New Wave Outpost Forum

I'm sure there is a best lyrics thread on here somewhere, but I don't see it. Forgive me if this is a duplicate.

One of the things I enjoy about New Wave, especially the synthpop sub-genre, are the lyrics. My all-time favorite has got to be "Computer Games" by the group Mi-Sex, which I hadn't heard of before Blir introduced me to the song (cut me some slack, I was 8 in 1981).

So what are your favorite New Wave lyrics?

(P.S. I am compiling a top-10 list of my own, which is in its infancy at http://users.syd.eastlink.ca/~mdalesand ... yrics.html)

My favourite is Lassie Come Home from Alphaville. For some reason, I can listen to this song and visualize the dream that Marion Gold was singing about. Actually, the whole Afternoons In Utopia album has great lyrics.

[quote][i]Originally posted by Sean[/i]
<br>My favourite is Lassie Come Home from Alphaville. For some reason, I can listen to this song and visualize the dream that Marion Gold was singing about. Actually, the whole Afternoons In Utopia album has great lyrics.
[/quote]

I totally agree. That album is their masterpiece.

one of my faves:

The Chameleons, "Up The Down Escalator"

I'm gazing at faces
Staring blankly at me
I suppose it's just a sign of the times
They tell me tomorrow will never arrive
But I've seen it end a million times

I lost my direction while dodging the flak
Oh give me a hint or something
Now they can erase us
At the flick of a switch
How long will they wait
No!
There must be something wrong boys

Obnoxious actions
Obnoxious results
Teachers who refuse to be taught
Distorted pictures
And dizzy, dizzy people
Rush by me at the speed of thought

Sitting at tables
And throwing the scraps
For Christ's' sake leave them something
Now they can erase us
At the flick of a switch
Will they hesitate
No!
There must be something wrong boys
They're dragging me down

Eden
There's no Eden, anyway.

They're dragging me down
You either swim or you drown

Sunday You Need Love Monday Be Alone
by Trio

Ok so its one of the worst, but it makes me LAUGH everytime I hear it!!!

i always loved The Walk by Eurythmics. Great lyrics, and such a cool vocal delivery as well.

Nearly anything off the "Hounds of Love" album by Kate Bush. Specifically, I love the lyrics to "Mother Stands For Comfort" and "Running Up That Hill."

"This Is The Day" by The The. Captures both life's hopelessness and optimism for me.

[quote][i]Originally posted by design_femme[/i]
<br>one of my faves:

The Chameleons, "Up The Down Escalator"

I'm gazing at faces
Staring blankly at me
I suppose it's just a sign of the times
They tell me tomorrow will never arrive
But I've seen it end a million times

I lost my direction while dodging the flak
Oh give me a hint or something
Now they can erase us
At the flick of a switch
How long will they wait
No!
There must be something wrong boys

Obnoxious actions
Obnoxious results
Teachers who refuse to be taught
Distorted pictures
And dizzy, dizzy people
Rush by me at the speed of thought

Sitting at tables
And throwing the scraps
For Christ's' sake leave them something
Now they can erase us
At the flick of a switch
Will they hesitate
No!
There must be something wrong boys
They're dragging me down

Eden
There's no Eden, anyway.

They're dragging me down
You either swim or you drown
[/quote]

DF, may I compliment you on your excellent lyrical taste. When I saw this thread, I thought immediately of this very composition. You beat me to it.

Wow this is a tough task. So many lyrics come into my head for a time then flit off. And it's usually not the detailed story lyrics but just disjoint evocative little pieces that get stuck in me. Two recent favs that I can recall:

Echo & the Bunnymen - Ocean Rain:
"All hands on deck at dawn
Sailing to sadder shores
Your port in my heavy storms
Harbours the blackest thoughts"

Joy Division - Transmission, 2 seperate pieces:
"Listen to the silence, let it ring on"
"Touching from a distance, further all the time"



But kinda outside your question but more than anything else today, I got British Sea Power on the brain. Every song is like a poem, and their lyrics are so evocative I can't help thinking about 'em ALL the time. Stuff like...

It Ended on an Oily Stage:
"I wrote elegiac stanzas for you
I hope and pray that they come true" ...a nice way of saying "I hope you die!"

True Adventures:
"Senescence or senility
How long until you sleep?
Discarded for all it's worth
Now it's quiet under this fresh earth"

Carrion:
"Oh, the heavy water how it enfolds
The salt, the spray, the gorgeous undertow
Always, always, always the sea
Brilliantine mortality" ...Brilliantine mortality! What the hell does that mean?! Who cares, it's brilliant.

The Lonely:
"I'll drink all day and play by night
Upon my Casio electric piano
'Til in the darkness I see lights
But not candelabra
But things from other stars"

Remember Me:
"You're all part of the same old fucking regime
With someone taking it out
Whilst you were putting it in"

[quote][i]Originally posted by beatschool[/i]
<br>"This Is The Day" by The The. Captures both life's hopelessness and optimism for me.
[/quote]

I agree with beatschool and want to go further to say that Matt Johnson's lyrics on all the songs on "Soul Mining" are genius.

DayGloJo
(Who's just a symptom of the social disease that's gnawing at the heart of the country.)

Gotta use my boys the Clash here...

Sombody Got Murdered

Someone lights a cigarette
While riding in a car
Some ol' guy takes a swig
And passes back the jar
But where they were last night
No-one can remember
Somebody got murdered
Goodbye, for keeps, forever

Somebody got murdered
Somebody's dead forever

And you're minding your own business
Carrying spare change
You wouldn't cosh a barber
You're hungry all the same
I been very tempted
To grab it from the till
I been very hungry
But not enough to kill

Somebody got murdered
His name cannot be found
A small stain on the pavement
They'll scrub it off the ground
As the daily crown disperses
No-one says that much
Somebody got murdered
And it' left me with a touch

I to think The The "This is the Day" has excellent lyrics. That was the first song I thought of when I read this topic.
Then I thought of so many Clash songs with great lyrics. Know your rights, and Magnificent Seven come to mind...Cheeseboiger!!

[quote][i]Originally posted by marie3[/i]
<br>I to think The The "This is the Day" has excellent lyrics. That was the first song I thought of when I read this topic.
Then I thought of so many Clash songs with great lyrics. Know your rights, and Magnificent Seven come to mind...Cheeseboiger!!
[/quote]Right on Marie..
I also have to echo Blir's sentiment by rattling off one lyrical stanza that instantly comes to mind.

'No Promises'- Icehouse

[i]A winter palace
from the arabian nights
white waves on an ocean
gems from a golden age[/i]

Echo & the Bunnymen
-The Cutter-

Am I the happy loss?
Will I still recoil
When the skin is lost?
Am I the worthy cross?
will I still be soiled
When the dirt is off?