Are you good with words?

August 6, 2008 2:20 PM

Got any lyrics you'd like to see turned into songs? Got any songs that need lyrics? Post em on here and have fun collaborating with your fellow mefites. There's some cool stuff goin on over in the music section, if you haven't checked it out you should, it's awesome, if you don't mediocre might punch you in the dick

Some mefites in the music section were talking about how much they hate writing lyrics but have oodles of music just lyin around. If you got anything you'd like to see turned into a song post em on here, maybe ORThey will add his chillin banjo or chococot will sing your song with his super sexy voice in a style that only Canadians can. If you haven't been over to the music section you should really check it out, it's good stuff.

posted by BrnP84 to MetaFilter-related at 2:20 PM (56 comments total)

I'll start, even though I actually write songs too. Here's my poem Joey the Digger:

JOEY THE DIGGER, with little regard,
Would dig up his parents' yard.
He carried a shovel and a spade
And he dug in sunshine and in shade.
He dug up the flowers and the grass --
The tulips, the roses, the iris, alas!
He dug them all up and threw them away
And what Joey dug for, no one could say.
Some said dinosaurs, some said treasure;
Some said neither, Joey just digs for pleasure.
But Joey the Digger simply dug on
In deepening holes,
And one day was gone.
Some say that Joey dug his own grave
and some say he dug into an underground cave;
Some say he dug to the center of the planet
Where ancient beasts swim in deep molten granite.
Some say Joey dug through to the opposite side
Where millions of upside down people reside.
I think that Joey the Digger digs on
Wherever that Joey the Digger has gone.
One day in the future a rocket will land
On a distant world of shifting red sand;
A billion miles away, untouched by mankind.
An astronaut will be amazed at the thing that he finds:
"My gosh, it's full of holes," the astronaut will declare
And we'll know that Joey the Digger was there
posted by Astro Zombie at 2:23 PM on August 6, 2008 [4 favorites]

... what?
posted by shmegegge at 2:43 PM on August 6, 2008

Um, in fact, I DO have some lyrics that I have been trying to turn into a song. Stumbling block: I am totally amusical.

I feel anticipatory embarrassment. If this is a cruel game you are playing with me, I shall destroy you.

No, I can't post my garbage publicly.

Anyone want to MeFiMail me?

(cowers)
posted by prefpara at 2:48 PM on August 6, 2008

It's always the other way around, but when just this once I come up with passable lyrics, I can't think of music to go with them. So here's some drunken pathetic love for you all:

The sun and the moon can rot in the sky
before I take another step outside
I've been poisoned by love, nearly lost all hope
but I've still got a case full of antidote

The bottles, when drunk, take on a life of their own
five mingle on the table, two are passed out on the floor
one's sitting all alone by the computer screen
and one's between my lips, getting empty

How does all that dust gather under my bed?
It comes from nowhere and it's going nowhere
And how on earth can that frown still be a frown
when the mirror is upside down?

I dig you, I dig you, more than a worm digs its dirt
but no amount of digging finds me under your skirt
I'm poisoned by love, lost all hope
and my legs and my dinner and my antidote
posted by Anything at 2:49 PM on August 6, 2008

"I was listening to The Cure a lot when I wrote this".
posted by mr_crash_davis at 2:57 PM on August 6, 2008

I feel anticipatory embarrassment. If this is a cruel game you are playing with me, I shall destroy you.

It is not a cruel game, and I think it's an awesome idea in general; a few of us have been talking about it for the last few days as a nice way to try and gather up some of the random awesome rhyme/euphony/verse skills on mefi in a single place. Hence: this, as a "let's see what's up" experiment.

