and the meme goes on

[enemy anemone]

okay, here's mine. you know you wanna play.

The name of the game is Song Lyric Meme. Here are the rules:

1. Put your MP3 player or whatever on random.
2. Post the first line(s) from the first 30 songs that play (skipping instrumentals and foreign language tracks), no matter how embarrassing the song.
3. Let everyone you know guess what song and artist the lines come from (You guess by leaving a comment below).
4. Bold out the songs when someone guesses correctly.
5. Looking them up on Google or any other search engine is CHEATING.

(I left out random obscure and/or live covers and unreleased songs.)

1. please, just deliver me peace and a chance to stay* The Elms, "The Way I Will"
[I noticed that this popped up on Brenden's list too--how weird is that?]

2. I got your message, I read your letters, I dreamed of sunny days when we'd be together

3. tonight the lamplight swirls and glistens, melting itself upon my face

4. are you my daddy, are you* Over the Rhine - Daddy Untwisted

5. baby if you're leavin' in the mornin', don't tell me, 'cause I don't wanna know

6. it was not December and it was not in May, it was 14th of April that was Ruination Day* Gillian Welch, "Ruination Day"

7. I wanna be better than oxygen so you can breathe when you're drowning and weak in the knees

8. I wished I was smarter, I wished I was stronger, I wished I'd loved Jesus the way my wife does*  Patty Griffin, "Top of the World"

9. nightingale, sing us a song* Norah Jones, "Nightingale"

10. you snake you crawled between my legs said "want it all? it's yours"

11. it was a black Cadillac that drove you away* Rosanne Cash, "Black Cadillac"

12. hush now my sweet little noisy boy* Over the Rhine, "Hush Now (Stella's Tarantella)"

13. oh the night came undone like a party dress and fell at her feet in a beautiful mess

14. my love is a fever, my love is a fable* Over the Rhine, "My Love Is a Fever"

15. the moon blindsided the sky again* Over the Rhine, "Lifelong Fling"

16. oh me oh my oh, look at Miss Ohio

17. she loved him like he was the last man on earth

18. little darlin', love is not a crime

19. let's write a story of a tidal wave, we run out of luck, we run out of days* Patty Griffin, "Love Throw a Line"

20. Caleb Meyer lived alone in them hollerin' pines

21. well you look just like an angel, you shine so bright and true

22. he'd get home at five thirty, fix his drink, sit down in his chair

23. on the bank of the Tennessee River in a small Kentucky town* Steven Curtis Chapman, "Lord of the Dance"

24. I don't need nobody to call me on the phone, I don't need no company, I'd rather be alone

25. to the end of the earth I'll search for your face, for the one who laid all of our beauty to waste* Patty Griffin "Cold as it Gets"

26. four bars of a rhyme on the wall of time, my heart beating quick and mean

27. nowhere man and the whiskey girl, nowhere man and the whiskey girl, they loaded up for a weekend in the underworld

28. you know better than to leave me straddled and lame, is that romance or your way of making different same

29. show me someone who makes a difference, show me someone who's brave when he needs to be

30. go 'way from my window, leave at your own chosen speed

[murlough23]

1. please, just deliver me peace and a chance to stay

And again I say, The Elms, "The Way I Will".

8. I wished I was smarter, I wished I was stronger, I wished I'd loved Jesus the way my wife does

The Dixie Chicks and/or Patty Griffin, "Top of the World"

9. nightingale, sing us a song

Norah Jones, "Nightingale"

11. it was a black Cadillac that drove you away

Rosanne Cash, "Black Cadillac"

12. hush now my sweet little noisy boy

Over the Rhine, "Hush Now (Stella's Tarantella)"

14. my love is a fever, my love is a fable

Over the Rhine, "My Love Is a Fever"

15. the moon blindsided the sky again

Over the Rhine, "Lifelong Fling"

(funny how, like me, you get the same artist cropping up multiple times despite the vastness of both of our collections.)

23. on the bank of the Tennessee River in a small Kentucky town

Steven Curtis Chapman, "Lord of the Dance"

30. go 'way from my window, leave at your own chosen speed

This one sounds familiar, but I know it's not one I know all that well. I'm gonna guess it's some song by either Kim Taylor or Kathleen Edwards.

[enemy anemone]

The Dixie Chicks and/or Patty Griffin, "Top of the World"

yep. it's Patty. I can't abide the Dixie Chicks' rendition of the song. 

(funny how, like me, you get the same artist cropping up multiple times despite the vastness of both of our collections.)

yeah, so weird! there weren't a whole lot of obscure, unreleased songs that I had to skip, which also surprised me.

Steven Curtis Chapman, "Lord of the Dance"

just as a bit of info, this was the Abbey Road version. I like it a lot more than the usual one.

30. go 'way from my window, leave at your own chosen speed

This one sounds familiar, but I know it's not one I know all that well. I'm gonna guess it's some song by either Kim Taylor or Kathleen Edwards.

nope, neither one. actually, I just downloaded this song yesterday and wasn't familiar with it before. but it's an oldie and has been covered by quite a few artists, which is probably why it sounds familiar.

[danny316]

4. are you my daddy, are you

Over the Rhine - Daddy Untwisted

[murlough23]

yep. it's Patty. I can't abide the Dixie Chicks' rendition of the song.

