04 Sep 07 - 06:37 AM (#2140401) Subject: Killer verses From: Colin Randall The new Rachel Unthank album The Bairns has what she calls a whole story packed into four lines: "My lad's a canny lad, he works doon the pit He never comes to see us unless he wants a bit I asked him would he marry us, you should have seen him wince I think I've lost me canny lad, I've never seen him since" I remember Tom Paxton long ago feature one single-verse item mocking Spiro Agnew's stupidity, and another poking fun at the advertising industry: "When your loved one has to go/Dial 6-7-3-9-0" (I probably have the funeral parlour number wrong but you get the idea) Do any other killer verses spring to mind? |
04 Sep 07 - 06:49 AM (#2140412) Subject: RE: Killer verses From: kendall "If you cheat again he'll have to move the flowers" grabs me. |
04 Sep 07 - 07:06 AM (#2140427) Subject: RE: Killer verses From: GUEST,.gargoyle Rooty toot, toot, Six shot she did shot, Right through them swingin' doors. He was her man, But he done her wrong
Sincerley, Gargoyle |
04 Sep 07 - 07:34 AM (#2140451) Subject: RE: Killer verses From: GUEST,.gargoyle BONNIE AND CLYDE by George Fame They used to laugh about dyin'
but deep inside them they knew
Acting upon reliable information
a Fed'ral deputation laid a deadly ambush.
Sincerely, |
04 Sep 07 - 07:56 AM (#2140478) Subject: RE: Killer verses From: Dave Hanson I'll sing of Spiro Agnew, And all the things he's done. Tom Paxton |
04 Sep 07 - 04:28 PM (#2140856) Subject: RE: Killer verses From: frogprince Over fifty years ago, I heard Carl Sandburgh sing what he called "The shortest blues song": Papa loved Mama; Mama loved men; Mama's in the graveyard; Papa's in the pen. It kinda ticked me off to hear it incorporated as part of a "full length" country song a few years ago. |
04 Sep 07 - 05:57 PM (#2140940) Subject: RE: Killer verses From: Snuffy Chambers Caskets - dial Columbia triple-O |
04 Sep 07 - 06:01 PM (#2140946) Subject: RE: Killer verses From: GUEST,Terry McDonald 'The revolution has begun So I'll go home and get me gun And shoot the Duke of Wellington' |
04 Sep 07 - 06:26 PM (#2140967) Subject: RE: Killer verses From: GUEST,.gargoyle Marty Robbins (1959) One night a wild young cowboy came in So in anger Sincerely, |
04 Sep 07 - 07:30 PM (#2141023) Subject: RE: Killer verses From: Tootler From the Well below the valley: "For seven long years I'll be ringing the bell But the Lord above may save my soul from portin' in Hell At the well below the valley-o..." |
04 Sep 07 - 08:03 PM (#2141043) Subject: RE: Killer verses From: Songster Bob Well, "Killer" verses can "kill" a song, that's for sure. In fact, too many songs have all that's needed in one verse, and the rest is just baggage. It's better to have every verse be of the same importance as the rest of the verses, so, really, "killer" verses can kill a song. For example, "How can I miss you when you won't go away?" tells the whole song, but Dan Hicks and his Hot Licks sang the whole thing anyway. Then again, some verses do contain the heart of the song, the real crux, the "nut," and the song is much the less if that verse were to be changed. In that vein, here's a verse of a song I've never bothered to learn the rest of, because it's so perfect: God made man in His own image, and all things were going right. But it seems that man was doomed to sin and toil. Eve, she tasted of the apple, begged till Adam took a bite, And that put the human family to the wall. Since man was first beguiled, woman's kept on going wild, Causing him to get all kinds of punishments We may plainly understand, woman was made after man, And she's been after man ever since! (From Blind Alfred Reid, my favorite curmudgeon) Bob Clayton |
04 Sep 07 - 08:56 PM (#2141067) Subject: RE: Killer verses From: Joe_F A captain bold from Halifax, who dwelt in country quarters, Seduced a maid who hanged herself one Monday in her garters. His wicked conscience smited him; he lost his stomach daily. He took to drinking ratafee, and thought upon Miss Bailey. -- certainly sets the scene with great efficiency. |
