Lyrics Tier List (1,537 views)

[clem]

This list is for individual lyrics and songs, rather than the general lyrical work of an artist/lyricist.

S Tier
Refers to
- Wonderful lyrics. Poignant, insightful, and well-crafted. These would stand up as poetry on their own.

A Tier
Refers to
- Emotionally rich, and well put together lyrics. They still need the music to bring out the best in them, but these are good lyrics in every sense.

B Tier
Refers to either of
- Emotional depth, and mostly well put together, but a little flawed. 
- Making the very best of a flimsy/unrelatable/vulgar topic. It's not going to shed much light on the human experience, but the craft is still top notch.

C Tier
Refers to either of
- Not bad, but not all that thought-provoking either.
- Emotional depth, but not very well assembled. 

D Tier
Refers to any of
- Not even serving a flimsy/unrelatable/vulgar topic particularly well. It's acceptable, but there's little to praise in subject matter or word-craft.
- Emotional depth in the premise, but the use of language doesn't serve the subject matter at all well.
- Vague and rambly, but at least capable of conveying some kind of a general mood/vibe.

E Tier
Refers to
- Vague, rambly, and scarcely capable of conveying anything. These look like placeholder lyrics that somehow got through quality control. They purely function without adding anything.

F Tier
Refers to 
- Lyrics that handle heavy, unpleasant, sensitive etc. themes, and do an extremely poor job justifying that choice. Asks for a lot of effort from the listener/reader, and gives back less than what they started with.

[Rodney Blazershorts]

Oh gosh, where “Nobody’s Gonna Tell Me How to Live” by Kid Rock rank

[galaxyseal]

I'd argue that most of Mitski's discography is worthy of at least an A-Rank, if not S-Rank. However, I'd like to highlight "Last Words of a Shooting Star" in particular. Quite possibly her darkest and most depressing lyricism to date, the song entails Mitski reflecting on her life (past lovers, her existence in general, etc) as she writes about a terrifying experience on a heavily-turbulent plane as it's crashing down to her death. The "shooting star" in the title is quite literally the plane going down in a fiery descent.

SPOILER: Click to show

{"Last Words of a Shooting Star" lyrics. My favourite lines are in bold}All of this turbulence wasn't forecasted
Apologies from the intercom
And I am relieved that I'd left my room tidy
They'll think of me kindly when they come for my things
They'll never know how I'd stared at the dark in that room
With no thoughts, like a blood-sniffing shark
And while my dreams made music in the night, carefully
I was going to live

You wouldn't leave 'til we loved in the morning
You'd learned from movies how love ought to be
And you'd say you love me and look in my eyes
But I know through mine, you were looking in yours
And did you know the Liberty Bell is a replica
Silently housed in its original walls
And while its dreams played music in the night, quietly
It was told to believe

I always wanted to die clean and pretty
But I'd be too busy on working days
So I am relieved that the turbulence wasn't forecasted
I couldn't have changed anyways
I am relieved that I'd left my room tidy
Goodbye

[galaxyseal]

Oh! And how could I forget Taylor Swift. Who's quite literally known for her songwriting. The 10 minute version of "All Too Well" has some of my favourite lyrics from her to date. So I'll share some of my favourites from it too. This song is more than worthy of S-Tier imo.

Damn you Jake Gyllenhaal

SPOILER: Click to show

{"All Too Well (Ten Minute Version)" lyrics. Favourite lyrics in bold}I walked through the door with you, the air was cold
But somethin' 'bout it felt like home somehow
And I left my scarf there at your sister's house
And you've still got it in your drawer, even now

Oh, your sweet disposition and my wide-eyed gaze
We're singin' in the car, getting lost upstate
Autumn leaves fallin' down like pieces into place
And I can picture it after all these days

And I know it's long gone and
That magic's not here no more
And I might be okay, but I'm not fine at all
Oh, oh, oh

'Causе there we arе again on that little town street
You almost ran the red 'cause you were lookin' over at me
Wind in my hair, I was there
I remember it all too well

Photo album on the counter, your cheeks were turnin' red
You used to be a little kid with glasses in a twin-sized bed
And your mother's tellin' stories 'bout you on the tee-ball team
You taught me 'bout your past, thinkin' your future was me
And you were tossing me the car keys, "Fuck the patriarchy"
Keychain on the ground, we were always skippin' town
And I was thinkin' on the drive down, "Any time now
He's gonna say it's love," you never called it what it was
'Til we were dead and gone and buried
Check the pulse and come back swearin' it's the same
After three months in the grave
And then you wondered where it went to as I reached for you
But all I felt was shame and you held my lifeless frame

