2026 National Poetry Month, Day 27 Lyrics-Poetry
Talk The Poetry Collective
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1DebiCates
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NPM 2026, Day 27 Lyrics-Poetry
This topic will come as no surprise. Song lyrics can be amazing poetry!
What are your favorite song lyrics that are poetry?
2hamlet61
I will start with this one, but I have more...
Shelter from the Storm
Written by: Bob Dylan
’Twas in another lifetime, one of toil and blood
When blackness was a virtue and the road was full of mud
I came in from the wilderness, a creature void of form
“Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you shelter from the storm”
And if I pass this way again, you can rest assured
I’ll always do my best for her, on that I give my word
In a world of steel-eyed death, and men who are fighting to be warm
“Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you shelter from the storm”
Not a word was spoke between us, there was little risk involved
Everything up to that point had been left unresolved
Try imagining a place where it’s always safe and warm
“Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you shelter from the storm”
I was burned out from exhaustion, buried in the hail
Poisoned in the bushes an’ blown out on the trail
Hunted like a crocodile, ravaged in the corn
“Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you shelter from the storm”
Suddenly I turned around and she was standin’ there
With silver bracelets on her wrists and flowers in her hair
She walked up to me so gracefully and took my crown of thorns
“Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you shelter from the storm”
Now there’s a wall between us, somethin’ there’s been lost
I took too much for granted, got my signals crossed
Just to think that it all began on a long-forgotten morn
“Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you shelter from the storm”
Well, the deputy walks on hard nails and the preacher rides a mount
But nothing really matters much, it’s doom alone that counts
And the one-eyed undertaker, he blows a futile horn
“Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you shelter from the storm”
I’ve heard newborn babies wailin’ like a mournin’ dove
And old men with broken teeth stranded without love
Do I understand your question, man, is it hopeless and forlorn?
“Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you shelter from the storm”
In a little hilltop village, they gambled for my clothes
I bargained for salvation an’ they gave me a lethal dose
I offered up my innocence and got repaid with scorn
“Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you shelter from the storm”
Well, I’m livin’ in a foreign country but I’m bound to cross the line
Beauty walks a razor’s edge, someday I’ll make it mine
If I could only turn back the clock to when God and her were born
“Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you shelter from the storm”
Shelter from the Storm
Written by: Bob Dylan
’Twas in another lifetime, one of toil and blood
When blackness was a virtue and the road was full of mud
I came in from the wilderness, a creature void of form
“Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you shelter from the storm”
And if I pass this way again, you can rest assured
I’ll always do my best for her, on that I give my word
In a world of steel-eyed death, and men who are fighting to be warm
“Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you shelter from the storm”
Not a word was spoke between us, there was little risk involved
Everything up to that point had been left unresolved
Try imagining a place where it’s always safe and warm
“Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you shelter from the storm”
I was burned out from exhaustion, buried in the hail
Poisoned in the bushes an’ blown out on the trail
Hunted like a crocodile, ravaged in the corn
“Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you shelter from the storm”
Suddenly I turned around and she was standin’ there
With silver bracelets on her wrists and flowers in her hair
She walked up to me so gracefully and took my crown of thorns
“Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you shelter from the storm”
Now there’s a wall between us, somethin’ there’s been lost
I took too much for granted, got my signals crossed
Just to think that it all began on a long-forgotten morn
“Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you shelter from the storm”
Well, the deputy walks on hard nails and the preacher rides a mount
But nothing really matters much, it’s doom alone that counts
And the one-eyed undertaker, he blows a futile horn
“Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you shelter from the storm”
I’ve heard newborn babies wailin’ like a mournin’ dove
And old men with broken teeth stranded without love
Do I understand your question, man, is it hopeless and forlorn?
“Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you shelter from the storm”
In a little hilltop village, they gambled for my clothes
I bargained for salvation an’ they gave me a lethal dose
I offered up my innocence and got repaid with scorn
“Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you shelter from the storm”
Well, I’m livin’ in a foreign country but I’m bound to cross the line
Beauty walks a razor’s edge, someday I’ll make it mine
If I could only turn back the clock to when God and her were born
“Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you shelter from the storm”
3DebiCates
>2 hamlet61: Bob Dylan! Absolutely. Thanks Matt.
