Best/most moving instances of lyrics complementing music and vice versa

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A bit of a spin on the old anti-lyrics burlesque dance. I'm talking about cases where the lyrics, if written on a page, would not be notable in themselves but accompanied with whatever music are effective. An example for me would be Scott Walker's "On Your Own Again" when he sings, "Except when it began, I was so happy, I didn't feel like me". I guess this is also related to how cliched sentiments are effective when used in song. But anyway, what are yr favourite instances?

― , Sunday, 31 July 2005 15:53 (twenty years ago)

Oh, god, too numerous to mention. A current favorite is Nick Cave's "O Children," the gospel choir part. I mean, they just sing "o children."

― joseph cotten (joseph cotten), Sunday, 31 July 2005 16:34 (twenty years ago)

"But it's a last -- FATAL FUCK!"

Kitchens of Distinction's "Hammer", where the music goes from being almost harrowingly depressive and kicks into those wonderfully horrifying layered squalls of feedback that go on for three minutes. Oof.

― The Gospel Comes to New Guinea (Eastern Mantra), Sunday, 31 July 2005 16:39 (twenty years ago)

Most Castanets and Herman Düne songs.

― sibsi (sibsi), Monday, 1 August 2005 17:50 (twenty years ago)

New Order to thread!

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Monday, 1 August 2005 17:59 (twenty years ago)

New Order to thread.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Monday, 1 August 2005 19:15 (twenty years ago)

bowie's 'drifting into my solitude' (or whatever it is) while the music kind of swoons in 'sound and vision'

― tylero (tylero), Monday, 1 August 2005 20:02 (twenty years ago)

all good songs ever to thread

starting with "Your Love".

― Ronan (Ronan), Monday, 1 August 2005 20:15 (twenty years ago)

Lycia - "A Presence in the Woods." But for now I stand here in the woods / And I FEEL YOU... The whole song really sounds like standing in a forest with dead leaves swirling around you and some sort of spectral presence pervading.

― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Monday, 1 August 2005 21:02 (twenty years ago)

Mark Kozelek is great at this - "Have You Forgotten" when the pedal steel comes in, and it's all warm nostalgia. "Backyard summer pools / And Christmases were beautiful"

― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Monday, 1 August 2005 21:05 (twenty years ago)

Having just glanced at the current Spacemen 3 thread, I'm going to go with "Honey"

― Bong Boy (sgertz), Monday, 1 August 2005 21:15 (twenty years ago)

Mark Kozelek, definitely. Kate Bush too. there are others... maybe The Smiths. i tend to like this dynamice: simple straightforward lyrics which are fleshed out by the music. It seems to make for listenable emo.

― Susan Douglas (Susan Douglas), Monday, 1 August 2005 21:20 (twenty years ago)

I heard the words in secret code
the day we played to please the lord
but you never really cared for music do ya
well it goes like this, the fourth, the fifth
the minor fall and the major lift
the baffled king composing, hallelujah

― Shakey Mo Collier, Monday, 1 August 2005 21:25 (twenty years ago)

Malkmus's echoey or tremeloed guitar or whatever it is introducing Silver Jews's "The Wild Kindness." It matches Berman's pledge to "spurn the sin of giving in."

― steve hise, Monday, 1 August 2005 21:44 (twenty years ago)

All of "Pale Blue Eyes" by the Velvet Underground.
The horns in "Can't Hardly Wait" by the Replacements after many of the lines by Westerberg.

― Adam Harrison-Friday, Monday, 1 August 2005 21:47 (twenty years ago)

The real lyrics are great too.

― Eman Lluf Ruoy, Tuesday, 2 August 2005 17:52 (twenty years ago)

velvet underground-heroin, muddy waters - mannish boy, lots of nick drake and rage

inappropriate lyrics that dont complement music: spiritualized - don't just do something, violent femmes - ugly

― buyabiznatch, Monday, 8 August 2005 02:28 (twenty years ago)

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