04 Sep 07 - 09:29 PM (#2141089) Subject: RE: Killer verses From: GUEST,Mickey Following my footsteps trying to see where they might end. I'm tryin' to break these blues, but I can't even get them to bend. From Midnight in Memphis by nJ J Cale |
04 Sep 07 - 09:37 PM (#2141093) Subject: RE: Killer verses From: GUEST,282RA Nooo, I just had to look at another one and now I must spread this cancerous rot far and wide. I'm going down alone. Jan Terri again here demonstrating that white people having no rhythm or moves is not a stereotype. YOU'VE NEVER HEARD VERSES LIKE THIS! Her leading man, just as sleezy as the one before, gets close-ups that make me think of serial killer documentaries for some reason. Towards the end during another totally unwarranted close up, he utters what appears to be "I see programs" followed by "penis!" With halloween around the corner, I figure why not ramp up the creepiness as well as the taudry, campy, cheesy horror right now? Enjoy |
04 Sep 07 - 09:41 PM (#2141097) Subject: RE: Killer verses From: Effsee After a great build up.... "Monys a yin for him maks mane, but nane sall ken whaur he has gaen, ower his white banes for evermair, the wind sall blaw forever mair" The Twa Corbies...ANON |
04 Sep 07 - 09:50 PM (#2141111) Subject: RE: Killer verses From: john f weldon The Ships out on the Ocean Sail Oer My true love's Breast His Body's in a slow and gentle motion I hope his soul's at rest... |
04 Sep 07 - 09:59 PM (#2141118) Subject: RE: Killer verses From: john f weldon Though your head it may wrack with a bilious attack And your senses with toothache you're losing Don't be mopey and flat, they won't fine you for that If you're properly quaint and amusing Though your wife ran away with a soldier that day And took with her your trifle of money Bless your heart, they don't mind; they're exceedingly kind... They won't blame you, so long as you're funny. A Private Buffoon, WS Gilbert (and Sullivan) |
04 Sep 07 - 10:03 PM (#2141124) Subject: RE: Killer verses From: john f weldon The bullet was quick, but I was quicker Steve hopped out and took it in the ticker Phoned up Miami, no time to grieve Ha ha ya missed me... ...hit my brother Steve! |
04 Sep 07 - 10:15 PM (#2141129) Subject: RE: Killer verses From: john f weldon We coulda been isotopes, we coulda been cantaloups... We coulda been hatracks, or dice... We coulda been semaphores, we coulda been dinosaurs... We coulda been cough drops or lice... We coulda been roadmaps, a bucket of mousetraps... A couple of big shoes, on a bus... We coulda been dipsticks, or lavender lipsticks.... But happened to be us! Red Kimono (The Berrymans) |
04 Sep 07 - 10:31 PM (#2141135) Subject: RE: Killer verses From: Little Hawk Killer verses? Heck, I just go straight to Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, and Mary Chapin Carpenter for that. Enough Killer verses to paper over Washington Square. I won't trouble you by quoting any of them. |
05 Sep 07 - 07:27 AM (#2141350) Subject: RE: Killer verses From: kendall ..but Willy McBride it all happened again, and again, and again and again, and again..... |
05 Sep 07 - 07:50 AM (#2141366) Subject: RE: Killer verses From: brassy sharman 6 feed of mud, Cyril Tawney |
05 Sep 07 - 01:50 PM (#2141693) Subject: RE: Killer verses From: Celtaddict The ways of man are passing strange: He buys his freedom and he counts his change, Then he lets the wind his days arrange, And he calls the tide his master. . . Gordon Bok, The Ways of Man |
05 Sep 07 - 03:59 PM (#2141788) Subject: RE: Killer verses From: kendall I don't mind the wet and cold, I just don't like the growing old...FUNDY, Gordon Bok. (He was 21 when he wrote that) |
05 Sep 07 - 04:18 PM (#2141810) Subject: RE: Killer verses From: TheSnail Not a verse but a chorus - But I tell these kids a hundred times, don't take the lakes for granted. They'll go from calm to a hundred knots, so fast they seem enchanted, But tonight some red eyed Whiarton girl, lies staring at the wall And her lover's gone into a white squall. Stan Rogers I'm a quivering jelly by the ned of the song. |
