Tired: "Woke up this morning." Wired: "Stayed in bed all morning."

by Amanda Rodgers

Way back in the dark ages of the Internet, I used to follow the MySpace page of indie-rock band Hem. Dan Messe, their chief songwriter, kept a blog there where he talked about various music-related topics, and the one post I still remember was about the importance of a memorable first line. According to him, a good first line can make or break a song. He favored lines that set a scene or a mood with a few well-chosen words, and was particularly down on tired clichés like “woke up this morning” and all its variants. 

One of the examples he used of a particularly good first line was from “Duncan” by Paul Simon: “Couple in the next room bound to win a prize/They’ve been going at it all night long.” Those few words tell you immediately that the narrator is down on his luck enough that he’s stuck in a cheap motel where the walls are far too thin, and you want to know what happened and how he got there. 

And Dan Messe put his money where his mouth is. Many Hem songs have excellent first lines, especially the beautiful “Half Acre” (possibly their best song): “I am holding half an acre/Torn from the map of Michigan.” And there’s not a “woke up this morning” to be found. 

Of course, that isn’t to say that a song has to have a great first line in order to be a good song. Even my beloved Moody Blues fell into the “I woke up today” trap with “Lost in a Lost World,” which is an otherwise terrific song. But I agree with Dan that the first line of a song is a great opportunity to pull someone in, and it shouldn’t be wasted.

So ever since I read that post, I’ve taken notice when I hear a song that has an especially good first line, particularly ones that drop you right into the middle of a scene. Here are some of our favorites. Some of these are very obvious, and others are a little more obscure, but they all pull you right into the song and make you want to hear more. Tell us your own favorite first lines in the comments!

Amanda’s picks:

“Stayed in bed all morning just to pass the time”

Carole King – “It’s Too Late” 

“It was Christmas Eve, babe/In the drunk tank”

The Pogues – “Fairytale of New York” 

“When I think back on all the crap I learned in high school/It’s a wonder I can think at all”

Paul Simon – “Kodachrome”

 “So you think your schooling is phony/I guess it’s hard not to agree”

Supertramp – “Bloody Well Right”

“I proposed to a woman for a man last night”

Eleanor Friedberger – “Are We Good?”

“I don’t believe in an interventionist God/But I know, darling, that you do”

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – “Into My Arms”

“If there’s a goal that everyone remembers/It was back in ‘72”

The Tragically Hip – “Fireworks”

“We already wrecked the rental car”

The Decemberists – “Mistral”

“I hurt myself today/To see if I still feel”

Nine Inch Nails – “Hurt”

“It’s getting to the point where I’m no fun anymore”

Crosby, Stills, and Nash – “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes”

“Now look at them yo-yos/That’s the way you do it/You play the guitar on the MTV”

Dire Straits – “Money for Nothing”

“The giant of Illinois died from a blister on his toe”

The Handsome Family – “The Giant of Illinois”

John’s pick:

"Long ago grass was green, sex was bad and obscene, and the rich were so mean"

The Kinks - "Victoria"

Mike’s pick:

“This is the day of the expanding man”

Steely Dan - “Deacon Blues”

Rich’s picks:

“I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together”

The Beatles - “I Am the Walrus”

“Well here you go again, you say you want your freedom”

Fleetwood Mac - “Dreams”

“Back in the day when I was a teenager, before I had status and before I had a pager”

A Tribe Called Quest - “Excursions”

“Welcome to your life, there’s no turning back”

Tears for Fears, “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”

“Yo, picture bloodbaths and elevator shafts, like this murderous rhymes tight with genuine craft”

Genius/GZA - “Duel of the Iron Mic”

“Fast food feels fuzzy, ‘coz it’s made from stuff that’s scuzzy”

The Beets - “Killer Tofu”