The Best Song Lyrics of Modern America – Part 4 – Enjoy
Blog No 91
January 17, 2019
The Best Song Lyrics of Modern America – Part 4
– The Poetry of Modern America –
By Mack W. Borgen
National Award-Winning Author, Dead Serious and Lighthearted – The Memorable Words of Modern America (Vols I, II, and III) (2018-2019); The Relevance of Reason – The Hard Facts and Real Data about the State of Current America (Vol I (Business and Politics) and II (Society and Culture)) (2013)).
Introduction and Background
Song lyrics are the real poetry of Modern America. The lyrics of our favorite songs roll around in our heads for decades. Almost unconsciously, every day we honor the words of America’s songwriters who said something in that perfect, poetic, or clever way. These lyrics are not the words of Homer or Yeats or Byron or Tennyson, or even Poe or Frost, but they are ours. Many of us can remember them easily. We can remember them easily. And, maybe best of all, all of the lyrical poetry of Modern America comes with a song!!
Here is Part 4 of my assembled list — done over the last nine years in conjunction with my research for my last series of books, Dead Serious and Lighthearted – The Memorable Words of Modern America. For a more detailed explanation and background of this Best Song Lyrics project — why and how the lyrics have been assembled — see the “Explanation and Background” section below.
Also, please see my publishers new Direct-From-Publisher Special Book Sales Offerings. Just go to http://mackwborgen.com/shop/ All directly ordered books will be signed by the author and shipped within five business days. Free shipping for orders of 10 or more books for your family, friends, or clients.
But, now, …
The Best Lyrics of Modern America
– From 1957 through 2015 –
Enjoy.
The Mid-1960s
Crying in the Chapel
(Elvis Presley) (1965) (B: 1935, Tupelo, MS – D: 1977 (Age 42), Memphis, TN)
“Just a plain and simple chapel
Where humbler people go to pray
I pray the Lord that I’ll grow stronger
As I live from day to day.”
. . .
“Ev’ry sinner looks for something
That will put his heart at ease
There is only one true answer
He must get down on his knees.”
…
“Take your troubles to the chapel
Get down on your knees and pray
Your burdens will be lighter
And you’ll surely find the way.”
The Seventies
Sing a Song
(Earth, Wind and Fire) (1976)
“When you feel down and out
Sing a song, it’ll make your day
Here’s a time we to shout
Sing a song, it’ll make a way.”
…
“Bring your heart to believing
Sing a song, it’ll make your day
Life ain’t about no retrieving
Sing a song, it’ll make a way.”
I Have to Say I Love You in a Song
(Jim Croce) (1973) (B: 1943, South Philadelphia, PA –D: 1973 (Age 30) Natchitoches, LA)
“Well, I know it’s kinda late.
I hope I didn’t wake you.
But what I gotta say can’t wait.
I know you’d understand.”
– – –
“Every time I tried to tell you,
The words just came out wrong,
So I’ll have to say I love you in a song.”
The Eighties
Like a Virgin
(Madonna) (1984) (B: 1958, Bay City, MI)
“I was beat
Incomplete
I’d been had, I was sad and blue
But you made me feel”
…
“Shiny and new.”
Hoo, Like a virgin
Touched for the very first time
Like a virgin
When your heart beats
Next to mine.”
COUNTRY WESTERN
Too Much Fun
(Daryl Singletary) (1995) (B: 1971, Cairo, GA – D: 2018 (Age 46), Lebanon, TN)
“ … I said officer what have I done
He smiled and said boy you’re havin’ too much fun”
…
“Too much fun what’s that mean
It’s like too much money there’s no such thing.
It’s like a girl too pretty with too much class
Being too lucky a car too fast
No matter what they say I’ve done
Well I ain’t never had too much fun.”
Explanation and Background of These
“The Best Lyrics of Modern America” Blogs
Song lyrics are the real poetry of Modern America. The lyrics of our favorite songs roll around in our heads for decades. Almost unconsciously, every day we honor the words of America’s songwriters who said something in that perfect, poetic, or clever way.
About nine years ago, in 2010, when I started my research for my books, Dead Serious and Lighthearted – The Memorable Words of Modern America. I spent much of the initial year assembling, sorting, and selecting those “memorable” song lyrics to be included in my books.
However, I eventually decided that it was necessary to exclude song lyrics from my books. This was done partly in deference to the needs of book brevity and in bowing recognition to the unavoidable subjectivity of making such selections. But it was also done because most songs are almost definitionally “intra-generational” in that they remain the separate and proud province of each generation. They are a part of each generation’s formative and collective memory – but not beyond that.
Nevertheless, as a result of that year of research, I assembled a relatively massive collection of what may be, by some measures of broad consensus, the greatest song lyrics of Modern America.
I have decided to start presenting them here for your remembrance and enjoyment. I confess that this is partly triggered by the fact that I have already done the fun, but painstaking, work of such assemblage. However, these lyrics blogs are also triggered by the fact that America needs – maybe now more than ever — to reach back and enjoy something or, as best said in 1967 by the Beatles in their song A Day in the Life” — “I read the news today, oh boy.”
Thus, starting on October 9, 2018 with Blog No. 83, I have started posting some excerpts of this author’s humble suggestions of The Best Lyrics of Modern America.
The other “serious” and “lighthearted” words of our generations are presented in my three volumes of Dead Serious and Lighthearted – Volume I (1957-1976), Volume ((1977-1993), and Volume III (1994-2015). All three volumes (and my earlier books, The Relevance of Reason (Vols I and II)) can now be ordered. Just go to http://mackwborgen.com/shop/ for the Direct-from-Publisher prices. All books will be signed by the author and will be shipped within five business days. My books are, of course, available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc. and at some independent book stores.
