It's not so much the lyrics here, but the delivery-
"There’s a lone soldier on the cross, smoke pourin’ out of a boxcar door!
You didn’t know it, you didn’t think it could be done, in the final end he won the wars
After losin’ - every battle."
Artist = Bob Zimmerman (ok fine, Dylan)
Song = Idiot Wind
Album = Blood on the Tracks
Year = 1975
I love this whole album except for that Jack of Hearts song. This is a breakup album, and sadly - that kind of pain usually makes for one amazing album (see Beck's "Sea Change").
Here's another piece of lyrics from "You're A Big Girl Now" also off of Blood on The Tracks.
"A change in the weather is known to be extreme.
But what’s the sense of changing horses in midstream?
I’m going out of my mind, oh, oh
With a pain that stops and starts,
Like a corkscrew to my heart.
Ever since we’ve been apart."
The lyrics are great but again, the delivery is really what makes it special for me.
There are better lyrics out there no doubt. These are not my all time favorite ever. Just some things that came to mind when the question of favorite lyrics was asked. Some contenders, if you will.
"I ain’t sayin’ you treated me unkind. You could have done better but I don’t mind. You just kinda wasted my precious time. But don’t think twice, it’s all right."
-Bob Dylan