If anybody is sitting on or wants to share some lyrics but would rather go private-channel than chuck 'em out in the clear here, feel free to email me (and I figure there are others who feel the same way) and we could try and share the stuff a bit more back-channel if someone is looking for lyrical inspiration.
posted by cortex at 2:57 PM on August 6, 2008

I have a long forgotten cowboy epic entitled 'The Accursed Hat' which i promise to post in full tomorrow when it has been dug out.
posted by Jofus at 3:01 PM on August 6, 2008

By the way, there is a better place for this.
posted by eyeballkid at 3:01 PM on August 6, 2008

cortex, thanks for the reassurance. I agree, this is an awesome idea. I will be all over your back-streets shadowy-alleys offer when I get back from Russia.
posted by prefpara at 3:02 PM on August 6, 2008

eyeballkid, Music Talk is an awesome thing that I'm glad we have now, but this is more of a getting-non-Music-regulars involved thing (e.g. previous sundry other collaborative Metatalk proposals). So yes, but no, but I hear you.
posted by cortex at 3:04 PM on August 6, 2008

If that notebook full of metal lyrics I wrote in the sixth grade turns up I 'll let you know.
posted by The Straightener at 3:10 PM on August 6, 2008 [1 favorite]

Tons, but here's one I have ready access to:

Never Get Sent to Prison, a country (yes, I wrote a country) song inspired by thatdog's utter purdiness.

Never get sent to prison
I'm telling you as a friend
Cause if you get sent to prison
You'll end up as someone's girlfriend

For a guy, yer kinda purty
So I'm telling you as a friend
If you get sent to prison
It could only come to a bad end

<sobriquet> I wanted to be more explicit
<DarkSmile> It will be, in the last verse
<sobriquet> ahh buliding up

Prison is very boring
But you'll find the time will pass
You'll be praying for it, sure 'nuff
When Bubba's up your ass

OH!

Never get sent to prison
I'm telling you as a friend
Cause if you get sent to prison
You'll end up as Bubba's girlfriend

(This is where it gets raunchy folks. Don't read it if you don't mean it.)

Never get sent to prison,
This you must comprehend
Lest you come to an understanding
When Bubba comes in your rear-end

OH!

Never get sent to prison
I'm telling you as a friend
Cause if you get sent to prison
You'll end up as Bubba's girlfriend

FINALE: You'll end up as Bubba's girlfriend *musical flourish*
posted by Eideteker at 3:17 PM on August 6, 2008

Here are the lyrics to a song I wrote lost year based on this news story. It's a rough draft and needs a third verse, but anyone who wants it is welcome to it.

The Lonesome Death of Gary Aldridge

Well I like to feel constricted
Though I've always been constrained
I think Jesus doesn't care about our pleasure,
just our pain

But sometimes the two slop over
and I can't tell them apart
I've got a dildo up my ass
and the Good Lord in my heart...

CHORUS:
Won't you hold me,
won't you hold me oh so tight
Come enfold me
wrap me in the darkest night

You can say that I'm conflicted
Or that I'm a hypocrite
And you'd be right
So come enfold me,
Come and wrap me in the night...


I'm so sorry that I left you
To clean up this sordid mess
I was a good man and a father and I did my best
I guess

You deserved a whole lot better
I suppose my flock did too
but I was bound by faith and rubber
And to neither was I true so


CHORUS:
Won't you hold me,
won't you hold me oh so tight
Come enfold me
wrap me in the darkest night

You can say that I'm conflicted
Or that I'm a hypocrite
And you'd be right
So come enfold me,
Come and wrap me in the night...

until I...

see...

stars...
posted by BitterOldPunk at 3:35 PM on August 6, 2008

Jude is beautiful, all summer honey
glaze, caramelized skin and toasted
almond eyes so delectable and rich under
a frosted fall of razor cut blond that
it's a sugar rush to stand near him;

at least

until he bites my mouth with his stupid,
Chicklet teeth, and sticks a spit-wet
finger in my ear. He laughs when I don't,
and rubs his hip against mine because
he knows it turns me on; he knows I'm mad.

He knows my secret, soft places- how to
use them, when to use them against me.
That's why we're not in love; that's why
we're best friends- my Jude is candy from
strangers.
posted by headspace at 4:00 PM on August 6, 2008 [2 favorites]

WWOD

She takes another hit from her pocket Jesus.
Tries to buy a little peace – but she's crumbling to pieces.
Says, "Wish I could believe you when you say I'm not a lost cause.
Wish I could remember who I used to think I was.

Not old enough, not good enough to sell out.
Not young enough, not pretty enough to buy in.

Think I know I'm wrong, but that doesn’t make you right.
Too stubborn to give up. Too damn tired to fight about it.

