I can't find any recent threads discussing LP's lyrics so I'll start a new one. Do you think the songwriting on 'A Thousand Suns' has improved compared to their previous albums? Which lyrics do you connect with the most out LP's entire discography? Post up your top LP lyrics and feel free to include reasons as to why you like those specific lyrics. No Meteora bashing, please. --- These are my favourite lyrics: #1 "And in the end, we were made to be apart, like seperate chambers of the human heart" - Burning In The Skies #2 "You wrap me in your arms, and chill me to the bone" - In Pieces #3 "And in a burst of light that blinded every angel, as if the sky had blown the heavens into stars" - Iridescent
I really like "Lift me up, let me go" because if you think about it in a literal sense, if you lifted the person up and let them go they'd be hurting, the varying degrees of pain would be a direct result of how high they were lifted. And it's suppose to be a hopeful, encouraging and uplifting lyric, yet when you think about it's damn painful and that is ironic. I love me some lyrical irony.
I was actually just listening to the "Lift me up, let me go" part of The Catalyst as I read your post, haha. So do you like "mochiagete, tokihanashite" too?
For me, A Thousand Suns is a major lyrical improvement from their previous albums. The album shows a lot of maturity in the lyrics and instrumentation, and shows less angst in the lyrics. These are my favorite lyrics in no particular order. 1. "Mike show these pigs what kinda bacon you're on" - I Have Not Begun 2. "Floating down, as colors fill the light, we look up from the ground, in fields of paperwhite." - Blackout 3. "Standing alone with no direction, how did I fall so far behind? Why am I searching for perfection, knowing it's something I won't find?" No Roads Left
My favorite Lyrics : 1: Don't Stay forget our memories forget or possibilities, what you where changing me into , just gimme my self and don't stay - 2: Until it puts me Underground Till i have no pride and no roads left but one. 3: Like this,this isnt what I wanted to be, I never thought that what I said would have you running from me ,Like This- Lying From You
Here are my favorite lyrics: Why do I feel like I deserve this? Why does my pain look like my pride? (No Roads left) Because say what you will, and say what you might But don't ignore who it's for at the end of the night (Dedicated) My very very very favorite lines of all LP lyrics Even if you're not with me, I'm with you. (With you) We held our breath when the clouds began to form But you were lost in the beating of the storm And in the end we were made to be apart Like separate chambers of the human heart (Burning in the skies) Even the people who never frown Eventually break down (Pushing me away Remix) I will never know myself until I do this on my own (Somewhere I belong) Risk something, take back what's yours Say something that you know they might attack you for Cause I'm sick of being treated like I have before Like it's stupid standing for what I'm standing for (Hand Held High)
Yes! My favorite lyrics are from ATS, of Mike's verse on Blackout. "Floating down, as colours fill the light, you look up from the ground, in fields of paper white. And floating up, you pass us in the night, a future gazing out, a past to overwrite. So come down, far below, we've been waiting to collect the things you know. Come down, far below, we've been waiting to collect what you've let go. Come down, oh. Come down, oh. Come down. Oh. " Those lyrics are a perfect end to the song, they are very uplifting and epically beckoning and every single time I hear them I feel elated with euphoria, contemplation and immense inquiry. Combined with the music going from very energetic to extremely mellow, it's orgasmic. I also love all the lyrics to No Roads Left.
"And in the end we were made to be apart, like separate chambers of the human heart" probably has to be some of my favorite lyrics by Mike. I'm hoping that the next album has lyrics that poetic as well.
"Reverse psychology is failing miserably." I don't know how the hell did they come up with that... "When my time comes, forget the wrong that I've done." So simple and so brilliant
They've gotten better in this area but it's still probably the thing that's most likely to bring down a song of theirs.
I actually think Stephen Richards wrote those lyrics as he sings them in the remix. Could be wrong though.
Other favorites "We held our breath when the clouds began to form But you were lost in the beating of the storm And in the end we were made to be apart Like separate chambers of the human heart Swimming in the smoke, of bridges I have burned so don't apologize I'm losing what I don't deserve The blame is mine alone for bridges I have burned, so don't apologize I'm losing what I don't deserve" "With the cataclysm reigning down inside's crying "save me, now" you were there impossibly alone -- in burst of light that blinded every angel as if the sky had blown the heavens into stars" "You say , you're not gonna fight cause no one will fight for you and you think, there's not enough love and no one to give it too (fuck, *inserts the lyrics for robot boy in entirety*) "And I cannot explain to you in anything I say or do or plan fear is not afraid of you but guilt's a language you can understand and I cannot explain to you in anything I say or do but I hope the actions speak the words they can"
I love the lyrics to Dedicated, High Voltage, No Roads Left, Burning In The Skies, Iridescent, and 26 Lettaz In Da Alphabet the most out of any LP song.
between my pride my promise, between the lies and how the truth gets in the way. - in between a little piece of paper with the picture drawn floats on down the street until the wind is gone the memory now is like the picture was then when the paper's crumpled up it can't be perfect again. - forgotten so many people like me walk on eggshells all day long all I know that all I want is to feel like I'm not stepped on. - hit the floor. and it seems ugly but it to get worse cause even the blueprint is a gift and a curse, cause once you've got a theory of how the thing works everybody wants the next thing to be just like the first. - when they come for me. sorry for the crappy punctuation... I'm on my phone right now. I'll probably post more song lyrics later. These were what I thought of right off the top of my head.
I would say that from MTM and on, LP's lyrics have improved considerably. I owe this to Rubin having a less controlling style than Gilmore, and being a lot less hands on during the lyric writing process. Linkin Park's lyrics have always been better when they weren't rewritten a thousand times to sound more catchy (see: Meteora demos), and I think Rick's hands off method with MTM/ATS proves this hands down. Less tinkering is better in some cases.
You should brush your teeth and you should wash your hands - Announcement Service Public Backmasking.
I totally agree with you. I don't think the HT lyrics are too bad but LP had most of those songs written before they ever entered the studio with Gilmore. However, I've always thought the lackluster lyrics on Meteora (at least compared to what they are capable of) had something to do with Gilmore's insistence that they rewrite them over and over again.
Exactly, Meteora was a victim of overproducing. Gilmore was so determined to make that album another multi-platinum hit that it destroyed the album lyrically.