Eagles Lyrics - Favorite One-Liners (or Two)

[Tori]

If we could slip into solo mode for a moment...not that I have a line of lyrics that I'm going to post about... The entire song of Dirty Laundry. Talk about a song with lyrics that mean something and probably mean more now than when it was written. If I had to pick a favorite, it would be People love it when you lose.

I love the entirety of Dirty Laundry too. Always loved the message about the media and I've been known to quote it when I hear things about people that they may not necessarily want me to know, lol. Just leave well enough alone, I suppose!

[secondchances]

I really love this thread because there are so many lyrics that make their songs incredible. My all-time favorite is from Wasted Time:

She didn't love the boy too much
no, no
She just loved the boy too well.

If that doesn't speak to you then you have (fortunately for you, I suppose) never been in that situation. I sure have

[DJ]

Few come to mind quickly:

1.Don't Let The Sound Of Your Own Wheels Drive You Crazy

2.The Devil Prays On Runaways, He's Never Far Behind

3.You Can Check Out Anytime You Like, But You Can Never Leave

4. Move in, can't you see she wants you
She has you deep in her eyes
You been wonderin' why she haunts you
Beauty in the devil's disguise

5. In That Big Book Of Names I Wanna Go Down In Flames!

6. She’s cool water
Her mama taught her


7. When you're out there on your own
Where your memories can't find you


8. Tell me, scarlet sun
What will time allow?
We have brought our children here
Who can save them now?

9. Then I said, "Who's that
Underneath that Stetson hat?
Where did she come from?

Okay I'm Done. Whoops more than one or two lines. Sorry

[Jonny Come Lately]

Just thought about it and I was shocked when I realised that there was one absolutely classic two-liner from Take It Easy which no one has mentioned:

Well I'm standing on a corner in Winslow Arizona and it's such a fine sight to see
It's a girl my lord in a flatbed Ford slowin' down to take a look at me

Five more favourites of mine (which haven't been mentioned already):
- We're gonna hit the road one last time, we're gonna walk right in and steal 'em blind (Bitter Creek)
- You see it your way, I see it mine, but we both see it slipping away (BOML)
- He had a nasty reputation as a cruel dude, they said he was ruthless, they said he was crude (LITFL)
- Well he sits up there on his leatherette, looks through pictures of the ones that he hasn't had yet (King Of Hollywood) (I know the tawdry nature of the lyrics put some people off but I think this is a great opening image which instantly shows what a greasy sleaze ball the 'King' really is)
- All your romantic liaisons don't deal with eternal questions like, 'Who left the cap on the freaking toothpaste?', 'Whose turn to take the garbage out' (Frail Grasp On The Big Picture)

Plus two which need to be put together from Desperado and the DD/D (Reprise):
- Don't you draw the Queen of Diamonds boy, she'll beat you if she's able
- The Queen Of Diamonds let you down, she was just an empty fable

Writing these down just reminds me of all of the other great lyrics in these two songs (the first one that sprung to mind was 'now it seems to me some fine things have been laid upon your table, but you only want the ones that you can't get'). I have to say I relate very strongly to a lot of the lyrics from Desperado, I guess I feel a bit like the desperado in the song at times in my life although I want to avoid his mistakes and draw the Queen of Hearts.

If I was to rank the Eagles albums in order of the quality of the lyrics, I think the order would be like this:

1. Hotel California
2. Desperado
3. Long Road Out Of Eden
4. On The Border
5. One Of These Nights
6. The Long Run
7. Eagles

Hotel California and Desperado are definitely the top two for lyrics I think, just about all of the songs on these two albums have strong lyrics, HC edges it because I think all of its songs have great lyrics whereas Twenty One and Out Of Control have some strong lines but can't quite match the others lyrically (also, the four songs on side one of the HC album have so many classic lines that this cann LROOE deserves third place I think, it's got two of their top ten lyric songs overall (the outstanding WITW and the title track) and several others I rate highly, with How Long, BBF and Frail Grasp being personal favourites in this regard. I must say I also really like the lyrics to LGITT (I seem to be one of the few here who loves this song, although I don't wish to go off topic too much).

It was close between On The Border and One Of These Nights but I think the latter is slightly stronger overall where most of the songs are lyrically strong with a few standouts (IMO these are Already Gone, My Man, GDIH and perhaps controversially YNCLAL), whereas One Of These Nights has a mix of great lyrics (Lyin' Eyes, TITTL and ATTIG are all very strong, Too Many Hands and Hollywood Waltz are decent too) and some of their weakest (IWYP is just weak by Eagles standards, and I don't care for the Visions lyrics at all).

The debut album definitely feels like the weakest set of lyrics to me where Tryin' and Earlybird (save for the odd line) are nothing special lyrically and Chug All Night is, well, Chug All Night. Having said this the big three singles all have strong lyrics, with MOUAS also having a few memorable lyrics. The rest are decent rather than outstanding.

The Long Run is a bit of a curate's egg for lyrics, with The Sad Café being among Don's very best IMO, with the title track, ICTYW, ITC and King Of Hollywood also being quite strong. However, it contains Greeks and Teenage Jail which are both amongst their worst lyrics (I say this even as one of TJ's biggest fans) and TDS is very average - the 'Rome is burning' line is inspired and the rest is meh, but lyrics are the least of that song's issues... The lyrics of HT and Those Shoes are okay, but I can take or leave them. In my mind those songs are more about the music so I don't think about their lyrics much.

I think it reflects well on the Eagles' growth as songwriters that I consider the lyrics from their first album to be the weakest with LROOE being the third strongest - I can think of certain artists that never really improved or if anything got weaker (Oasis and Coldplay are two modern bands whose lack of growth as songwriters beyond their second albums has prevented them from ascending the pantheon IMO, they each wrote plenty of hits but I don't think they really progressed significantly from their early songs. Of the Eagles' peers I would say America were limited by their lyrics - I like A Horse With No Name but no Eagles hit has lyrics like 'the heat was hot'), and they managed for the most part to maintain the high standard set by the Desperado album.

