Greatest Bon Jovi lyrics of all time?

it´s very hard choose one or two...for me dry county, save a prayer, keep the faith, these days, STBI, my guitar, hey god, prayer, ill be there, oh jesus, they have so much brilliant lyrics, I´m proud of them, heh
my fave Richie´s "there comes a time in someone's life
when you find things that matter" - simply but brilliant

Genius!

To address the thread topic, there are so many beautifully crafted Bon Jovi lyrics - thats why it pisses me off so much having to defend my love for the band when people find out I like them and dismiss them as "contrived rubbish". These are the same people who only know Living On A Prayer from drunken nights out, and I only wish they knew the bands back catalogue and could appreciate the depth and emotion in some of the songs before mocking me for my musical tastes!

Anyway. some of my favourite lyrics that spring to mind:

Dry County
"I cursed the sky to open, I begged the clouds for rain,
Prayed to God for water, For this burning in my veins,
It was like my soul's on fire, and I had to watch the flames,
As my dreams went up in ashes, and my future blew away"
Doesn't get any better than that! Pure, raw emotion, you feel the speaker's pain.

Bells of Freedom
"In the dark, I have seen,
That the sun still shines for one who believes"
Really inspirational line, loved it the first time I heard it!

The Jimmy Shoes verse in These Days I've also always loved!

(It's Hard) Letting You Go
"Now some tarot card shark said I'll draw you a heart,
We'll find you somebody else new,
But I made my last trip to those carnival lips
When I bet all that I had on you"
LOVE this lyric, just sums up the desperation of feeling heartbroken

Lie To Me
"Let it all fall down around us,
If that's what's meant to be,
Right now if you can't love me baby,
Lie to me"

Something to Believe In
"If there's nothing but survival, how can I believe in sin,
In a world that gives you nothing, I need something to believe in"

I could go on and on, but these are the ones that sprang to mind while I was typing!

Rach xxx

These days (the song)

Next one is: Santa Fe

They say that no man is an island
And good things come to those who wait
But the things I hear are there just to remind me
Every dog will have his day

The spirits they intoxicate me
I watched them infiltrate my soul
They try to say it's too late for me
Tell my guns I'm coming home

And I blame this world for making a good man evil
It's this world that can drive a good man mad
And it's this world that turns a killer into a hero
Well I blame this world for making
A good man bad

When I meet my maker
When I close the book
On the hearts I broke and the lives I took
Will he walk away
'Cause my soul's too late to save

Got to think of it
one of my personal favourites lyrics are the ones from good guys don't always wear white as its fits perfect into the relationship I have with my father and how he's got this perfect imagine for what he's thinks I should be...

Bang a Drum!!!!!!!

For the sheer fun of it. Won't win any awards for poetry, but what a blast.

Bang a drum for this! Bang a drum for that! Badabing, Badabangadrum for my mother! For my father and for my high school Gym Teacher!

Awesome stuff!

Then of course Someday I'll be Saturday Night - sails slightly close to Bruce's Dancin in the Dark (I wish that I could be in some other time and place, wanna change my clothes my hair my face!) but so full of hope, and one of the best matches of lyrics and music.

And a word for Diamond Ring. Just a good pop lyric. Says something simple, but in a heartfelt and memorable way.

I disagree I think Bang a drum is much deeper than just banging a drum. It really has a great message about finding you way back to living again. I absolutely love the lines "Jon I'm gonna die if I don't start to live again" I think theres heaps of awesome lines in this song. The whole
Blaze Of Glory album is full of great lyrics IMO.

Some other songs I love lyrically are
"I believe"
"You know what you came here for
You'll pay the cost,
like it's your cross to bear
Are we the ones that put it there
Would you scheme for it
scream for it, bleed for it"

"Dry County"

sooo many more.. heaps on the boxset .. many solo songs. Too many great lyrics and songs.

Kat

Something To Believe In: The whole song is powerful. The hellish baseline and the background fire of vocals are just superb and make you burn. No other Bon Jovi song so finely and descriptively utilizes instruments; it conveys more than just a sense of 'Rock' or atmosphere, but an actual state of mind and place presence and existence. And to the guy who said it was cheesy, I have to disagree. Cheesy is rhyming need with bleed, die with lie with cry with die or love with blood and saying baby a bunch of times or I need you I want you etc (like many many MANY rock and Bon Jovi tunes...which I often like). I don't know many bands that incorporate the pope and drugs into a coherant delicate thought of desparation and existentialism and stoicism. Please, explain to me how this line is in any way cliche. You may not like it, but it is NOT cheesy. And, to me, it may possibly be the most powerful lyric they have ever produced.

Bed of Roses:
The most powerful, multilayered, non-cheesy, honest and accessible lyrics this band has ever put into a love song. Objectively one of the greatest love songs ever penned and, personally, my favorite love song. Just reading the lyrics as poetry without music is moving.

These Days:
Perhaps it is describing the existential dilemma or simply describing existentialism. Maybe it is trying to speak of existentialism as virtuous, or meaningless. It depends on who you are and who you are at the precise moment you listen to it. But it is never wrong. That is why it is great. It is universal and powerful and pays intricate deference to the power and dilemma of the individual. Just fantastic and, to me, generally uplifting.

Dry County:
I cursed the sky to open
I begged the clouds for rain
I prayed to God for water
For this burning in my veins
It was like my soul's on fire
And I had to watch the flames
All my dreams went up in ashes
And my future blew away
Desperation. Damnation. Pergatory. Lost souls, all spoken for with great lyrics and great music (especially with the elongated David piano intro which really must return). The imagery here is so dense and descriptive I can read it over and over and over...

Shout Out To: Diamond Ring because, while the lyrics on their own are cheesy, the tapestry of the entire song is ridiculously sexy and gorgeous and it is just amazing to dance with someone during this song. Lots of subtlety and drama with no need for an obnoxious beat. It just oozes immutable passion and intimacy. I wish they could pull off another one in this same vein. Maybe try for some better lyrics though...but it wouldn't matter if it was as good as this.

Born to be My Baby: Na na na na na na na na.

there are so many, i could chose favourite lyrics from every album! but personal favourites of mine would be...(and this bit inparticular** **)

Now your pictures that you left behind
Are just memories of a different life
Some that made us laugh, some that made us cry
One that made you have to say goodbye
What I'd give to run my fingers through your hair
To touch your lips, to hold you near
When you say your prayers try to understand
I've made mistakes, I'm just a man

**When he holds you close, when he pulls you near
When he says the words you've been needing to hear
I'll wish I was him 'cause those words are mine
To say to you till the end of time

Yeah, I will love you baby - Always
And I'll be there forever and a day - Always**