagnata.

E piove, Madonna, come piove,
sulla tua testa e l'aria si rinfresca,
e pioverà fin quando la terra non sarà di nuovo piena,
e poi si rasserena.

Piove, senti come piove,
Madonna, come piove,
senti come viene giù!

Piove, senti come piove,
Madonna, come piove,
senti come viene giù!

Senti le gocce che battono sul tetto,
senti il rumore girandoti nel letto,
rinascerà, sta già nascendo ora!
Senti che piove e il grano si matura
e tu diventi grande e ti fai forte,
e quelle foglie che ti sembravan morte,
ripopolano i rami un'altra volta;
è la primavera che bussa alla tua porta.

E piove, Madonna, come piove,
prima che il sole ritorni a farci festa,
senti, senti come piove,
senti le gocce battere sulla tua testa.

Piove, senti come piove,
Madonna, come piove,
senti come viene giù!

Piove, senti come piove,
Madonna, come piove,
senti come viene giù!

Piove, senti come piove,
Madonna, come piove,
senti come viene giù!

Piove, senti come piove,
Madonna, come piove,
senti come viene giù!

Tu che credevi che oramai le tue piantine
si eran seccate e non sarebbero cresciute più;
hai aspettato un po', ma senti come piove
sulla tua testa senti come viene giù.

Non eri tu che ormai ti eri rassegnata,
e che dicevi che non ti saresti più innamorata,
la terra a volte va innaffiata con il pianto,
ma poi, vedrai, la pioggia tornerà.

Piove, senti come piove,
Madonna, come piove,
senti come viene giù!

Piove, senti come piove,
Madonna, come piove,
senti come viene giù!

Piove, senti come piove,
Madonna, come piove,
senti come viene giù!

Piove, senti come piove,
Madonna, come piove,
senti come viene giù!

Piove, senti come piove,
Madonna, come piove,
senti come viene giù!

Piove, senti come piove,
Madonna, come piove,
senti come viene giù!

i always liked hoyt axton.

Misfits - We are 138

We are 138, we are 138, we are 138
We are 138, we are 138, we are 138
We are 138, we are 138
In the eyes of tiger

Do you think we're robot clean
Does this face look almost mean
Is it time to be an android not a man

The pleasantries are gone
We're stripped of all we were
In the eyes of tiger

We are 138, we are 138, we are 138
We are 138, we are 138, we are 138
8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8
8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8