Neil Young – “After the Gold Rush”
Another artist with many lyrical contenders, although his grunge period song “Piece of Crap” wouldn't quite work here. “After the Gold Rush” opens somewhat mystically with the aged history of “Well, I dreamed I saw the knights in armor coming / Sayin' something about a queen,” then moves through to the well-known line of “Look at mother nature on the run in the nineteen seventies.” Neil Young does update that in his gigs now to a 21st-century reference to keep it relevant.
A hard-hitting “I was lyin' in a burned-out basement / With a full moon in my eyes” takes the story on. We hear of spaceships and dreams and it all gets a bit hazy. There is plenty of speculation about the meaning of the song. Young openly admits he has no idea. We take it for what it is and take the surrealistic storytelling and craft on board.
The Rolling Stones – “Sympathy for the Devil”
Where to go next? Proving that the band wasn't all riffs and snarling vocals there’s this legend from the Rolling Stones. The title itself is dark and devilish. The opener of “Please allow me to introduce myself / I'm a man of wealth and taste / I've been around for a long, long year / Stole many a man's soul and faith” sets the scene.”
It’s not about devil worship despite the title. It does reflect on the evil humanity has at times and quotes a few examples along the way. Ok, there are a few “whoo-hoos” scattered around the verses and chorus, but it’s still top songwriting.
Bruce Springsteen – “Thunder Road”
In the world of rock, Americana, folk, and day-to-day life Bruce Springsteen tells it like it is. Another artist with so many classics to quote from. “Thunder Road” is a top example. Springsteen can be bleak, honest, hopeful, and joyous in his songs. He also at times brings a cinematic, almost big screen storytelling on a huge landscape.
That's where this song comes in. He wants to escape his life, move on from small-town living, and hit the road. “The screen door slams, Mary's dress sways / Like a vision she dances across the porch as the radio plays.” He sketches the details at the start, he adds reason and direction along the way “It’s a town full of losers / And I’m pulling out of here to win.”
The song builds with the lead to the chorus, “Except roll down the window / And let the wind blow back your hair.” And it's full throttle release with “Oh, come take my hand / We're riding out tonight to case the promised land / Oh, Thunder Road, oh, Thunder Road /Oh, Thunder Road.” No wonder it's still a huge favorite to play and hear at his gigs today.
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