I guess we tend to prefer the version we hear first. Your loss.

just as a bit of info, this was the Abbey Road version. I like it a lot more than the usual one.

Meh. The Abbey Road Version doesn't hold a candle to the original.

nope, neither one. actually, I just downloaded this song yesterday and wasn't familiar with it before. but it's an oldie and has been covered by quite a few artists, which is probably why it sounds familiar.

Now it's really gonna drive me nuts.

[enemy anemone]

I guess we tend to prefer the version we hear first. Your loss.

actually, I heard the Chicks' version first. couldn't stand the vocals and didn't pay attention to the song again until I heard Patty sing it in concert. then I loved it. still do. tried listening to the Chicks' version again but it grates.

[Josh]

#6 is Gillian Welch, "Ruination Day"

#19 is Patti Griffin, "Love Throw a Line"

#25 is Patti Griffin again! "Cold as it Gets" (I *think* that's the title... for some reason it doesn't seem right, though. The second song on Impossible Dream is what I'm shooting for!)

[murlough23]

actually, I heard the Chicks' version first. couldn't stand the vocals and didn't pay attention to the song again until I heard Patty sing it in concert. then I loved it. still do. tried listening to the Chicks' version again but it grates.

The vocals have always been one thing I loved about the Dixie Chicks, even back when I hated them for writing a song like "Goodbye Earl".

[enemy anemone]

clue time.

artists represented:
Rosanne Cash
Steven Curtis Chapman
The Elms
Mary Gauthier
Patty Griffin
PJ Harvey
Norah Jones
Chris Thomas King
Martina McBride
Eleni Mandell
Willy Mason
Buddy and Julie Miller
Julie Miller
Rich Mullins
Over the Rhine
Sixpence None the Richer
Kim Taylor
Gillian Welch

there is another one but I've already given clues about that particular song and giving the artist would give it away.
also, there are still several that haven't been guessed that have the song title in them.

[enemy anemone]

to refine the list, these are the artists represented in the unguessed songs.

Bob Dylan
Mary Gauthier
PJ Harvey
Chris Thomas King
Martina McBride
Eleni Mandell
Willy Mason
Buddy and Julie Miller (more than one song)
Julie Miller
Rich Mullins
Sixpence None the Richer
Kim Taylor (more than one song)
Gillian Welch (more than one song)

also, the following first lines contain the song title:
7, 10, 16, 18, 20, & 27

[danny316]

I gave up on this one and started cheating. I'll give one hint - the Sixpence track can be described by the same hint I gave for my apparently hard-to-guess Sixpence track.

[NinjaRob17]

I want to say that 10 is "Snake Song" by Eleni Mandell, but it's not....

[enemy anemone]

heh, yeah, that's tricky. would have been a good guess though.

[enemy anemone]

here's what nobody knew: (not that I expected people to know them all)

2. I got your message, I read your letters, I dreamed of sunny days when we'd be together
Eleni Mandell, "County Line"

3. tonight the lamplight swirls and glistens, melting itself upon my face
Sixpence None the Richer, "Melting Alone"

5. baby if you're leavin' in the mornin', don't tell me, 'cause I don't wanna know
Chris Thomas King, "Wanna Die With a Smile On My Face"

7. I wanna be better than oxygen so you can breathe when you're drowning and weak in the knees
Willy Mason, "Oxygen"

10. you snake you crawled between my legs said "want it all? it's yours"
PJ Harvey, "Snake"

13. oh the night came undone like a party dress and fell at her feet in a beautiful mess
Gillian Welch, "Barroom Girls"

16. oh me oh my oh, look at Miss Ohio
Gillian Welch, "Miss Ohio"

17. she loved him like he was the last man on earth
Martina McBride, "Broken Wing"

18. little darlin', love is not a crime
Buddy and Julie Miller, "Little Darlin'"

20. Caleb Meyer lived alone in them hollerin' pines
Gillian Welch, "Caleb Meyer"

21. well you look just like an angel, you shine so bright and true
Julie Miller, "The Devil Is An Angel"

22. he'd get home at five thirty, fix his drink, sit down in his chair
Mary Gauthier, "I Drink"

24. I don't need nobody to call me on the phone, I don't need no company, I'd rather be alone
Buddy Miller, "Lonesome For You"
(well, earlier I credited this as Buddy and Julie Miller, and both of them wrote it, but it's on one of Buddy's solo albums.)

26. four bars of a rhyme on the wall of time, my heart beating quick and mean
Kim Taylor, "95 Things"

27. nowhere man and the whiskey girl, nowhere man and the whiskey girl, they loaded up for a weekend in the underworld
Gillian Welch, "Whiskey Girl"

28. you know better than to leave me straddled and lame, is that romance or your way of making different same
Kim Taylor, "Birds and the Bees"

29. show me someone who makes a difference, show me someone who's brave when he needs to be
Rich Mullins, "A Few Good Men"

30. go 'way from my window, leave at your own chosen speed
Bob Dylan, "It Ain't Me, Babe"

[murlough23]

3. tonight the lamplight swirls and glistens, melting itself upon my face
Sixpence None the Richer, "Melting Alone"

I should've known that one. Shows you how often I listen to that album beyond the first four songs.

NP: "Easy Silence", Dixie Chicks