05 Sep 07 - 11:09 PM (#2142074) Subject: RE: Killer verses From: Uncle Phil First time I shot her I shot her in the side, Hard to watch her suffer, But with the second shot she died, Delia's gone, one more round Delia's gone. |
06 Sep 07 - 12:57 AM (#2142116) Subject: RE: Killer verses From: GUEST,.gargoyle Mama don't whup Little Buford Mama don't pound on his head Mama Don't Whup Little Buford I think you should shoot him instead
Sincerely, |
06 Sep 07 - 01:23 AM (#2142134) Subject: RE: Killer verses From: MystMoonstruck There are numerous variations, but here's one (though not my favorite): [i]They buried Willie in the old church yard, And Barbara there anigh him, And out of his grave grew a red, red rose, And out of hers, a briar. They grew and grew in the old churchyard, Till they couldn't grow no higher, They lapped and tied in a true love's knot. The rose ran around the briar.[/i] ~Barbara Allen (of course) |
06 Sep 07 - 10:12 AM (#2142387) Subject: RE: Killer verses From: Charley Noble "Country Squall" by Willie P. Bennett: Baby, if I'd been a gambler, I'd have turned out a different way; But lately, everywhere I go, It's the same highway; And if I were born some time else This could be a different day; Like the rise and fall of a country squall, Getting' ready to fade away. Charley Noble |
06 Sep 07 - 07:26 PM (#2142866) Subject: RE: Killer verses From: Susanne (skw) There are many different ways a man can be killed All you need is a simple when and where Just make sure he's born today somewhere on this earth And do nothing else, my friends, just leave him there, leave him there He will do the rest himself, just leave him there ('Five Ways To Kill A Man', poem by Edwin Brock, adapted to the tune of 'Ye Jacobites by name' by Iain MacKintosh) |
06 Sep 07 - 07:38 PM (#2142879) Subject: RE: Killer verses From: Flatpick "And as through this world you travel you meet lots of funny men, Some will rob you with a six-gun, and some with a fountain pen" Pretty Boy Floyd by Woody Guthrie. I seem to meet the latter type quite often...how about you? |
06 Sep 07 - 08:09 PM (#2142895) Subject: RE: Killer verses From: Joe_F Don't need no whiskey, don't need no rum, Just need you, baby, when the summer come. * First time she shot him, he staggered. Next time she shot him, he fell. Last time she shot her Johnny, There was a new man's face in hell. |
06 Sep 07 - 09:23 PM (#2142940) Subject: RE: Killer verses From: Midchuck Now these gentlemen were ignorant, or didn't know just where they were. The deacon's face grew darker as he measured every word: "You horsehair-braiding sons of bitches Stole my claim to earthly riches! Someone go and dig a ditch; There may well be a hangin'" Tom Russell, The Sky Above, the Mud Below. Peter |
06 Sep 07 - 10:29 PM (#2142993) Subject: RE: Killer verses From: michaelr Behind the garden shithouse That's where the sweetest flowers grow We're all flowers in God's garden That's why He spreads the shit around (David Byrne) |
06 Sep 07 - 10:33 PM (#2142999) Subject: RE: Killer verses From: Charley Noble From "Wild Bill Jones": He reeled and he staggered, And he fell to the ground; He gave one dying moan; I threw my arms around my pretty girl's neck sayin', "Baby, won't you please come home!" Cheerily, Charley Noble |
06 Sep 07 - 11:24 PM (#2143017) Subject: RE: Killer verses From: Uncle Phil "I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die" J.R. Cash, Folsom Prison Blues "Tonight we ride, you bastards dare, We'll kill the wild Apache for the bounty on his hair, Then we'll ride into Durango, climb up the whorehouse stairs, Tonight we ride, tonight we ride." Tom Russell, Tonight We Ride |
07 Sep 07 - 12:18 AM (#2143029) Subject: RE: Killer verses From: GUEST,DonMeixner First time I heard these lines, Art Thieme sung em! Don Hang Me Oh Hang Me and I'll be dead and gone, Hang me oh hang me and I'll be dead and gone, I do not mind the dyin', But the layin' in the grave so long. |
07 Sep 07 - 04:58 AM (#2143126) Subject: RE: Killer verses From: GUEST,.gargoyle Bang bang, she shot me down. Bang bang, I hit the ground. Bang bang, that awful sound. Bang bang, my baby shot me down.