And I know it's long gone and
There was nothing else I could do
And I forget about you long enough
To forget why I needed to

'Cause there we are again in the middle of the night
We're dancin' 'round the kitchen in the refrigerator light
Down the stairs, I was there
I remember it all too well
And there we are again when nobody had to know
You kept me like a secret, but I kept you like an oath
Sacred prayer and we'd swear
To remember it all too well, yeah

Well, maybe we got lost in translation, maybe I asked for too much
But maybe this thing was a masterpiece 'til you tore it all up
Runnin' scared, I was there
I remember it all too well
And you call me up again just to break me like a promise
So casually cruel in the name of bein' honest
I'm a crumpled-up piece of paper lyin' here
'Cause I remember it all, all, all

They say all's well that ends well, but I'm in a new hell
Every time you double-cross my mind
You said if we had been closer in age, maybe it would've been fine
And that made me want to die
The idea you had of me, who was she?
A never-needy, ever-lovely jewel whose shine reflects on you
Not weepin' in a party bathroom
Some actress askin' me what happened, you
That's what happened, you
You who charmed my dad with self-effacing jokes
Sippin' coffee like you're on a late-night show
But then he watched me watch the front door all night, willin' you to come
And he said, "It's supposed to be fun turning twenty-one"

Time won't fly, it's like I'm paralyzed by it
I'd like to be my old self again, but I'm still tryin' to find it
After plaid shirt days and nights when you made me your own
Now you mail back my things and I walk home alone
But you keep my old scarf from that very first week
'Cause it reminds you of innocence and it smells like me
You can't get rid of it
'Cause you remember it all too well, yeah

'Cause there we are again when I loved you so
Back before you lost the one real thing you've ever known
It was rare, I was there
I remember it all too well
Wind in my hair, you were there
You remember it all
Down the stairs, you were there
You remember it all
It was rare, I was there
I remember it all too well

And I was never good at tellin' jokes, but the punch line goes
"I'll get older, but your lovers stay my age"
From when your Brooklyn broke my skin and bones
I'm a soldier who's returning half her weight
And did the twin flame bruise paint you blue?
Just between us, did the love affair maim you too?
'Cause in this city's barren cold
I still remember the first fall of snow
And how it glistened as it fell
I remember it all too well

Just between us, did the love affair maim you all too well?
Just between us, do you remember it all too well?
Just between us, I remember it (Just between us) all too well
Wind in my hair, I was there, I was there (I was there)
Down the stairs, I was there, I was there
Sacred prayer, I was there, I was there

(and then it repeats on into a fadeout)

['S]

For months now Buffy Sainte-Marie's songwriting has really stuck with me. A or S ig. They're not flowery, they're not haughty, just #onpoint. Helps that I prefer original arrangements of songs other people later on made into 'big ones'. l o l

SPOILER: Click to show

{'S-elections (different songs, mah faves in bold)}
I tippy-toe across your dream each night
So as not to wake you
Asleep in your summer
A garland of flowers
Yellow and white around your waist
.......................................................
When I was a young man I learned not to care
Wild whiskey, confronted I often did swear
My mother and father said whiskey is a curse
But the fate of their baby is many times worse
.......................................................
Some hang on what used to be
They live their lives, looking behind.
When all we have is here and now
All our lives up there to find
.......................................................
Dance me around again
Hold me like it's never gonna end
Finally I've found
Somebody who's always been a friend
.......................................................
Eagle man, climbing the skies.
Red light of evening falls like rain.
Rainbow's my yarn the sky is my loom
I will weave sunsets later on
.......................................................
Love junkies wanna change the world;
It quickly stays the same
.......................................................
Now if I had a way to reach the sky
I'd grab that crescent moon
Wield it like a knife
Save you from the lies
.......................................................
This love of mine
Had no beginning
It has no end
I was an oak
Now I'm a willow
Now I can bend
And tho' I'll never
In my life see you again
I still stay
Until it's time for you to go
.......................................................

[Aardvark]

Nov 29, 2021 1:48:10 GMT galaxyseal said:

Oh! And how could I forget Taylor Swift. Who's quite literally known for her songwriting. The 10 minute version of "All Too Well" has some of my favourite lyrics from her to date. So I'll share some of my favourites from it too. This song is more than worthy of S-Tier imo.

