Best Lyricist of each decade starting with the 50s.
Judged purely on the words themselves, without consideration for the quality of voice or the quality of the music accompanying it. Words only.
>50s
>60s
>70s
>80s
>90s
>00s
>10s
Go!
I'll have to think about this one for a bit before I answer.
>>63245309
Buddy Holly for the 50's.
Bob Dylan for all the rest of them.
Dylan needs to be in the conversation for the 60s, maybe a few other decades as well.
I'd at least consider Sufjan or Joanna Newsom for the 00s.
I love Tom Waits. I don't know if he was ever Dylan-tier, but when you take his whole career into account, I think he's one of the best.
Other nominations? I don't know enough good lyricists.
Townes Van Zandt turned down an invitation to write a song with Dylan. That says just about all it needs to.
>>63245309
Moz for the 80s?
Cohen is good but Dylan is great.
>>63245568
Yeah, I want to like Cohen more but sometimes, he just has too many words when less would work much better.
>60s
>00s
>10s
they're all scott walker. and he's gotten better as he's aged.
his work on tilt through bish bosch is my favourite lyrics ever. goddest of tiers.
Well, won't you lend your lungs to me?
Mine are collapsing
Plant my feet and bitterly breathe
Up the time that's passing.
Breath I'll take and breath I'll give
Pray the day ain't poison
Stand among the ones that live
In lonely indecision.
Fingers walk the darkness down
Mind is on the midnight
Gather up the gold you've found
You fool, it's only moonlight.
If you try to take it home
Your hands will turn to butter
You better leave this dream alone
Try to find another.
Salvation sat and crossed herself
Called the devil partner
Wisdom burned upon a shelf
Who'll kill the raging cancer
Seal the river at its mouth
Take the water prisoner
Fill the sky with screams and cries
Bathe in fiery answers
Jesus was an only son
And love his only concept
Strangers cry in foreign tongues
And dirty up the doorstep
And I for one, and you for two
Ai'nt got the time for outside
Just keep your injured looks to you
We'll tell the world we tried
>>63245568
Sorry but you're a plep
This might be an odd ball from left field, but what about Shane McGowan?
>>63245625
nah, great choice.
So many to choose from but here goes:
>50s
Buddy Holly
>60s
Bob Dylan
>70s
David Bowie
>80s
Tom Waits
>90s
Thom Yorke
>00's
James Murphy
>10's
Earl Sweatshirt
Honorable mention to Brian Wilson.
>>63246219
>Honorable mention to Brian Wilson.
kek he didn't even wrote lyrics
>>63245582
>farts into microphone
inspired
10s Alex Turner
70s David Bowie
>>63246256
Yes he did.
Kendrick can have the 2010's
DOOM can have the 00's
90's is tough but I'm gonna say Andre 3k
>>63246219
>David Bowie
He didn't even care about lyrics half the time
>>63246219
>James murphy
Kek I fucking love losing my edge. To be fair I would put yorko in 00's over 90's but I dunno good choices
>>63246300
not for pet sounds or smile. only of their early surf and girls songs and occasionaly on later album. But he shouldn't get no honorable mention.
>>63246301
>I only listen to one genre
>>63245582
Not my favorite, but he's up there. His lyrics are like a deconstruction of conventional song-writing.
>>63246219
>bowie
DOLPHINS
>>63246270
that's not lyrics fgt
>>63246219
I love Thom Yorke, but I can't listen to his lyrics on The Bends. Just too sulky and whiny for me.
He really matured on OK Computer, though.
>>63246315
Murphy is god tier. So stoked they're coming back.
>>63246420
hahaha i wrote the list but this just made me kek well done
>>63245549
That he's an arrogant fuckwit?
>60s
Bob Dylan
>70s
Gil Scott-Heron
>80s
Nick Cave
>90s
Nick Cave
John Darnielle for the 00's.
>>63246529
Take it easy, grandpa
>>63246528
Dylan literally forced himself into the bus Townes was staying in and refused to leave until Townes played him a song. Who's the arrogant fuckwit again?