Sincerely, |
07 Sep 07 - 07:45 AM (#2143190) Subject: RE: Killer verses From: GUEST,The black belt caterpillar wrestler The short version of the "Prickle Holly Bush" Come hangman slack your ..urgk! |
07 Sep 07 - 11:14 AM (#2143315) Subject: RE: Killer verses From: GUEST,Young Buchan From the singing of John Stickle, I think: Twa, twa made the bed. Twa, twa lay down th'gither. When the bed began to creak The ane ha' been abo' the ither. |
07 Sep 07 - 11:45 AM (#2143329) Subject: RE: Killer verses From: Big Mick I could do a whole thread of killer lines just from the verses of "The Dutchman". .......not the kind of man to keep his thumb jammed in the dam that holds the dreams in.. .......sometimes she sees her unborn children in his eyes.. ......I used to be a young man, and dear Margaret remembers that for me.. ......His cap and coat are patched with love that Margaret sewed there... ......Sometimes he thinks that he's alone and calls her name ......She makes the bed up humming some old love song, She learned it when the tune was very new. She hums a line or two, they hum together, in the night..... That just might be the most amazing love song ever written, certainly right at the front of the queue. All the best, Mick |
07 Sep 07 - 03:47 PM (#2143481) Subject: RE: Killer verses From: Marje I'll offer two extracts of songs - one old, one modern. First, from Burns: "Had we never loved sae kindly, Had we never loved sae blindly, Never me - or never parted - We had ne'er been broken-hearted." And then there's Joni Mitchell's "Little Green" (about giving her baby up for adoption) - I could quote any of it, but the lines that say so much in so few words, for me, are: "You write him a letter and say 'Her eyes are blue', He sends back a poem, and she's lost to you" Marje |
07 Sep 07 - 04:55 PM (#2143522) Subject: RE: Killer verses From: cptsnapper His argument proved by the Oberlin River that love to a woman is all. Oh, he was a master of English balladry but not the Australian crawl. " Oberlin River " The Limeliters |
07 Sep 07 - 06:42 PM (#2143586) Subject: RE: Killer verses From: Bill D after he discovers his 'true love' is up in a room with another man.. "Since it is no better, I'm glad it is no worse, Brandy in my bottle, and money in my purse." I've Rambled This Country, Both Erlye and Late ------------------------------------------------------------------- "Then a big Turkish shell knocked me arse over head And when I woke up in my hospital bed And saw what it had done, I wished I was dead Never knew there were worse things than dying" The Band Played Waltzing Matilda ----------------------------------------------------------- "Noah said, "Lord, it's lookin' mighty dry! The Lord said, "Noah, see my rainbow in the sky. Take all your creatures and people the Earth;..... But be sure you're not more trouble than you're worth."" |
08 Sep 07 - 11:40 AM (#2143974) Subject: RE: Killer verses From: Snuffy Noah Found Grace in the Eyes of the Lord I'll go with those three, Bill |
08 Sep 07 - 02:21 PM (#2144075) Subject: RE: Killer verses From: Susanne (skw) The Selkirk Grace: Some hae meat and cannae eat Some would eat that want it We hae meat and we can eat So let the Lord be thankit |
08 Sep 07 - 04:29 PM (#2144131) Subject: RE: Killer verses From: Lucius Big Mick is spot on about The Dutchman. Michael Smith has the knack. My favorite version is that of Steve Goodman's, who also gave us a the world's most concise blues song: |