4DebiCates
I love Modest Mouse, their music and their lyrics. From their 2004 album Good New for People Who Love Bad News:
"Bukowski" (chorus)
Woke up this morning, and it seemed to me
That every night turns out to be
A little bit more like Bukowski
And yeah, I know he's a pretty good read
But God, who'd wanna be
God, who'd wanna be such an asshole
"Bukowski" (chorus)
Woke up this morning, and it seemed to me
That every night turns out to be
A little bit more like Bukowski
And yeah, I know he's a pretty good read
But God, who'd wanna be
God, who'd wanna be such an asshole
5DebiCates
>2 hamlet61: Share as many as you'd like, Matt. I mean, how many chances do we get to share things we love and that move us?
6TonjaE
I think my favourite poetic songwriters would have to be Simon & Garfunkel. Many great lyrical stories but this is one of their best in my opinion:
https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/simongarfunkel/homewardbound.html
"Homeward Bound"
I'm sitting in the railway station.
Got a ticket for my destination.
On a tour of one-night stands
my suitcase and guitar in hand.
And every stop is neatly planned
for a poet and a one-man band.
Homeward bound,
I wish I was homeward bound,
Home where my thought's escaping,
Home where my music's playing,
Home where my love lies waiting silently for me.
Every day's an endless stream
Of cigarettes and magazines.
And each town looks the same to me,
the movies and the factories
And every stranger's face I see
reminds me that I long to be,
Homeward bound,
I wish I was homeward bound,
Home where my thought's escaping,
Home where my music's playing,
Home where my love lies waiting silently for me.
Tonight I'll sing my songs again,
I'll play the game and pretend.
But all my words come back to me
in shades of mediocrity
Like emptiness in harmony
I need someone to comfort me.
Homeward bound,
I wish I was homeward bound,
Home where my thought's escaping,
Home where my music's playing,
Home where my love lies waiting silently for me.
Silently for me.
https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/simongarfunkel/homewardbound.html
7TonjaE
"The Dangling Conversation"
It's a still life water color,
Of a now late afternoon,
As the sun shines through the curtain lace
And shadows wash the room.
And we sit and drink our coffee
Couched in our indifference,
Like shells upon the shore
You can hear the ocean roar
In the dangling conversation
And the superficial sighs,
The borders of our lives.
And you read your Emily Dickinson,
And I my Robert Frost,
And we note our place with bookmarkers
That measure what we've lost.
Like a poem poorly written
We are verses out of rhythm,
Couplets out of rhyme,
In syncopated time
And the dangling conversation
And the superficial sighs,
Are the borders of our lives.
Yes, we speak of things that matter,
With words that must be said,
"Can analysis be worthwhile?"
"Is the theater really dead?"
And how the room is softly faded
And I only kiss your shadow,
I cannot feel your hand,
You're a stranger now unto me
Lost in the dangling conversation.
And the superficial sighs,
In the borders of our lives.
https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/simongarfunkel/thedanglingconversation.html
8hamlet61
to contuniue the Simon and Garfunkel theme, here is my favorite. They are older than I but grew up within a stone's throw of my upbringing in Queens, NY. They were originally Tom and Jerry. Paul Simon wrote this when Art flew out to California to film Catch 22. They were in the middle of recording an album, so there was resentment.
