Win Nick’s Voucher

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What’s your favourite opening line to a song?

That’s the question for you to ponder this week, with a shining €25 Golden Discs voucher to be won for the best entry.

Here’s mine.

The winner will be chosen by my publisher.

Please include video links if possible.

Lines MUST close at 6am [Saturday].

Nick says: Good luck!

Golden Discs

Last week’s bronzed winner here.

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166 thoughts on “Win Nick’s Voucher

  1. Fergus the magic postman

    I reached inside myself and found nothing there to ease the pressure of my ever worrying mind
    A-ha – The Sun Always Shinea On Tv

  2. Bertie Theodore Alphege Blenkinsop

    “Sweetness, sweetness
    I was only joking
    When I said I’d like to
    Smash every tooth in your head”

    The Smiths – Bigmouth Strikes Again

    1. yupyup

      They have some great openers when you think about it.

      “Hello, is there anybody in there”

      and “Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day”

  3. Slightly Bemused

    Oh my what a challenge! Not helped by that wonderful opener of Bertie’s! I may have to think on this.

  4. Tom Wong

    That’s a good one Bertie

    “A-wap-bopa-loopa-a-wap-bam–boo”

    Tutti Frutti – Little Richard

  5. Tarfton Clax

    Two more, then I’m outta here…

    Monster magnet:- Ozium https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fw528SJK2YU
    “I’m up to my brain in the mire of an ancient swamp
    Pteranadon smiles at me and flies up to god
    Baby let me drink deep from your globes of reality
    Writhe your naked ass to the mindless groove”

    and Leonard Cohen Avalanche

    stepped into an avalanche,
    It covered up my soul;
    When I am not this hunchback that you see,
    I sleep beneath the golden hill.
    You who wish to conquer pain,
    You must learn to serve me well.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3f0ADuVJhYQ

    1. Andyourpointiswhatexactly?

      Today was the day I discovered that the word is ‘time’ not ‘town’. Heh.

      1. Janet, dreams of big guns

        you’ll be singing yogurt in the shower in no time, as the French say

  6. Niall

    5 words:

    “Hello darkness my old friend…….”

    Grabs me every time.
    It’s no wonder it has been used to in so many movies from The Graduate to Trolls. My personal favourite is it’s use in the funeral scene in Watchmen.
    For a song that’s more than 50 years old, it’s more than proved it’s staying power.

    https://youtu.be/4fWyzwo1xg0

  7. Tarfton Clax

    Two more, then I’m outta here…

    Monster magnet:- Ozium https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fw528SJK2YU
    “I’m up to my brain in the mire of an ancient swamp
    Pteranadon smiles at me and flies up to god
    Baby let me drink deep from your globes of reality
    Writhe your naked ass to the mindless groove”

    and

  8. Friscondo

    Tom Waits gives excellent value for money on two great songs, consecutively, no less, on a faultless album.

    First up the title track from Swordfishtrombones, the singular Swordfishtrombone.
    “Well, he came home from the war with a party in his head
    And a modified Brougham DeVille”https://youtu.be/rDGhJtEsmj8

    Next is the previous track, Franks Wild Years,
    “Well, Frank settled down in the valley,
    And he hung his wild years on a nail that he drove through his wife’s forehead.”https://youtu.be/1I9GqxDA4ac

    If they don’t get your attention, you’re just not listening.

        1. Andyourpointiswhatexactly?

          Remember Ray Cokes? And Naughty Nympho Nina who ‘became’ Davina McCall.

  9. Janet, dreams of big guns

    “You used to get it in your fishnets, now you only get it in your night dress.”

    Artic Monkeys
    ( dedicated to Scottser and his fish fingers and purple granny pants)

    1. Janet, dreams of big guns

      “You can tell by the way I use my walk I’m a woman’s man no time to talk ”
      BeeGees
      my kinda man

  10. Janet, dreams of big guns

    What you want, baby, I got it!”

