elvis's lines that you like\dislike the most.

[InvisibleMan]

as in the subject.

[Uncomplicated]

I wish you luck with a capital "F". Is one of my all-time favs.

[Jack of All Parades]

"Was it a millionaire who said 'imagine no possessions'?" pure hypocrisy!!! "The Other Side of Summer"

[Miclewis]

A couple of my favorite, more poetic lines:

"Well you seem to be shivering dear, and the room is awfully warm.
In the white and scarlet billows that subside beyond the storm"

"Would our kids grow stubborn or grow strong.
Would their limbs bronze insult to the sun"

[InvisibleMan]

"Wasn't it a millionaire who said imagine no possessions?" pure hypocrisy!!!

lennon's, you mean.

it's one of my fav lines.

[Jack of All Parades]

Costello quoting Lennon- and still pure hypocrisy from both of them. Only a fav for me if you appreciate the irony, both general and self directed I hope.

[Ypsilanti]

So you're saying Elvis is a hypocrite because he suggested there might be a whiff of hypocrisy in Lennon's lyric? Because Elvis has money, too? He's precluded from commenting on issues related to the behavior of millionaires because he is one himself?
So whether or not Elvis was making a good point is based entirely on the contents of his stock portfolio? And I guess it follows that if Elvis were poor, it would have been alright to call Lennon a hypocrite.
I'm afraid I don't agree.

[Jack of All Parades]

You misread me I believe- the whole point is the irony-I have always read it as EC winking at himself as well-I love what I believe is a self directed critique-that is the whole point of irony-employing ironic contrasts for humorous or rhetorical effect. It is hypocritical if he is not winking at himself.

[InvisibleMan]

dunno if it's self-directed too, but it's a good one anyway:

we're all hypocrites. buying elvis's cd's while some people are starving somewhere.

and i think that imagine is a silly song, overall.

in fact, it's so silly that i prefer silly love songs.

[InvisibleMan]

hey, but nobody has posted disliked lines!

don't tell me you adore everything he writes.

[johnfoyle]

My Favourite Things are playing
Again and again
But it's by Julie Andrews
And not by John Coltrane

from This Is Hell has always made me wince. Never mind that it always sounds so clumsily phrased. It's conjures up an image of someone being painfully hip for no reason at all. Both versions of song are equally good. Maybe it's just that I have a bit of a thing for early Julie Andrews and can happily sing along with all of The Sound Of Music.

[invisible Pole]

I've always loved these two lines :

Oh, I said "I'm so happy, I could die."
She said "Drop dead," then left with another guy.

[jmm]

Still get chills at "who put the fingerprints on my imagination"

[sulky lad]

I know it's the quote I use but "out of the kitchen, she's gone with the wind" fibrillates my atria.

[Ypsilanti]

It is hypocritical if he is not winking at himself

I don't really think there is any winking going on, but I don't think that means Elvis is a hypocrite. I love that lyric though because it took huge balls to take a slap at John Lennon--who is practically a genuine martyred saint and one of Elvis' own heroes. But John had it coming to him a little bit and Elvis dished it out. That level of audacity is pretty bracing.

But anyway, here's my list...

Love:
This is my conviction--that I am an innocent man.

I keep this fancy to myself. I keep my lipstick twisted tight.

It's just you and me now, because I threw away the gin

Ice is melting at a distant Pole. The gin & tonic glasses overflow.

Do not love:
She was a cute little ruin that he pulled out of the rubble. Now they're both living in a soft soap bubble.

From your own back yard to the land of exotica. From the truth society to neurotic erotica.

You're worried by her body. She's worrying about her bodily odor.

You need protection from the physical art of conversation. Though the fist is mightier than the lip, it adds the aggravation.

[alexv]

Lines I disliked about 4 years ago from a similar thread:

She imagines how she might have lived
back when legends and history collide

But he's part ugly beast and Hellenic deceased

But I know what I spake

Who do you see when you turn your eyes down?
Who do you see when I'm not seeing you?