Damn you Jake Gyllenhaal

SPOILER: Click to show

{"All Too Well (Ten Minute Version)" lyrics. Favourite lyrics in bold}I walked through the door with you, the air was cold
But somethin' 'bout it felt like home somehow
And I left my scarf there at your sister's house
And you've still got it in your drawer, even now

Oh, your sweet disposition and my wide-eyed gaze
We're singin' in the car, getting lost upstate
Autumn leaves fallin' down like pieces into place
And I can picture it after all these days

And I know it's long gone and
That magic's not here no more
And I might be okay, but I'm not fine at all
Oh, oh, oh

'Causе there we arе again on that little town street
You almost ran the red 'cause you were lookin' over at me
Wind in my hair, I was there
I remember it all too well

Photo album on the counter, your cheeks were turnin' red
You used to be a little kid with glasses in a twin-sized bed
And your mother's tellin' stories 'bout you on the tee-ball team
You taught me 'bout your past, thinkin' your future was me
And you were tossing me the car keys, "Fuck the patriarchy"
Keychain on the ground, we were always skippin' town
And I was thinkin' on the drive down, "Any time now
He's gonna say it's love," you never called it what it was
'Til we were dead and gone and buried
Check the pulse and come back swearin' it's the same
After three months in the grave
And then you wondered where it went to as I reached for you
But all I felt was shame and you held my lifeless frame

And I know it's long gone and
There was nothing else I could do
And I forget about you long enough
To forget why I needed to

'Cause there we are again in the middle of the night
We're dancin' 'round the kitchen in the refrigerator light
Down the stairs, I was there
I remember it all too well
And there we are again when nobody had to know
You kept me like a secret, but I kept you like an oath
Sacred prayer and we'd swear
To remember it all too well, yeah

Well, maybe we got lost in translation, maybe I asked for too much
But maybe this thing was a masterpiece 'til you tore it all up
Runnin' scared, I was there
I remember it all too well
And you call me up again just to break me like a promise
So casually cruel in the name of bein' honest
I'm a crumpled-up piece of paper lyin' here
'Cause I remember it all, all, all

They say all's well that ends well, but I'm in a new hell
Every time you double-cross my mind
You said if we had been closer in age, maybe it would've been fine
And that made me want to die
The idea you had of me, who was she?
A never-needy, ever-lovely jewel whose shine reflects on you
Not weepin' in a party bathroom
Some actress askin' me what happened, you
That's what happened, you
You who charmed my dad with self-effacing jokes
Sippin' coffee like you're on a late-night show
But then he watched me watch the front door all night, willin' you to come
And he said, "It's supposed to be fun turning twenty-one"

Time won't fly, it's like I'm paralyzed by it
I'd like to be my old self again, but I'm still tryin' to find it
After plaid shirt days and nights when you made me your own
Now you mail back my things and I walk home alone
But you keep my old scarf from that very first week
'Cause it reminds you of innocence and it smells like me
You can't get rid of it
'Cause you remember it all too well, yeah

'Cause there we are again when I loved you so
Back before you lost the one real thing you've ever known
It was rare, I was there
I remember it all too well
Wind in my hair, you were there
You remember it all
Down the stairs, you were there
You remember it all
It was rare, I was there
I remember it all too well

And I was never good at tellin' jokes, but the punch line goes
"I'll get older, but your lovers stay my age"
From when your Brooklyn broke my skin and bones
I'm a soldier who's returning half her weight
And did the twin flame bruise paint you blue?
Just between us, did the love affair maim you too?
'Cause in this city's barren cold
I still remember the first fall of snow
And how it glistened as it fell
I remember it all too well

Just between us, did the love affair maim you all too well?
Just between us, do you remember it all too well?
Just between us, I remember it (Just between us) all too well
Wind in my hair, I was there, I was there (I was there)
Down the stairs, I was there, I was there
Sacred prayer, I was there, I was there

(and then it repeats on into a fadeout)

I was gonna say this one. Her lyrics are absolutely phenomenal. I think “Red”, “Clean”, “Back to December”, and “All Too Well” have particularly amazing lyrics. I’d throw “Blank Space” in that too. I still think the “nightmare dressed like a daydream” line is brilliantly written and delivered.

[clem]

Quite a few Judas Priest lyrics are heading straight for the E Tier.
"Hell Patrol" for example. I don't feel I know much more about the Hell Patrol, whomever they may be, after reading the lyrics. There's just enough cohesion to prevent them detracting significantly from the song (and the song is a banger). But the second verse feels almost like the one before run through a thesaurus. There's no new information. 