Not pure enough, not broken enough to forgive you.
Not sure enough, not selfish enough to live without you."

She used to think she'd find a job, a man, a cause –
An orbit to fall into. Dreams of weddings, but no groom.
Looking for redemption on the Home Shopping Network^®.
When she's filled with doubt, she asks 'What would Oprah do?'

'What would Oprah do?
What would Oprah do?

[break]

Not fool enough, not lost enough to give up.
Not cool enough, not bright enough to break down.

God, this low-carb diet cuts into my drinking.
Mom wants grandkids, but I just don't want to think about it.

Not desperate enough, not lonely enough to fake it.
Not empty enough, not nice enough to just sit and take it.

What would Oprah do?
What would Oprah do?

Not old enough, not good enough to sell out.
Not young enough, not pretty enough to buy in.

Think I know I'm wrong, but that doesn't make you right.
Too stubborn to give up. Too damn tired to fight about it.

Not pure enough, not broken enough to forgive you.
Not sure enough, not selfish enough to live without you.

What would Oprah do?
What would Oprah do?'

She takes another hit from her pocket Jesus.
Tries to buy a little peace – but she's crumbling to pieces.
Says, "Wish I could believe you when you say I’m not a lost cause.
Wish I could remember who I used to think I was."
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 4:19 PM on August 6, 2008

Great. I'm glad people are starting to take the bait. This definitely isn't a cruel joke--we really want to get it up and running.

Also, if you have even a vague sense of the style you envision for the music backing up the lyrics you post (or Mefimail to cortex), feel free to mention that as well.
posted by umbú at 4:37 PM on August 6, 2008

Not that we'll necessarily follow the guidelines you outline, of course.
posted by umbú at 4:38 PM on August 6, 2008

shouldn't this actually be going on in memu?
posted by msconduct at 4:41 PM on August 6, 2008

And let's not forget that I'm a veritable storehouse of musical parodies.

First, there's the one I wrote about the promiscuous woman:
Is she really going after him?
Is she really gonna take his bone tonight?
Is she really going after him?
Cuz if my eyes don't deceive me
there's something going on around here

Then there's the one where the object of the singer's affections is dating a stuffy nerd:
Is she really dating Atherton?
Is she really going to fakely moan tonight?
Is she really dating Atherton?
Cuz if my eyes don't deceive me
there's something going wrong around here

And lastly, the MetaTalk favorite:
Are they calling dios out again?
Are they really gonna bitch and moan and fight?
Are they calling dios out again?
Cuz if my eyes don't deceive me
There's something going on around here
posted by Eideteker at 4:46 PM on August 6, 2008

I have a long forgotten cowboy epic entitled 'The Accursed Hat'

Hey now!
posted by languagehat at 5:11 PM on August 6, 2008

I've been sitting here with a guitar singing my heart out on every one of these lyrics posted here and I am having the time of my life.
posted by ORthey at 5:25 PM on August 6, 2008

I've written a few song parodies here, so I guess the musics prewritten, but it would be neat to hear them sung.
posted by jonmc at 5:32 PM on August 6, 2008

I'm diggin it, lots of good stuff already.
I've been sitting here with a guitar singing my heart out on every one of these lyrics posted here and I am having the time of my life.

ORthey, I already promised them you'd use your banjo......
posted by BrnP84 at 5:32 PM on August 6, 2008

I re-worked some poems to be a little bit more song-like, hopefully. All are completely compatible with most modern text-editors and as such can be modified to suit nearly any singer/songwriter's taste. So:


"JASPER, DON'T"

Gull silhouettes and jaegers
circle up above
Invisible remains-eaters
circle down below

Don’t, Jasper, don’t
Jasper, Jasper, don’t

One of the media decides to go in
wearing a helmet
Dips his little toe in
& checks his equipment

Don’t, Jasper, don’t
Jasper, Jasper, don’t

Jasper, your helmet’s full of cracks
Jasper, you’ll drown for sure
Jasper, your helmet’s full of cracks
Jasper, you’ll drown for sure

It goes on and on like that
watching the news reports later,
watching the news reports later
your attention starts to drift
posted by sleevener at 5:32 PM on August 6, 2008

This one doesn't scan that well, but hey:

"THE GREAT WAR"

It was the great war, the great war
It was the great great great war

Dad saw the lost tweezers
Made to walk on its legs
Like the murky grandparent image
I can’t grasp something at once as.