The dark down road of his approach in constant rain was drenched

Been through their big deals and smalls

Oh mother, oh mother, sometimes you are so mortifying

"My Favourite Things" are playing

Darkness would become me underneath the table
As the fury raged around the house
Your despairing tread was angry and unstable
You never suspected
Just as that cartoon mouse
Went undetected

You like coffee and you like tea
Much more than you like me

Along the fine windows of shameless and plunder

Remember the glass we charged in celebration?

Since nights were long and days were olden
Woman to man has been beholden

Now the flagstone streets where the newspaper
shouts ring to the boots of roustabouts

A stripping puppet on a liquid stick gets into it
pretty thick
A butterfly drinks a turtle's tears, but how do
you know he really needs it?

The ceiling was festooned with phosphorous stars

Not quite aside, they snide "She's number four"

[alexv]

CS, on the imagine reference, if he's putting down Lenon for being a hypocrite the line can be criticised for taking on a sainted Beatle, which is not cool. It can also be criticised as hypocritical if Elvis is also a millionaire but only if he's urging folks to imagine a world with no possessions, the way Lenon did. EC has never done that. He's done the usual grandstanding about corporate greed while benefiting from corporations his entire working life, but that's standard among a certain kind of rock star. The day he writes a song like Imagine we can jump on him. You can say that Lenon was being hypocritical, but not EC. By the way, on Lenon and Imagine, we should really give him a break. It is a silly song on many levels, but I think Lenon was really a conflicted soul, with a 60s sensibility and some of the things he did, like Imagine, when looked at now seem trite and silly, but in the context of his times it was just Lenon being Lenon, and hypocrisy was not really one of his traits. When you look at what he did and what he meant to culture, history etc. the fact that he holed with Yoko in the Dakota in millionaire splendor (filthy splendor by all accounts) is really meaningless. I have my doubts about whether EC, despite the obvious reference in the line, didn't really have Gordon in mind when he wrote it. I've always imagined it so. Makes me feel better.

[InvisibleMan]

let's give a break to the "song of the century"...

[alexv]

Hey, IM, your song of the century remark stumped me. I took a look and on some list compiled in 2001, Imagine came in at number 30 in the "song of the century" category. Neat list. It came in ahead of rudolph the red nosed reindeer.Here's the list. It's quite long. I'm only including the top 100. Is there a subsequent list that has Imagine overcoming this very stiff competition?