SPOILER: Click to show

{Hell Patrol being E tier}Like wild fire
Comes roaring
Mad whirlwind
Burning the road
Black thunder
White lightning
Speed Demons cry
The Hell Patrol
The Hell Patrol

Night riders
Death dealers
Storm-bringers
Tear up the ground
Fist flying
Eyes blazing
They're glory bound
The Hell Patrol
The Hell Patrol

Protest the Hero are an example of a band who have lyrically stepped down a lot. Their first album, when Arif was writing the lyrics, was pretty fantastic in terms of lyrical content. For lyrics written by a 17 year old, there aren't many better, particularly as it was a concept album that synergised across the songs really nicely.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Arif's sick bars} Better think of my answers now because I know the questions with be asked
Like if I brought the joy I found in the confessions of a mask
The tip of my tongue's already touching the top of my mouth
It's meaning manifest in mercy burning down the house
It's true that tactless teem totem-poles turn tolerance to tired taboos
It's true that a bullet never knocks on the door, it's about to come crashing through
Walking one last mile in big steps as your alter-wine
Doing it in tattered shoes that aren't even mine
Because my own are in a box locked up with possessions I can't have
Like the gunman with his future and the prison priest's golden calf

Blindfolds aside I'd probably still close my eyes
And try to feel a trembling fetal life inside that shotgun barrel that's about to make me bleed
Like an ulcer in the stomach of the beast
Like a little girl on a bed that was years ago deceased
Resurrected last night with a letter she can't trace
Resurrected to be killed and maybe born again
I'll always be Kezia so long as any hope remains

But sadly his lyrical contributions became fewer, and then he left the band. Rody writes the lyrics now, and it's gone from progressive concept that makes you question normalised practices and roles to overzealous LibLeft rants. Often I agree with the stances, but feel alienated because of the rhetoric.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Rody comparing dog legislation to the Kristallnacht}Maybe you should concentrate
On the vicious people and the alarming rate
Of murderers and drug dealers with whom you share
No regard for life before you set and ensnare the same victims.
Outlining the qualities by combining varied breeds.
Breed specific legislation falls flat on its only short snout.
A death squad assembled. Why put up a fight?
The round up resembles a Crystal Night.

I agree it's the owner's fault, and not the dog if the owner raises them to be dangerous. But that comparison isn't endearing.

[Seb]

S tier for Foreigner

[Smitty.]

SPOILER: Click to show

{Eminem - FACK}Lyrics
Owwww, owwww, owwww (Oh, god damn!)
I'm gonna facking cum! (Oh, shit!)
Fack, fack, fack (Fuck, I am!)
I am, I'm going to cum (I'm cumming!)
I never seen no chick like this
This bitch can twist like a damn contortionist
Condom on my dick? Of course it is
This bitch don't know what abortion is
So I can't cum in her, fucks like a porn star
Looks like Jenna, fuck I'm gonna
Cum, I think my rubber's comin' off
But oh, it's so fucking wet and soft
Fuck, I'm gonna start lettin' off
I'm squirting and she's not gettin' off
And she's on top, I'm gonna facking
Oh, god, oh, don't do that
Don't, stop, stop, don't, I don't mean "don't stop"
Ow, wait a minute, ow, ow, fuck
I, I'm gonna fucking cum!
Owwww, owwww, owwww (Oh, god damn!)
I'm gonna fucking cum! (Oh, shit!)
Fack, fack, fack (Fuck, I am!)
I am, I'm going to cum (I'm cumming!)
Ooh, wow, boom that pow
Ooh, ow, I need a cigarette now
Ow, I'm so fucking hot
And you're so fucking hot
Oh my god, I wanna facking fack
No not "fuck", I said "fack"
F-A-C-K, F-A-C-K
Fack, fack, fack, facking freak me!
Oh yeah, girl see, baby, they call me Mr. Freaky
Let's call your sister, three-way
Have some threesome, me so horny
And you're such a fucking babe
I wanna go down on you, fuck, you shaved?!
Oh, god damn, here I go again
I'm gonna cum, I am!
Owwww, owwww, owwww (Oh, god damn!)
I'm gonna facking cum! (Oh, shit!)
Fack, fack, fack (Fuck, I am!)
I am, I'm going to cum (I'm cumming!)
I'm Slim Shady, uh uh uh
I'm Slim Shady, uh uh uh
I'm Slim Shady, uh uh uh
I'm Slim Shady, uh uh uh
Okay, I'm done, I already came twice
You ain't gonna make me cum
I'm all outta gas, not so fast
Uh, your finger just went in my ass
Ow, that hurts, take it out now
Oh, wait a minute, aw
Put it back in, in-in-in
This don't mean I'm gay, I don't like men
I like boobs, boobs, boobs
Now see that gerbil, grab that tube
Shove it up my butt
Let that little rascal nibble on my asshole, uhh
Yeah, right there, right there
Ahh, I'm cumming, oh, yeah
Fack, I just came again
Okay, pull it out now, enhh
Oh, fuck yeah
Wait, he's not out, he's still crawling around up there
Ow, fuck, I think it's stuck
Ow, but it feels so fucking good
Owwww, owwww, owwww (Oh, god damn!)
I'm gonna facking cum! (Oh, shit!)
Fack, fack, fack (Fuck, I am!)
I am, I'm going to cum (I'm cumming!)
Shove a gerbil in your ass through a tube
Shove a gerbil in your ass through a tube
Shove a gerbil in your ass through a tube
Shove a gerbil in your ass through a tube
Ew, ew, ew, ew

absolute god tier.