    Aretha Franklin.
    Cause Largin it on a Friday

  11. seimiq

    There’s two:
    “Caught between the twisted stars the plotted lines the faulty map that brought Columbus to New York Betwixt between the East and West he calls on her wearing a leather vest the earth squeals and shudders to a halt”
    https://youtu.be/0_8-Fm1vfw0

    And,
    “Just before our love got lost, you said
    “I am as constant as a northern star, ” and I said
    “Constantly in the darkness
    Where’s that at?
    If you want me, I’ll be in the bar”
    https://youtu.be/0YuaZcylk_o

    1. Tom Wong

      Serious contender here

      if you’re going to go that way

      I don’t know just where I’m going
      But I’m goin’ to try for the kingdom if I can
      ’cause it makes me feel like I’m a man
      When I put a spike into my vein

      or

      Shiny, shiny, shiny boots of leather, whiplash girlchild in the dark,Comes in bells, your servant, don’t forsake him
      Strike, dear mistress, and cure his heart

      etc

      1. Tom Wong

        1) Heroin – Lou Reed
        2) Venus in Furs – Lou Reed

        Imagine you wrote 2/3 songs like that, You could retire for ever

    2. Tom Wong

      Or:

      There’s a downtown fairy singing out Proud Mary
      As she cruises Christopher St
      And some Southern Queen is acting loud and mean
      where the docks and the Badlands meet

      – Halloween Parade, Lou Reed

      1. Johnny Green

        Holly came from Miami, F.L.A.
        Hitch-hiked her way across the U.S.A.
        Plucked her eyebrows on the way
        Shaved her legs and then he was a she

  12. Muchacho Gordo-Delgado

    How about this classic by the next President of the USA.
    “If you’re havin’ girl problems, I feel bad for you, son
    I got 99 problems, but a bit*h ain’t one”
    He doesn’t have a lisp, I put in a “*” to make it (slightly) less offensive
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goHYI21YKfc

  13. Johnny Green


    I was dreaming of the past
    And my heart was beating fast

    ..
    I’m just a jealous guy
    I was feeling insecure

    For the bro-good Hurray for the Riff Raff cover.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n14Q4vivph4

    Have a great weekend,surfs up- hey Italia headed Ditch Plains-Mtk-if your young lad is looking for a start,have him leave his number with any barman at the Shagwan(Main St Montauk)for Johnny Irish-landscaping with one the irish crews out there.

  14. Andyourpointiswhatexactly?

    ‘Tank fly boss walk jam nitty-gritty
    You’re listening to the boy from the big bad city‘

    Splendiferous nonsense.

  15. Andy Pipkin

    Brilliant open lyrics from someone so young,

    When routine bites hard
    And ambitions are low
    And resentment rides high
    But emotions won’t grow
    And we’re changing our ways
    Taking different roads

    https://youtu.be/zuuObGsB0No

  16. Muchacho Gordo-Delgado

    “I’m the trouble starter, punkin’ instigator, I’m the fear addicted, a danger illustrated, I’m a firestarter, twisted firestarter”
    The late, great, much lamented, Keith Flint’s snarling introduction to Firestarter, by The Prodigy.
    Who wasn’t shocked and frightened by this on first listen/view, only to learn afterwards that Keith was one of the nicest and kindest guys in the music business. R.I.P. Keith, this world is emptier without you.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmin5WkOuPw

  17. Muchacho Gordo-Delgado

    “It was a beautiful day, the sun beat down. I had the radio on, I was drivin’. Trees went by, me and Del were singin’. Little Runaway, I was flyin'”
    Another musical great, gone too soon. In just a few words he paints a perfect picture of driving a convertible through the unpopulated parts of America, without a care in the world.
    Tom Petty, Runnin’ Down A Dream.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1D3a5eDJIs

  18. goldenbrown

    Doobie Bros – What a Fool Believes

    He came from somewhere back in her long ago
    The sentimental fool don’t see
    Tryin’ hard to recreate
    What had yet to be created once in her life
    She musters a smile for his nostalgic tale
    Never coming near what he wanted to say
    Only to realize it never really was

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1Eu17DbeSo

  19. Muchacho Gordo-Delgado

    “Taumatawhakatangihangakoayauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukypokaiwhenuakitanatahu”
    The Lone Ranger by Quantum Jump
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hchOYs_d_Bw
    A song, about a fictional, Wild West hero, whose best friend’s name means “thicko” in Spanish? Whose opening word happens to be the longest place name in the world, in New Zealand? What could possibly beat this?