Song Title Artist
1. "OVER THE RAINBOW" JUDY GARLAND
2. "WHITE CHRISTMAS" BING CROSBY
3. 'THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND" WOODY GUTHRIE
4. "RESPECT" ARETHA FRANKLIN
5. "AMERICAN PIE" DON McLEAN
6. "BOOGIE WOOGIE BUGLE BOY" THE ANDREWS SISTERS
7. WEST SIDE STORY (album) original cast
8. "TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME" BILLY MURRAY
9. "YOU'VE LOST THAT LOVIN FEELIN" THE RIGHTEOUS BROTHERS
10. "THE ENTERTAINER" SCOTT JOPLIN
11. "IN THE MOOD" GLENN MILLER ORCHESTRA
12. "ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK" BILL HALEY & THE COMETS
13. "WHEN THE SAINTS GO MARCHING IN" LOUIS ARMSTRONG
14. "YOU ARE MY SUNSHINE" JIMMIE DAVIS
15. "MACK THE KNIFE" BOBBY DARIN
16. "SATISFACTION" THE ROLLING STONES
17. "TAKE THE 'A' TRAIN" DUKE ELLINGTON ORCHESTRA
18. "BLUEBERRY HILL" FATS DOMINO
19. "GOD BLESS AMERICA" KATE SMITH
20. "STARS AND STRIPES FOREVER" SOUSA'S BAND
21. "I HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE" MARVIN GAYE
22. "DOCK OF THE BAY" OTIS REDDING
23. "I LEFT MY HEART IN SAN FRANCISCO" TONY BENNETT
24. "GOOD VIBRATIONS" THE BEACH BOYS
25. "STAND BY ME" BEN E. KING
26. "STORMY WEATHER" LENA HORNE
27. "JOHNNY B. GOODE" CHUCK BERRY
28. "I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND" THE BEATLES
29. "MIDNIGHT TRAIN TO GEORGIA" GLADYS KNIGHT & THE PIPS
30. "IMAGINE" JOHN LENNON
31. "RUDOLPH THE RED NOSED REINDEER" GENE AUTRY
32. "THE TWIST" CHUBBY CHECKER
33. "HAPPY TRAILS" ROY ROGERS & DALE EVANS
34. "YOUR CHEATIN' HEART" HANK WILLIAMS
35. "SWING LOW SWEET CHARIOT" FISK JUBILEE SINGERS
36. THE SOUND OF MUSIC (album) original cast
37. "'ROUND MIDNIGHT" THELONIUS MONK
38. "WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT" TINA TURNER
39. "OVER THERE" THE AMERICAN QUARTET
40. "STAR DUST" HOAGY CARMICHAEL
41. "AIN'T MISBEHAVIN'" FATS WALLER
42. "GEORGIA ON MY MIND" RAY CHARLES
43. "OH PRETTY WOMAN" ROY ORBISON
44. "EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE" THE POLICE
45. "MY GIRL" THE TEMPTATIONS
46. "HOTEL CALIFORNIA" THE EAGLES
47. "HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN" BEN SELVIN ORCHESTRA
48. "STAND BY YOUR MAN" TAMMY WYNETTE
49. "TAKE FIVE" DAVE BRUBECK
50. "AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL" LOUISE HOMER
51. "WHEN A MAN LOVES A WOMAN" PERCY SLEDGE
52. "LIGHT MY FIRE" THE DOORS
53. "STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN" LED ZEPPELIN
54. "SWEET GEORGIA BROWN" BEN BERNIE ORCHESTRA
55. "WHEN YOU WISH UPON A STAR" CLIFF EDWARDS
56. "YESTERDAY" / "ACT NATURALLY" THE BEATLES
57. "LOUIE LOUIE" THE KINGSMEN
58. "GOD BLESS THE CHILD" BILLIE HOLIDAY
59. "BORN IN THE USA" BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
60. "THE GIRL FROM IPANEMA" STAN GETZ/ASTRUD GILBERTO
61. "I WALK THE LINE" JOHNNY CASH
62. "THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER" JOHN McCORMICK
63. "O HAPPY DAY" THE EDWIN HAWKINS SINGERS
64. "GREAT BALLS OF FIRE" JERRY LEE LEWIS
65. "WHAT'S GOING ON" MARVIN GAYE
66. OKLAHOMA! (album) original cast
67. "ZIP-A-DEE-DOO-DAH" JOHNNY MERCER
68. "DON'T BE CRUEL" / "HOUND DOG" ELVIS PRESLEY
69. "ST. LOUIS BLUES" W.C. HANDY
70. "YANKEE DOODLE" VESS OSSMAN
71. "CALIFORNIA DREAMIN'" THE MAMAS & PAPAS
72. "ON THE ROAD AGAIN" WILLIE NELSON
73. "AULD LANG SYNE" FRANK STANLEY
74. "SUMMERTIME" SIDNEY BECHET
75. "THEME FROM SHAFT" ISAAC HAYES
77. "SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY" LES BROWN ORCHESTRA
78. "BLUE SUEDE SHOES" CARL PERKINS
79. "THE SOUNDS OF SILENCE" SIMON & GARFUNKEL
80. "SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT" NIRVANA
81. "IT HAD TO BE YOU" ISHAM JONES ORCHESTRA
82. "MINNIE THE MOOCHER" CAB CALLOWAY
83. "SIXTEEN TONS" TENNESSEE ERNIE FORD
84. "WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD" LOUIS ARMSTRONG
85. "FIRE AND RAIN" JAMES TAYLOR
86. "Y.M.C.A." THE VILLAGE PEOPLE
87. "HEARTBREAK HOTEL" ELVIS PRESLEY
88. "KING OF THE ROAD" ROGER MILLER
89. "I WILL SURVIVE" GLORIA GAYNOR
90. "AVE MARIA" MARIAN ANDERSON
91. "BEGIN THE BEGUINE" ARTIE SHAW ORCHESTRA
92. "LIKE A ROLLING STONE" BOB DYLAN
93. "STOP IN THE NAME OF LOVE" THE SUPREMES
94. "STAYIN' ALIVE" THE BEE GEES
95. "1999" PRINCE
96. "PLEASE REMEMBER ME" TIM McGRAW
97. PORGY AND BESS (album) original cast
98. "BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN" GENE AUTRY
99. "SHAKE, RATTLE AND ROLL" JOE TURNER
100. "IN THE STILL OF THE NIGHT" THE FIVE SATINS
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[bambooneedle]

