A few years ago the answer would have been the quick witty one liners that were meant to hurt anyone who had the misfortune to piss E.C. off. A couple of years ago when I went threw my divorce E.C.'s music took on a whole new meaning. The verse's & songs in general were what I started paying more attention to so that is what I consider his "killer lines"verbal gymnastics wrote:Why is it that when asked for a (ie singular) killer line we end up with people putting in verses, couplets or verses? Maybe I'm just being too literal. Or it could be that I'm right and everyone else is wrong.
That'll be it!
Elvis's best killer line
- Boy With A Problem
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If Mechanical Grace is away, I'll throw in this one:
Are you a man now you wear a man's hat?
Are you a man now or are you a rat?
You go to church quiet as a mouse
You're a big cheese now in the workhouse
With these vulgar fractions of the treble clef
I wish you luck with a capital 'F'
A self-made mug is hard to break
A silent partner in someone else's mistake
Are you a man now you wear a man's hat?
Are you a man now or are you a rat?
You go to church quiet as a mouse
You're a big cheese now in the workhouse
With these vulgar fractions of the treble clef
I wish you luck with a capital 'F'
A self-made mug is hard to break
A silent partner in someone else's mistake
Everyone just needs to fuckin’ relax. Smoke more weed, the world is ending.
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"do you suppose that waiting hands on eyes Veronica has gone to hide
and all the time she laughs at those who shout her name and steal her clothes"
"Though it nearly took a miracle to get you to stay
it only took my little fingers to blow you away"
and all the time she laughs at those who shout her name and steal her clothes"
"Though it nearly took a miracle to get you to stay
it only took my little fingers to blow you away"
Your friends said you were better off dead
You were dead anyway from the start
--RA
You were dead anyway from the start
--RA
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- Extreme Honey
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here's one that might have slipped away:
Two newspaper editors like playground sneaks
Running a book on which of them is going to last the week
One of them calls to me
And he says, "I know you"
"You gave me this tattoo back in '82"
"You were a spoilt child then with a record to plug"
"And I was a shaven headed seaside thug"
"Things haven't really changed that much"
"One of us is still getting paid too much"
Two newspaper editors like playground sneaks
Running a book on which of them is going to last the week
One of them calls to me
And he says, "I know you"
"You gave me this tattoo back in '82"
"You were a spoilt child then with a record to plug"
"And I was a shaven headed seaside thug"
"Things haven't really changed that much"
"One of us is still getting paid too much"
Preacher was a talkin' there's a sermon he gave,
He said every man's conscience is vile and depraved,
You cannot depend on it to be your guide
When it's you who must keep it satisfied
He said every man's conscience is vile and depraved,
You cannot depend on it to be your guide
When it's you who must keep it satisfied
- nobodygirl
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Agree with Oily that the entire lyric to Tramp the Dirt Down is dripping with venom, and excellent venom it is.
Here's a few more that I didn't see above:
I wish you luck with a capital F
He said before it had really begun
I prefer the one about my son
I've been wading through all this unblievable junk and
Wondering if I should have given the world to the monkeys
(Ouch, Elvis! But I know you were condemning all humankind except US on this list, right!!??)
Waving his withering pencil
As if it were a pirate's cutlass
(I swear I don't! Anyway, I prefer to think of it as a divining rod.)
I hear you sayin' that a city's alright
When you only read about it in books
You can't show me any kind of hell
That I don't know already
She thought too late
And spoke too soon
She see her prince so charmingly
Slumped at her side
There are oodles more not coming to mind right now.
My all time #1 put down, though, came from Mr. Zimmerman:
For just one time I wish you could stand inside my shoes
You'd know what a drag it is to see you
Home run, Bob!
Here's a few more that I didn't see above:
I wish you luck with a capital F
He said before it had really begun
I prefer the one about my son
I've been wading through all this unblievable junk and
Wondering if I should have given the world to the monkeys
(Ouch, Elvis! But I know you were condemning all humankind except US on this list, right!!??)
Waving his withering pencil
As if it were a pirate's cutlass
(I swear I don't! Anyway, I prefer to think of it as a divining rod.)
I hear you sayin' that a city's alright
When you only read about it in books
You can't show me any kind of hell
That I don't know already
She thought too late
And spoke too soon
She see her prince so charmingly
Slumped at her side
There are oodles more not coming to mind right now.
My all time #1 put down, though, came from Mr. Zimmerman:
For just one time I wish you could stand inside my shoes
You'd know what a drag it is to see you
Home run, Bob!
- thepopeofpop
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I'm also fond of the little story he creates in the second verse of "American Without Tears" (although both versions of this song have excellent lyrics).
Particularly,
By the bicycle factory
As they sounded the siren
And returned into the dancehall
She knew he was The One
'Though he wasn't tall or handsome
She laughed when he told her
"I'm the Sherriff of Nottingham
And this is Little John"
That one brings a smile and a tear (in a good way of course).
I'm also slightly alarmed that I can correctly quote verbatim from memory the lyrics to around 200 EC songs!
Particularly,
By the bicycle factory
As they sounded the siren
And returned into the dancehall
She knew he was The One
'Though he wasn't tall or handsome
She laughed when he told her
"I'm the Sherriff of Nottingham
And this is Little John"
That one brings a smile and a tear (in a good way of course).
I'm also slightly alarmed that I can correctly quote verbatim from memory the lyrics to around 200 EC songs!
- spooky girlfriend
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Once again, a lot of these are all a great singular killer line as per the explanation at the beginning of this thread
I nominate every word of every song Elvis has ever written .
Particularly the word "the" which has been used to great effect on many occasions although sometimes he could have used it in a better way!
I nominate every word of every song Elvis has ever written .
Particularly the word "the" which has been used to great effect on many occasions although sometimes he could have used it in a better way!
Who’s this kid with his mumbo jumbo?
- DeathWearsABigHat
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all from the same song.....
"now you've got yourself a brand new occupation
every fleeting thought is a pearl
and beautiful people stampede to the doorway
of the funniest f**ker in the world"
I love the way he sings f**ker too!
"trapped in the House of the Perpetual sucker
where bitterness always ends so pitifully
you always had to dress up your envy in some half-remembered
philosophy"
"you could've walked out any time you wanted but face it you
didn't have the courage"
I just love that song but have always been confused by the line about the reverse earthquakes. Is there anyone out there who'd like to make an attempt at explaining to me what that means? Why is Bruce "like a building thrown up overnight by one of those reverse earthquakes"
and seeing as someone mentioned that great putdown from Positively 4th Street, I'd like to contribute another one from Bob Dylan.....
"idiot wind blowing every time you move your teeth,
You're an idiot, babe, it's a wonder that you still know how to breathe."
"now you've got yourself a brand new occupation
every fleeting thought is a pearl
and beautiful people stampede to the doorway
of the funniest f**ker in the world"
I love the way he sings f**ker too!
"trapped in the House of the Perpetual sucker
where bitterness always ends so pitifully
you always had to dress up your envy in some half-remembered
philosophy"
"you could've walked out any time you wanted but face it you
didn't have the courage"
I just love that song but have always been confused by the line about the reverse earthquakes. Is there anyone out there who'd like to make an attempt at explaining to me what that means? Why is Bruce "like a building thrown up overnight by one of those reverse earthquakes"
and seeing as someone mentioned that great putdown from Positively 4th Street, I'd like to contribute another one from Bob Dylan.....
"idiot wind blowing every time you move your teeth,
You're an idiot, babe, it's a wonder that you still know how to breathe."
"trust the wizards, here we go" http://www.trustthewizards.com
- thepopeofpop
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How does it feel now you've been undressed by a man with a mind like the gutter press?verbal gymnastics wrote:Once again, a lot of these are all a great singular killer line as per the explanation at the beginning of this thread
There, that's just one line. I hope you're happy now!
Which reminds me of a cool Elvis story. I saw him play some solo shows in Sydney in 1985 where previewed lot of KOA and B&C material. After he'd finished playing something particularly dark, possibly "Betrayal" or (Richard Thompson's) "End of the Rainbow" a woman sitting in one of first few rows yelled out pleadingly "Play something happy!" After EC finished his little monologue he started the next song:
He's a fine figure of a man, and handsome too...
And he took especial delight in addressing the hookline of "I Hope You're Happy Now" directly at the poor woman! Those were the days, my friend.
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