It was the great war, the great war
It was the great great great war

Grandpa saw an encoded
Bugs Bunny Junior Army Ranger
Secret Message Form, I saw it
Put back on a shelf, back in the archives.

It was the great war, the great war
It was the great great great war
posted by sleevener at 5:34 PM on August 6, 2008

Pretty angular, but maybe suitable for a waltz, a calypso, or some 12-tone bassoon music:

"No meio do caminho"
by Carlos Drummond de Andrade
translation by Babelfish, arrangment by me

In the
way it way,
had a
rock Had a
rock in
the way it
way In
the way way
Had it
a rock in
the way
it way I
will never
forget this event
In the
life my retinas
so Never
tired will I
forget that
in the
way way Had
it a
rock Had
a rock in
the way
it way In
the way
way had it
a rock
posted by sleevener at 5:53 PM on August 6, 2008

This is an oldie I wrote and made into a podcast eons ago when I did this regular story-telling thing, but I always wished I could've written music for it.

Mama Jess

mama jess
knees bent outward
is on the wood floor knelt
shes owns a secret
an oil-black secret
thorn-bound in her breast

the howling winds, they bray
whistling through the holes in the roof
but mama jess
won't tell no one.
not today, not today.

a younger man
once cut her wheat fields
shirtless, he shone with sweat
mama watched him
lust-eyed loved him
gave him more than pay

the midnight wolves, they cry
peeking through the cracks in the wall
but mama jess
won't tell no one
not today

harvest end
mama jess cried
her lover wouldn't stay
so she swung the scythe
and she cut him down
"YOU'LL NEVER LEAVE ME NOW!"

the prairie dust, it swirls
rushing through the collapsing door frame
but mama jess
won't tell no one
not today, not today.

twenty years hence
aged and lonely
her love buried 'neath
the boards
sorrowed heart
alone for too long
longed for love again

so, mama jess
dropped to her knees
and wrenched with all her strength
but strength was lost
she died right there
her heart stopped like a clock

the willow trees, they sway
stretching shadows across the broken floor
but mama jess will stir no more
not today

mama jess
knees bent outward
still on the wood floor knelt
owns a secret
an oil-black secret
thorn-bound in her breast

the howling winds, they bray
whistling through the holes in her eyes
but mama jess
won't tell no one.
not today, not today.
posted by katillathehun at 5:54 PM on August 6, 2008 [1 favorite]

Looking forward to reading everyone's stuff! One more enigmatic (nay, profound) dumb rhymey thing from me, might make a good refrain or repeated over and over (at least that's what I'd do with it).

Dignity hangs
Like a Congo computer
Garden of Eden
First-person shooter
posted by sleevener at 6:00 PM on August 6, 2008

Do we have any bright ideas on how to make this a more permanent repository for this stuff? Maybe the wiki? It would be nice to have a spot, that won't be pushed off the MeTa page in a few days, that will remain and we can build up a nice little library of lyrics that can be scoured through when folks are in need.

shouldn't this actually be going on in memu?

Nope! Belongs right here.
posted by ORthey at 6:27 PM on August 6, 2008

I have some great scat lyrics I'd be happy to MeMail you.
posted by turgid dahlia at 6:39 PM on August 6, 2008

This is something stupid. It started while walking through Whole Foods with my girlfriend looking at food stuffs that I can't afford. They were playing 80's music so I kept on singing egg salad over and over again to the various songs. Later that night, at a local bar, we were sitting around imbibing in not so fine beers, when I started singing egg salad to the tune of Elvira. The belly dancing vegans comes from the studio that my girlfriend is taking lessons at. The owners are vegans. The chorus is somewhat what I remember us coming up with at the bar. The verse I just now made up. So, um, yeah, happy to share my Sunday night drunken song.