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[InvisibleMan]

Hey, IM, your song of the century remark stumped me. I took a look and on some list compiled in 2001, Imagine came in at number 30 in the "song of the century" category. Neat list. It came in ahead of rudolph the red nosed reindeer.Here's the list. It's quite long. I'm only including the top 100. Is there a subsequent list that has Imagine overcoming this very stiff competition?

a simple link to the list would have worked too.

anyway, there is indeed at least a list (at least a list: now, doesn't it sound good?) topped by imagine. maybe it was an italian list.

fact is that is popularly regarded as one of the best songs ever, as even the list you posted show.

[ahawkman]

He has so many great lines, hard to narrow it down. Just scanning through a list of songs, here are some that popped into my head. I'm sure there are plenty of others that I like just as much.

Like:
it's a breath you took too late, it's a death that's worse than fate

escorted by his lovely nieces, filled up his purse dictating verse, while painting masterpieces

dear lord I sincerely hope you're coming 'cause you really started something

oh I know they've got their problems, I wish I was one of them

I was watching while you're dancing away, our love got fractured in the echo and sway

oh yes I was a comical priest, with a joke for the flock and a hand up your fleece

and then expect you to say thank you, straighten up, look proud and pleased
because you've only got the symptoms, you haven't got the whole disease

it's a drag, saluting that starry rag

don't ask me to apologize, I won't ask you to forgive me

they think that I've got no respect, but everything means less than zero

giving you away like motel matches

now our leaders have feasts on the backsides of beasts, they still think they're the gods of antiquity

dislike
sometimes I think that love is just a tumor, you've got to cut it out

like a matador with his pork sword

to the bridge!!!

[pophead2k]

Virtually all of 'Man Out of Time' qualifies on my list of best lyrics, but especially:

There's a tuppeny hapenny millionaire
Looking for a fourpenny one
With a tight grip on the short hairs
Of the public imagination

But for his private wife and kids somehow
Real life becomes a rumour
Days of dutch courage
Just three French letters and a German sense of humour

He's got a mind like a sewer and a heart like a fridge
He stands to be insulted and he pays for the privilege

[alexv]

Those are great lines, Pophead. I love that song. The music and lyrics work so well together. The thing about this kind of exercise, which this song brings out, is that you have to be careful judging lines or lyrics in pop songs in a vacum. Steve Allen, who was a groundbreaking talk show host and a witty guy, but who over time became a sourpuss, used to get a giggle from audiences by quoting early Beatles lyrics in a deadpan style and then asking how they could be considered great songwriters. It always got a chuckle. The fact is that some of those lyrics if quoted without the music do seem inane. Great pop songs can have clunky lyrics that can be redeemed by the music or the singing. A lot of the EC lines that make me wince get saved by the songs themselves.

[wordnat]

"But back at his desk in the city we find
Our trembling, punch-drunken fighter --
Who can't find the strength, now, to punish the length
Of the ribbon in his little typewriter".