[Ive always been a dreamer]

This is a fun thread. I think I could have picked a better name for it though because I didn't really intend this to necessarily be limited to one or two lines. Hey, we're talking Eagles songs here - in some cases a whole verse may be worthy of inclusion.

In reading everyone's comments, I was thinking that I could probably find a really good lyric in just about everyone of their songs, so I'm going to start at the beginning and post a few at a time that may not have already been mentioned ...

Take It Easy - Heck, this song has so many great lines that we could probably post the entire song, but a few others that stand out to me are the oft quoted "Lighten up while you still can", as well as one of the great double entendres "We may lose and we may win, but we will never be here again, so open up I'm climbin' in".

Witchy Woman - I love the imagery of "A restless spirit on an endless flight", as well as, "She drove herself to madness with a silver spoon", although I had no idea what this one meant for the longest time.

Chug All Night - I think there a few really good lines in this one. My favorite is probably "I'm wired for sound. Are you wired for light?" - very clever.

[AlreadyGone95]

You Are Not Alone

I only discovered the song a few weeks ago, but I love it, especially the lyrics. I've been through alot in my relatively short life(death of my father as a kid,abuse, mom's unpleasant boyfriends and her preferring them over me, not getting along with my mom), so I can easily relate to this song. My teenage years were a complete hell. Looking back, I'm shocked that I came out of them alive, much less whole and not in trouble with the law. Music was my savior, my constant companion. I'm still dealing with the aftermath of my teen years(nearly positive that I have ptsd). My mom(actually most of my family) don't care, so to hear something positive like that song really helps. I'm glad that I discovered it. I wish that I had known about it 3 years ago. It would've been on repeat more than it is now.

ETA : forgot to post the lyrics
Say goodbye to all your pain and sorrow
Say goodbye to all those lonely nights
Say goodbye to all your blue tomorrows
Now you're standing in the light

I know sometimes you feel so helpless
Sometimes you feel like you can't win
Sometimes you feel so isolated
You'll never have to feel that way again

You are not alone
You're not alone

Never thought I'd find the road to freedom
Never thought I'd see you smile again
Never thought I'd have the chance to tell you
That I will always be your friend

You are not alone
You're not alone

[MaryCalifornia]

"Oh my God, I can't believe, it's happening again..."

"They will never forget you til somebody new comes along..."

"Aren't we the same two people who lived through years in the dark..."

In so many Eagles songs it is not only the lyrics, but the delivery. The slow phrasing, with pauses in between words, is what makes these so effective. They're not rushed, they allow the line to find it's own pace. It's not just ICTYW that "has a lot of air in it." It's the way the songs are sung AND the VOICE. I don't think these lines would have had the same effect with somebody else delivering them.

And yes, agree with prior posts - there is SOMETHING about "Ain't it hard when you're all alone in the center ring?" that just brings chills every time. But it's not the lyrics, it's the delivery.

[GlennLover]

And yes, agree with prior posts - there is SOMETHING about "Ain't it hard when you're all alone in the center ring?" that just brings chills every time. But it's not the lyrics, it's the delivery.

I agree MC. Love that line!

[bluefeather]

I feel for you AG and all my best wishes for the rest of your life, like somebody said earlier you really are the coolest twenty year old

back on topic: the whole of You Are Not Alone is lyrically very beautiful and touching, one of my absolute favorites

favorite one-( or two)liners:
- "it's a girl my lord, in a flat-bed ford" the most hilariously memorable line in their catalog that never ceases to amuse me
-"don't let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy" this speaks to me deeply because I have constant issues with over-thinking everything
-"your pain and your hunger are driving you home" the sad and desperate situation of the person Don if singing about/to is very touching especially when delivered with Don's voice
-"we may win and we may lose but we will never be here again" this is empowering as an encouragement to jump on a chance without fearing failure because life just moves on if you fail and you don't have to go back to the situation/place
-"night after night you're willing to hold her, just hold her, tears on your shoulder" I like how this rhymes and I love Glenn's delivery, the sad romantic feeling is beautiful

[sodascouts]

I love to listen to lyrics and there are many ones that I adore (some of which have already been mentioned). Their fantastic lyrics are one of the reasons I love them so much. Here are a few with my thoughts in italics:

Take It Easy:
"Take it easy; don't let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy"
"We may lose and we may win, but we will never be here again"
Both of these are good things to remember when living one's life

Most of Us Are Sad:
"Tell me, scarlet sun, what will time allow?"
"I will sing you far away"
Love the metaphor in the first, the concept about the power of music in the second

Tequila Sunrise:
"Take Another shot of courage - wonder why the right words never come"
Nice metaphor and relatable

Desperado:
"Freedom, well that's just some people talking; your prison is walking through this world all alone"
"It may be raining, but there's a rainbow above you"
Both excellent metaphors and messages

Saturday Night
"Someone show me how to tell the dancer from the dance"
Again, lovely metaphor - very poignant

Bitter Creek
"Don't wade too deep in bitter creek"
Fantastic metaphor with a message that hits home

Doolin' Dalton / Desperado Reprise:
"(Is there gonna be anything left, is there gonna be anything?)
You sealed your fate up a long time ago
(Ain't it hard when you're all alone in the center ring?)
Now there's no time left to borrow
(Is there gonna be anything left?)
Only stardust
(Maybe tomorrow)"
These lines are very moving; you can really feel the sorrow and despair there; very clever metaphors, too


Stealing an idea from Dreamer... I'll wait to do more or this post will be overload!