Eggs that look like sunshine, relish from the vine
Mayonnaise so tangy, like a lemon lime
All this may sound real great, some say devine
But I can't make egg salad mine

I'm talking 'bout
Egg Salad, Egg Salad
I can't have no -- egg salad
Belly dancing, belly dancing, belly dancing vegans
Belly dancing, belly dancing, belly dancing vegans
Please take my plate away
posted by robtf3 at 10:11 PM on August 6, 2008 [1 favorite]

This rocks.
posted by devilsbrigade at 10:11 PM on August 6, 2008

This is a great idea.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 10:58 PM on August 6, 2008

I keep waiting for someone to cover the song I'm named after. For my birthday.
posted by roll truck roll at 12:21 AM on August 7, 2008

The Accursed Hat - A cowboy epic featuring headwear possessed by unseen forces; heroic and tragic acts of bravery and violence, not to mention a tall darke and handsome stranger and thrill-packed use of the words a-cursed, a-frothing and a-reaching.

I rode tall on steeds of white
And roamed from town to town
I'd nod and smile and tip my hat
At girls as I looked down
My name was known throughout the land
I'd always fight and win
Until I stole that dead man's hat
And fell to crime and sin

While riding in the mountains there
So far from any road
A-searching in the mountain streams
For signs of any gold
I came across a dead man
With six bullets in his back
And gripped tight in his withered hand
A black and handsome hat

My heart said it was sinful to steal with no remorse
But still I bent and picked it up and got back on my horse

And as I placed it on my head
It seemed the sun went out
An icy hand had gripped my heart
So hard I couldn't shout.

I saw the devil riding down
The sky boiled in the south
My horse beneath me bucked and reared
A-frothing at the mouth
How long I roamed I do not know
My memory had failed
I woke down by the Rio Grande
With blood beneath my nails.

And all around me as I say
The bones of many men
The hat beside me called to me
To put it on again
So weak of will, with trembling hands
I put back on the hat
And woke up some time later
With six bullets in my back

And the last thing I remember,
The last thing I could feel:
A stranger's hand a-reaching out
My curs-ed hat to steal
posted by Jofus at 1:29 AM on August 7, 2008 [2 favorites]

I have a bunch of Mefi-filk in my profile. Some of it has been turned into actual songs. Some has not.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 6:09 AM on August 7, 2008

Jofus, I LOVE that song, man! It's really good!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:18 AM on August 7, 2008

Here's one I just wrote, based on a videogame I hope to never play:


Gorilla Countenance Matching Game
Find three faces that look the same
Switch the tiles to make three in a row
Now you're ready to go (except that

odd-numbered combos cancel
yellow/green power-ups and
red flashing manbdibles give
double speed reductions and

when your point counter flashes
blue and dark blue you have to
click on the orangutan for
15 bonus seconds and the

double extra multiplier's a
little bit buggy so you
probably should stick with
the extra double multiplier &

in split-screen mode, clicking
lowland gorillas causes
plus three damage points to
highlighted poachers and

if you end up with
exactly 29 hit points you
get kicked out to the
character selection screen)

So enjoy, enjoy, enjoy,
Enjoy the game I wrote for you
I really hope you really enjoy
my Gorilla Countenance Matching Game
posted by sleevener at 8:00 AM on August 7, 2008 [2 favorites]

And this one's epidemiological:


an airborne, airborne
never-beginning, never-beginning

insect, insect
propinquity, propinquity,

spreading across, spreading across
population, population:

conversion, conversion
of lost ground, lost ground
posted by sleevener at 8:07 AM on August 7, 2008

I would love to but the words all run together

how do I get the line breaks where I want them?

use /br?
posted by infini at 8:28 AM on August 7, 2008

I get this crazy feeling like we're scribbling on sleevener's composition notebook.

Ohhhhhh...
Scribblin' on sleevener's notebook
Ain't turnin' back for a second look
Yours is epidemiological
Mine's sorta 'cclesiastical

Wellllll...
Scribblin' on sleevener's notebook
You get the lines, I'll get the hook
Disestablishmentarianism
Always makes me full o'... naw, I can't say that.

So... I'll... just... keep... on....
Scribblin' on sleevener's notebook
Scribblin' on sleevener's notebook
Ain't ne'er a time that's to be had
Like scribblin' on sleevener's notebook

Goodnight!

