I wouldn't say that Dylan's lyrics are bad as such, although some of them are very strange or use odd imagery. Speaking of that, some of possibly the worst metaphors in musical history: "Beneath the parted pages and were pressed / in loves hot fevered iron / like a stripe-ed pair of pants" indeed...
Bruce Springstein's "Streets Of Philadelphia" had some real sad lyrics, such as "My clothes don't fit me no more." It was a powerful yet depressing song.
And "Ain't no angel gonna greet me. It's just you and I, my friend." On the topic of sad songs, one of the saddest (and lyrically highest quality) songs I have ever heard is Cat's In the Cradle. At the end of the last verse, it puts a line that would usually evoke pride ("my boy was just like me") in a context where the multi-layered cruel irony of its placement makes for one of the best examples of the kind of thing that strongly affects me in storytelling in general.
@daemon, @MainerMikeBrown, you're talking about good, powerful lyrics, right? This thread is supposed to be about the worst. We should maybe start a new thread about the best!
"Before you came into my life, I missed you so bad." Had to listen a few times to parse that one out. It's been, what, two or three years since that song was released? I still think about it. Could it mean she missed this dude in hindsight, like "wow, my life was lacking until you came along and I didn't even realize it"?
Yes, that is what it means. "I miss _____" has at least two meanings: "_____ was with me; now _____ is not with me; now I wish _____ was back." "Something is missing from my life; _____ would fill that void."
Sir Mix-A-Lot's hit from the early 90's, "I Like Big Butts" has some humorous lyrics but also some lousy lyrics because some of them are too graphic. It's not something I'd want young kids to be hearing.
