I was listening to The Field Behind the Plow, by Stan Rogers, this morning, which got me thinking to great lyrics I have heard in folk music - the kind that take your breath away, or that burrow their way so deeply into your mind that you can't get rid of them. I think this is really why I prefer folk music to pop or jazz. There are thousands of songs like that in folk music, not so many in other forms of popular music. Even great pop songwriters, like Lennon and Macartney, rarely rise above being clever.

So here is my contribution to start off this thread, from Field Behind the Plow:

Emmett Pierce, the other day, took a heart attack and died at forty-two
You could see it coming on, 'cause he worked as hard as you.

I'll add others if this thread goes anywhere.

What lyrics really pack a punch for you?