(I'm just kiddin', sleevener. You've got some good stuff there)
posted by katillathehun at 8:44 AM on August 7, 2008

ha!
posted by sleevener at 8:56 AM on August 7, 2008

All right, I've done my version of The Accursed Hat because, really, how can anyone resist? But it needs additional production, if anyone wants to take a crack at that.
posted by Astro Zombie at 9:35 AM on August 7, 2008

Goddam. Nice turnaround time. I hate having a dayjob. (The version I'm envisioning has a straighter meter and verbed-out cowboy/surf electric riffs.)
posted by cortex at 10:02 AM on August 7, 2008

As I've already said in the Music thread: HOLY FUCKING SHIT.

(Also, the link in that thread is broken. Please hope Arstozobmie)
posted by Jofus at 10:03 AM on August 7, 2008

And, while we're being anal, when I typed "And all around me as I say", I clearly meant "And all around me as I lay."
posted by Jofus at 10:05 AM on August 7, 2008

Fucksticks. Sorry Astro. It's made it into the recorded version. Gah!
posted by Jofus at 10:06 AM on August 7, 2008

Whoops.
posted by Astro Zombie at 10:36 AM on August 7, 2008

I sort of like the typo. But, then, when I have typos in my plays, and the actor says the typo, I generally enjoy that too, and ask them to keep doing that, because I am irresponsible and amused by little moments of roughness.
posted by Astro Zombie at 10:37 AM on August 7, 2008

You must still do your version, Cortex.
posted by Astro Zombie at 10:43 AM on August 7, 2008

Here's a kind of long one I haven't got around to doing music for yet. Epic, even! But I can't see anybody'd be interested in that kind of thing.

Hm, here's another shorter one that's been lying around for awhile. I do tend to like story-telling kind of stuff.
posted by Wolfdog at 11:17 AM on August 7, 2008

You must still do your version, Cortex.

Damn right. There's no such thing as too many accursed hats.
posted by languagehat at 11:51 AM on August 7, 2008

Damn right. There's no such thing as too many accursed hats.

Although to be perfectly honest, you might be biased.

I'm on to you
posted by Stunt at 2:38 PM on August 7, 2008

I've got about 12 gazillion songs, and it's only about 10% of them that I've gotten around to recording yet. Here's one I'd love to hear someone else's treatment of:

couldn't tell you why

i was at the top of my game
sitting on top of the world
life was sweet and to top it all off
i was in love with the perfect girl
she was making my dinner one evening
everything was just about right
but i opened up the back door
and headed out into the night
i slipped away on the sly
and even i couldn't tell you why

i wandered down through mexico
and then on down to belize
settled into an easy life down there
like a sweet breeze through the palm trees
met a fine young woman made a very tasty
coconut chicken stew
it was the very definition of paradise
so of course what did i do
i slipped away on the sly
and even i couldn't tell you why

so now here i am in cleveland
living in a parking lot
twenty degrees below zero
you want snow, hey we got a lot
the skies are gray and the people are mean
and i haven't got a lousy dime
there's just one thing i think about
i think about it all the time
how i slipped away on the sly
and even i couldn't tell you why
even i couldn't tell you why

Copyright Samm Bennett etc. etc.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:38 PM on August 7, 2008

I am really impressed by everyone who posted! What a talented group. I will brave these gentle, temperate waters with my own lyrics-looking-for-a-melody.

the ocean is wide
the earth turns and turns
my path curves and cuts the night in half
my bag by my side
in my pocket burns
your letter and your photograph

the ocean is wide but it's nothing to me
i'd cross twenty times over this wrinkled sea
i can't conquer you but i'll conquer geography

you'll see me and frown
you'll see me and turn
you'll see me and then i can let you go
and then i can drown
and then i can burn
whichever i choose, you'll never know

the ocean is wide but it's nothing to me
i'd cross twenty times over this wrinkled sea
i can't conquer you but i'll conquer geography
posted by prefpara at 6:43 PM on August 7, 2008

I'll jump in. Just put up a song in need of lyrics if anyone would like to take a shot!
posted by gfrobe at 3:21 AM on August 8, 2008