  20. Otis Blue

    “The car’s on fire and there’s no driver at the wheel
    And the sewers are all muddied with a thousand lonely suicides
    And a dark wind blows
    The government is corrupt
    And we’re on so many drugs
    With the radio on and the curtains drawn…”

    Dead Flag Blues – Godspeed You! Black Emperor

    https://youtu.be/-aLjup934Rk

  21. Gay Fawkes

    I took my love, I took it down
    Climbed a mountain and I turned around
    And I saw my reflection in the snow covered hills
    ‘Til the landslide brought me down

    Landslide – Fleetwood Mac

    1. Slightly Bemused

      I once worked with a lady who did sound for Fleetwood Mac many moons ago. She tells a story that Peter Fleetwood was not happy about Stevie Nicks coming on board, But Lindsay insisted.
      She says that the first time Stevie performed, Peter was in the wings watching. She captivated the audience, and captivated Peter. Since then, he never doubted.
      She still captivates. I do not know if you saw her perform with Lady A. They are great performers, but really, Stevie Nicks!
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpXgE9S6N5o&ab_channel=StevieNicks

  22. Smith

    Hand in glove
    The sun shines out of our behinds
    No, it’s not like any other love
    This one is different, because it’s us

    Even though Morrissey’s a total dose, it hasn’t tainted my love of The Smiths. Just played this and felt like I did first time I heard it. So immediate, unusual and arresting. Seemed to capture my teenage confusion and alienation instantaneously. I won’t go on…

    https://youtu.be/tnzLPYwDqas

  23. Danny

    Mama, just killed a man
    Put a gun against his head
    Pulled my trigger, now he’s dead
    Mama, life had just begun
    But now I’ve gone and thrown it all away

    But actually any song by Tom Waits

  24. Ouch

    ‘As they pulled you out of the oxygen tent, you asked for the latest party’.. Bowie – Diamond Dogs

  25. Danny

    And another one

    I can’t seem to face up to the facts
    I’m tense and nervous and I
    Can’t relax
    I can’t sleep ’cause my bed’s on fire
    Don’t touch me I’m a real live wire

    Talking Heads

    1. goldenbrown

      ah yes Minkey DeVille!
      a GREAT song

      I also have a vague childhood recollection of it being used in an ad for…Club Orange?

  26. Ouch

    Dearly beloved, we have gathered here today
    To get through this thing called life
    Electric word life it means forever and that’s a mighty long time
    But I’m here to tell you there’s something else (go crazy)

    Prince – Let’s go crazy

  27. Rugbyfan

    She sits alone by a lamppost, trying to find a thought that’s escaped her mind…..

    Let her cry.
    Hootie and The Blowfish

  28. The Tec Dr

    It has to be Fleetwood Mac’s Man of the world. The opening verse is so descriptive and describes Peter Green’s state of mind.

    Shall I tell you about my life
    They say I’m a man of the world
    I’ve flown across every tide
    And I’ve seen lots of pretty girls

    https://youtu.be/gOqe8_3i0iA

  29. Formerly known as @ireland.com

    Late entry – RIP Peter Green

    Can’t help about the shape I’m in
    I can’t sing, I aint pretty and my legs are thin
    But don’t ask me what I think of you
    I might not give the answer that you want me to

    The start of Oh Well (pt 1).

  30. Muchacho Gordo-Delgado

    “Uhraah! Uhraah! Bass!
    Ooh white, white
    Ooh white, white. Ooh white, white
    (Ooh white lines) vision dreams of passion
    (Blowin’ through my mind) and all the while I think of you
    (High fry) a very strange reaction
    (For us to unwind) the more I see, the more I do
    (Something like a phenomenon) baby
    (Tellin’ your body to come along, but white lines blow away)”

    A timely reminder from Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five of the dangers of the South American marching powder. DON’T DO IT!

  31. Bertie Theodore Alphege Blenkinsop

    “People like you always want back,
    The love they gave away,
    And people like me wanna believe you,
    When you say you’ve changed…”

    Taylor Swift – All you had to do was stay

    https://youtu.be/FLMgkV8BbbA

  32. Slightly Bemused

    Is it just me, or do others feel an obligation to the artist? If it is an official video I have no problem pausing, coming back, rewinding.
    But when it is of the singer doing a straight run through, I feel it is disrespectful to not listen all the way through.Even though it is YouTube, or Vevo, or whatever. They are not here, they won’t know.
    But I will.
    I have ended up in more rabbits holes that way, and enjoyed them all.

  33. bertie blenkinsop

    You might like this Slightly Bemused….

    “I am telling myself the story of my life,
    Stranger than song or fiction.
    We start with the joyful mysteries,
    Before the appearance of ether,
    Trying to capture the elusive:
    The farm where the crippled horses heal,
    The woods where autumn is reversed,
    And the longing for bliss in the arms
    Of some beloved from the past.”

    Prefab Sprout – I trawl the megahertz (all 22 epic minutes of it!)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-P7yVqJ9Wk

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