>>63245309
JUST MY OPINION
>50s hahahahahahahahahaha
>60s lou reed
>70s joni mitchell
>80s morrissey
>90s liz phair
>00s james murphy
>10s tirestires
50's: Moses
60's: William Faulkner
70's: Nick Mason of Pink Floyd fame
80's: Nancy Sinatra
90's: Denniz PoP
00's: Tay Zonday
10's: Matthew Healy
Not an opinion, just facts.
>>63246301
Pac still takes all of them posthumously
>>63246584
>>50s hahahahahahahahahaha
are you 12?
>60s
Brian Wilson hands down
>70s
Don Henley
>>63247054
>Brian Wilson hands down
what are your favorite lyrics of his?
>>63247092
Not him, but I think that when they say Brian Wilson, they mean Tony Asher. Not that Wilson wasn't the best arranger/composer of pop music during the 60's.
>70s
Roger Waters
>>63247092
'Til I Die is a masterpiece.
"I'm a cork on the ocean
Floating over the raging sea
How deep is the ocean?
How deep is the ocean?
I lost my way
Hey hey hey"
I guess that doesn't really qualify though because it's from '71.
So how about
"I gave you love with a brand new start
That's what you needed the most
To set your broken heart free"
and
"If you should ever leave me
Though life would still go on believe me
The world could show nothing to me
So what good would living do me
God only knows what I'd be without you"
>>63247175
Those last two were with Tony Asher D:
>>63247175
tony asher wrote all the lyrics in pet sounds though. well, except the "good night my baby" part in wouldn't it be nice which was written by mike love ;)
>No jimi hendrix yet
>>63246564
I'd agree with him for 90's.
The 90's boom-box stuff is slightly more concise and evocative than the hi-fi days. He's still amazing, but he has to write music for a whole band now.
I'd say he peaked with All Hail West Texas, which is 00's, but a part of the boombox era.
>>63246639
This guy gets it.
>>63245309
50s buddy holly
60s Dylan
70s Dylan
80s morrisey
90s notorious b.i.g
2000s Ben gibbard
2010s mark kozelek
>>63245587
Townes Van Zandt is such an obvious choice, but since he's from the country tradition no one will pick him. Hank Williams, Fred Rose, and Willie Nelson should also be here for great country songwriters. It's a neglected and dying craft, to be sure.
Oh, I know, I know
60's Lee Hazelwood
"I heard my brother died last week or was it just a rumour
From an overdose of hate taken in his veins"
00s is Isaac Brock obviously
>>63247553
You mean 90s
The 60's - Jim Morrison
The 80's - Steven Patrick Morrissey
The 90's - Thom Yorke
I have no strong opinion on the other eras, make of that what you will
>>63247759
you could say that too but The Moon & Antarctica was 2000
I feel like there's stiffer competition in the 90s
>>63247326
>ben gibbard
Verbose come-ons to suburban high school girls. I like and enjoy Death Cab, but he's a hack.
And Koz peaked with On Colorful Hill. I liked Benji, but I'm glad he toned down the frivolous diary-keeping on the Jesu collab.
>cmd ⌘ + f
>"Nick Drake"
>0 results
>>63245528
Probably Newsom honestly. If you ever go into the Genius page for some of her lyrics, the depth is pretty impressive. I don't know any othr artists nowadays who are doing what she is
>>63245361
Correct
10s - Father John Misty
> All these people picking Dylan over Cohen
Now i get what that "Millennials can't understand Cohen" stuff means. Smfh.
70S IS ROGER WATERS AND EVERYBODY WHO DISAGREES IS A FUCKING PLEB! HE IS SINGLE HANDEDLY RESPONSIBLE FOR EVERY ALBUM OF FLOYD'S IN THE 70S BY HIMSELF
>>63248448
are you saying that Cohen is a better lyricist than Dylan because he's LESS timeless?
>>63248448
I still don't get it, Dylan is just more popular so obviously more people are going to pick him.