The Only Living Boy in New York
Tom, get your plane right on time
I know your part'll go fine
Fly down to Mexico
Doh-n-doh-de-doh-n-doh
And here I am
The only living boy in New York
I get the news I need on the weather report
Oh, I can gather all the news I need on the weather report
Hey, I've got nothing to do today but smile
De-doh-n-doh-de-doh
And here I am
The only living boy in New York
Half of the time we're gone
But we don't know where
And we don't know where
Half of the time we're gone
But we don't know where
And we don't know where
Tom, get your plane right on time
I know that you've been eager to fly now
Hey, let your honesty shine, shine, shine now
Doh-n-doh-de-doh-n-doh
Like it shines on me (Here I am)
The only living boy in New York
The only living boy in New York
The Only Living Boy in New York
Tom, get your plane right on time
I know your part'll go fine
Fly down to Mexico
Doh-n-doh-de-doh-n-doh
And here I am
The only living boy in New York
I get the news I need on the weather report
Oh, I can gather all the news I need on the weather report
Hey, I've got nothing to do today but smile
De-doh-n-doh-de-doh
And here I am
The only living boy in New York
Half of the time we're gone
But we don't know where
And we don't know where
Half of the time we're gone
But we don't know where
And we don't know where
Tom, get your plane right on time
I know that you've been eager to fly now
Hey, let your honesty shine, shine, shine now
Doh-n-doh-de-doh-n-doh
Like it shines on me (Here I am)
The only living boy in New York
The only living boy in New York
9DebiCates
My all time favorite is this song and its lyrics. Pearl Jam's Yield album, 1998
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PH9KBA5D8T0
"Wishlist"
--by Eddie Vedder
I wish I was a neutron bomb for once I could go off
I wish I was a sacrifice but somehow still lived on
I wish I was a sentimental ornament you hung on
The Christmas tree I wish I was the star that went on top
I wish I was the evidence I wish I was the grounds
For fifty million hands upraised and open toward the sky
I wish I was a sailor with someone who waited for me
I wish I was as fortunate as fortunate as me
I wish I was a messenger and all the news was good
I wish I was the full moon shining off a Camaro's hood
I wish I was an alien at home behind the sun
I wish I was the souvenir you kept your house key on
I wish I was the pedal brake that you depended on
I wish I was the verb 'to trust' and never let you down
I wish I was a radio song, the one that you turned up
I might have listened to this song in 1998 a hundred times. It was a great year for me, and still moves me.
To this day, I wish I was a messenger and all the news was good
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PH9KBA5D8T0
"Wishlist"
--by Eddie Vedder
I wish I was a neutron bomb for once I could go off
I wish I was a sacrifice but somehow still lived on
I wish I was a sentimental ornament you hung on
The Christmas tree I wish I was the star that went on top
I wish I was the evidence I wish I was the grounds
For fifty million hands upraised and open toward the sky
I wish I was a sailor with someone who waited for me
I wish I was as fortunate as fortunate as me
I wish I was a messenger and all the news was good
I wish I was the full moon shining off a Camaro's hood
I wish I was an alien at home behind the sun
I wish I was the souvenir you kept your house key on
I wish I was the pedal brake that you depended on
I wish I was the verb 'to trust' and never let you down
I wish I was a radio song, the one that you turned up
I might have listened to this song in 1998 a hundred times. It was a great year for me, and still moves me.
To this day, I wish I was a messenger and all the news was good
10TonjaE
Nice! And can't forget Jim Morrison & The Doors. Some great poetry there, it's hard to choose one. Tempting to create a playlist but maybe not... I like to listen to their less popular work, There was an album called An American Prayer (1978) which is spoken word over blues/funk/rock tunes which I absolutely love. Here's one of the tracks on YouTube: https://youtu.be/M1dtkfI_iuI?si=3ST9MpdteFVAGso2
11DebiCates
>10 TonjaE: That is far out, Tonja! I wish I had heard that in 1978 when it would have matched so many vibes me and the world had going on then. Still, I got to hear it now and I loved it.
12TonjaE
>11 DebiCates: I wish we could go back to then.
13DebiCates
>10 TonjaE: Hey Tonja, I started listening to some old Doors after you mentioned them. I hadn't ever heard "Blue Sunday" before. It really has grown on me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENIbGONsdUg&list=RDENIbGONsdUg&start_rad...
ETA: This might be a better link, the other was a personalize play list and I'm not sure how that would work for a different person. This is the link to just that song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENIbGONsdUg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENIbGONsdUg&list=RDENIbGONsdUg&start_rad...
ETA: This might be a better link, the other was a personalize play list and I'm not sure how that would work for a different person. This is the link to just that song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENIbGONsdUg
