Monday, May 23, 2005

Cool opening lines

Prolly a bunch of other cats have already posted something like this on their blogs, so I'm making no claim of originality here... but...

Call me Ishmael. Actually, don't call me that, call me Jerry. "Call me Ishmael" is of course the opening line of MOBY DICK. And next to "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth," and maybe "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times," it might be the most recognizable opening line to a book. At work, I was listening to Bob Dylan, and as I heard the first line of "Like a Rolling Stone" ("Once upon a time you dressed so fine. You threw the bums a dime in your prime, didn't you?"), I was reminded of how effective an opening line to a song can be. It got me to thinking about cool opening lines to popular songs. Here's five I thought of:

1. "You've got a lot of nerve to say you are my friend. When I was down, you just stood there grinning." -- Positively 4th Street, by Bob Dylan.

2. "I pulled into Nazareth, was feeling 'bout half past dead." -- The Weight, by the Band.

3. "I saw a werewolf with a Chinese menu in his hand, walking through the streets of Soho in the rain." -– Werewolves in London, by Warren Zevon.

4. "Hey Joe, where you goin' with that gun in your hand?" -- Hey Joe, by Jimi Hendrix.

5. "Gimme back that wig I bought you, black woman. Let your doggone head go bald." -- Wig Wearin' Woman, by Lightnin' Hopkins.

Oh, I thought of some more, but I'd like to hear some from you guys.

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