Btw I'm a millenial and I'd pick Cohen
>>63246219
>10's
>Earl Sweatshirt
>>63245309
>50s
there wasn't any
>60s
Dylan
>70s
Young
>80s
Waits
>90
Mangum
>00s
Stevens
>10s
Newsom
Only reasonable post so far in this thread
>>63248448
Yeah I don't get it either, Cohen is clearly the better lyricist.
>>63246219
>Thom Yorke
Kek'd thanks anon
>>63247276
THE NIGHT I WAS BORN
>>63249325
not bad, not bad at all
>>63249325
This is actually pretty based.
I'm impressed. But I'm biased toward a lot of these artists.
I'm always tied between Townes and Cohen, but Hank Williams definitely has it before their era.
I have no clue about the 80s, but 90s is probably Nick Cave or Gira.
00s is probably Conor Oberst.
>ctrl + f MC Ride
>0 results
>60s
Leonard Cohen
>70s
Roger Waters
>80s
David Sylvian
>90s
Stephin Merritt (though Mark Eitzel is incredibly underrated...)
>00s
Mark Linkous or John Darnielle
>10s
I don't know
>>63246219
As much as I listen to Earl Sweatshirt, and as close to home as it hits, I have to say that he's nowhere near capturing the human condition of the current year entirely.
>50s
lennon
>60s
lennon
>70s
lennon
>80s
lenin
>90s
lemon
>00s
lennon
>10s
kanye west
>>63245309
>50s
Guthrie
>60s
Dylan
>70s
Cohen
>80s
Waits
>90s
Momus
>00s
Newsom
>10s
>60s
Leonard Cohen/Lou Reed
>70s
David Bowie
>80s
Morressey
>90s
Bjork
>00s
Sufjan Stevens
>10s
Ezra Koenig
>>63249847
Guthrie barely even recorded in the 50s...
>>63246581
Van Zandt, obviously, you sperglord
He's still a fucking boss, though
>>63249961
Refusing to be bullied into writing a song makes you an arrogant fuckwit? Good to know.
>>63246319
Are you literally this stupid?
>>63249960
I know, but who else was in the 50s?
>>63246319
Feel the wind burn through my skin
The pain, the air is killing me
For years my limbs stretched to the sky
A nest for birds to sit and sing
But now my branches suffer
And my leaves don't bear the glow
They did so long ago
One day I was full of life
My sap was rich and I was strong
From seed to tree I grew so tall
Through wind and rain I could not fall
But now my branches suffer
And my leaves don't offer
Poetry to men of song
Trees like me weren't meant to live
If all this world can give
Pollution and slow death
Oh Lord I lay me down
No life's left to be found
There's nothing left for me
Trees like me weren't meant to live
If all this earth can give
Is pollution
Trees like me weren't meant to live
(Oh Lord I lay me down)
If all this earth can give
(My branches to the ground)
Is pollution and slow death
(There's nothing left for me)
Oh Lord I lay me down
My branches to the ground
There's nothing left for me
The most beautiful Beach Boys' song
>>63250014
Hank Williams was more active during the 50s than Guthrie.
>>63249847
>Newsom
le quirky fantasy WoW themes xD
DAE asteroid???!!?
>>63247299
>>63246564
My niggas
>>63250034
>being this mad at opinions
>>63250026
written by jack rieley
>>63249996
what?
>>63250034
The people who are easily impressed by Newsom are the same sort of people who are easily impressed by Dylan.
The difference between them is that Bob was capable of writing actual, decent songs.
>>63249883
underrated opinion right here. Ezra is great
>>63248091
I know his lyrics are whiny emo shit, it's not for everyone but they really bring up feels. I think it's his delivery that plays a bigger part really ? One of my favorite vocalists. His lyrics for postal service especially were really good. Imo I like mark better now than before, Benji was amazing to me.
>>63245309
>Buddy Holly
>Peter Sinfield
>Roger Waters
>Roger Waters
>Adrian Belew
>Roger Waters
>Chris Cornell
>Roger Waters
>>63246346
>My favorite lyricists are in a genre often focused on lyrics
>I only listen to 1 genre
same thing
>>63249883
>>10s
>Ezra Koenig
Do you want to FUCK
