Elvis's best killer line

Pretty self-explanatory
funstan
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Post by funstan »

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! :lol:
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"
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Boy With A Problem
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Post by Boy With A Problem »

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
Everyone just needs to fuckin’ relax. Smoke more weed, the world is ending.
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nobodygirl
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Post by nobodygirl »

"Don't put your heart up on your sleeve when your remarks are off the cuff"
Your friends said you were better off dead
You were dead anyway from the start
--RA
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oldhamer
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Post by oldhamer »

What line is that song from? It's going to annoy me all night....
If there were a king of fools than I would wear that crown/And you can all die laughing/Because I'll wear it proudly.
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Who Shot Sam?
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Post by Who Shot Sam? »

"Riot Act"
Mother, Moose-Hunter, Maverick
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oldhamer
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Post by oldhamer »

Cheers 8)
If there were a king of fools than I would wear that crown/And you can all die laughing/Because I'll wear it proudly.
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girl out of time
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Post by girl out of time »

talkin' about riot act........

"When the heat gets so tropical
And the tongue gets so topical"

brilliant!!
...the promise of indulgence in my confidential voice approached inmortal danger but you´ll never know how close....
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Jackson Monk
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Post by Jackson Monk »

Hi Girl

don't want to sound a smarty pants but I think that the lyric is actually:

When the heat gets sub-tropical
And the talk gets so topical

Peace and Love
Dr Doof
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RJTressel
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Post by RJTressel »

"there was a joke, but nobody spoke,
the graveyard decidedly odd,
where all the dead people turn into big trees
like hands pointing fingers at God."

--Just Another Mystery
lostdog
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Post by lostdog »

RJTressel wrote:"there was a joke, but nobody spoke,
the graveyard decidedly odd,
where all the dead people turn into big trees
like hands pointing fingers at God."

--Just Another Mystery
Hmmm, that's awful!!
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Mr. Average
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Post by Mr. Average »

"History Repeats the Old Conceits, the Glib Replies, the Same Defeats..."



"She was a cute little ruin that he pulled out of the rubble
Now they're both living in a soft soap bubble"
"The smarter mysteries are hidden in the light" - Jean Giono (1895-1970)
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nobodygirl
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Post by nobodygirl »

"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"
Your friends said you were better off dead
You were dead anyway from the start
--RA
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bambooneedle
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Post by bambooneedle »

And when he calls home with his alibi
She says "Is this really necessary?"
But she knows that a man can't be a man
Unless he's punishing his secretary
hes a fine figure of a ma
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Post by hes a fine figure of a ma »

How about

Every time I phone you I just wanna put you down . or

With his eyes upon the secret places he'd like to undo or

He's acting innocent and proud still you know what he's after
Like a matador with his pork sword, while we all die of laughter


genius
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thepopeofpop
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Post by thepopeofpop »

In a certain light he looked like Elvis
In a certain way he felt like Jesus
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Extreme Honey
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Post by Extreme Honey »

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"
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
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nobodygirl
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Post by nobodygirl »

The whole song "Bedlam"

"And I might recite a small prayer
If I ever said them"
Your friends said you were better off dead
You were dead anyway from the start
--RA
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ahawkman
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Post by ahawkman »

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!
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thepopeofpop
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Post by thepopeofpop »

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!
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spooky girlfriend
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Post by spooky girlfriend »

Thanks, Pope. I can't resist another KOA song.

From Suit of Lights:

And it's the force of habit
If it moves then you fuck it
If it doesn't move you stab it

and

Outside they're painting tar on somebody
It's the closest to a work of art that they will ever be
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verbal gymnastics
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Post by verbal gymnastics »

Once again, a lot of these are all a great singular killer line as per the explanation at the beginning of this thread :roll:

I nominate every word of every song Elvis has ever written :lol: .

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?
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Post by Misha »

One of my all time favourites for biting remarks:

I say 'Are you cold?'
She says, 'No, but you are." la la la la

--The Element Within Her
Where are the strong?

Who are the trusted?
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DeathWearsABigHat
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Post by DeathWearsABigHat »

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."
"trust the wizards, here we go" http://www.trustthewizards.com
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thepopeofpop
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Post by thepopeofpop »

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 :roll:
How does it feel now you've been undressed by a man with a mind like the gutter press?

There, that's just one line. I hope you're happy now! :lol:

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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Post by Poor Deportee »

See my sig.
When man has destroyed what he thinks he owns
I hope no living thing cries over his bones
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