Three of my favourite lines, in their setting:

Clive James: A King at Nightfall

"You spun the crown away into a ditch
And saw the water close
The army that you fed now feeds the crows
A king at nightfall
You're gonna have to watch your manners now
   And never let your face show what you're missing
   Don't wait for them to bow
   Stick out your hand for shaking, not for kissing"

Clive James: About the death of an ordinary man - a metalworker:

"He was used and discarded in a game he didn't own
But when the moment of destruction came
He showed that a working man is more than flesh and bone
The hands on his chest flared more brightly than his name
For a technicolor second as he rolled into the flame

   Though he had no great gifts of personality or mind
   He was generally respected, and the proof
   Was a line of hired Humbers tagging quietly behind
   A fat Austin Princess with carnations on the roof"

Clive James: "I see The Joker", about a Mafia boss fearful for his life:

"We do the journey different every day
Today we hit the garment district first
Then double back and take the boulevarde
And as we drive I don't know which is worst
To know he'll come but not to know the way
To know he'll make a play but not know how
Is he somewhere out there setting up the gun?
Is this headache from his crosswires on my brow?
There's no way, not a crevice, not a crack
That he can reach me, but when I cut the pack I see the Joker
I cut the pack and see the Joker"