[clem]

Metallica have been a mixed bag. Master of Puppets, Justice and the Black Album had some pretty good lyrics.
I'd say "Disposable Heroes" qualifies as a solid B Tier song, lyrically, taking some inspiration from war poetry.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Wars Suck}Barking of machine gun fire, does nothing to me now
Sounding of the clock that ticks, get used to it somehow
More a man, more stripes you bare, glory seeker trends
Bodies fill the fields I see
The slaughter never ends

Soldier boy, made of clay
Now an empty shell
Twenty one, only son
But he served us well
Bred to kill, not to care
Do just as we say
Finished here, greetings death
He's yours to take away

They tried a weird approach to lyric writing on St. Anger, just shouting out phrases as a group, until something started to take shape. It was a bit crummy for the most-part. I'm feeling a very weak D Tier.

SPOILER: Click to show

{KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL}Hate me now
Kill all within my hands
Hate me now
Crush all within my hands
Squeeze all within my hands
Choke all within my hands
Hate me now
Trap all within my hands
Hurry up and hate me now
Kill all within my hands again
I'll die if I let go

Control is love, love is control
I'll fall if I let go
Control is love, love is control
I will only let you breathe
My air that you receive
Then we'll see if I let you love me
Kill kill kill kill kill

On Hardwired, it felt like they'd really taken the foot off the gas with lyrics. James described the lyrical process as starting with a one-liner and extrapolating more out of it. The results were poor. D/E Tier.

SPOILER: Click to show

{We're so effed}Once upon a planet burning
Once upon a flame
Once upon a fear returning
All in vain
Do you feel that hope is fading?
Do you comprehend?
Do you feel it terminating
In the end?

We're so fucked
Shit outta luck
Hardwired to self-destruct

[Baronessa]

There's two versions of this song and the Mark Sandman arrangement does way more justice to the theme of the song while the Morphine version is much superior lyrically. The Mark Sandman version is a sketch of the song, basically, but I wish they kept the floaty feel of it for the Morphine version.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Mark Sandman - "Imaginary Song"}

I live in an imaginary town
I've got imaginary people all around me fallin' down
And I play in an imaginary band
I strum on my guitar in my imaginary hands

Is it my imagination, or is nothing more sublime
Than a crushing velvet second of imaginary time
Imaginary time

I work at an imaginary job
I can't imagine how I ever held this job so long
And I go to an imaginary school
And imaginary homework and imaginary rules

Is it my imagination, or is nothing more sublime
Than a crushing velvet second of imaginary time
Imaginary time

Is it my imagination, or is nothing more sublime
Than a crushing velvet second of imaginary time
Imaginary time

An imaginary moment unimaginably long
And now we're at the end of my imaginary song

SPOILER: Click to show

{Morphine - "Imaginary Song"}

I live in an imaginary town
I got imaginary people
All around me falling down
I go to an imaginary school
I got imaginary homework
And imaginary rules
Is it my imagination or is nothing more sublime
Than a crushing velvet second of imaginary time?

I work in an imaginary job
I can't imagine how I ever held this job so long
And I pray to an imaginary god
I pray with all my might, he's unimaginably strong
Is it my imagination or is nothing more sublime
Than a crushing velvet second of imaginary time?

Well
I pray to an imaginary god
I pray with all my might, he's unimaginably strong
I live in an imaginary place
I got imaginary people all across my face
Is it my imagination or is nothing more sublime
Than a crushing velvet second of imaginary time?

An imaginary moment
Unimaginably long
And now we're at the end
Of my imaginary song

I guess these lyrics are B Tier going by the OP, but I love them a lot personally. Especially in the context of the Mark Sandman version. The versatile usage of the word 'imagine' combined with the repetition of the song itself veritably lifts you out of your body and has you observe yourself from afar. Not to mention, Sandman's voice is the embodiment of brain fog.

If these two versions were combined, and the arrangement fleshed out just a little more, this would definitely be an A Tier song for me.