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[DrNick]

At Christmas my sister and her boyfriend made a compilation CD of some of their favourite songs which they gave to people along with their presents. Listening to it again recently I was struck by the sheer quality of tunage it contains - one stone cold classic after another, at least in my head.

So here are the opening lyrics to each of the twenty songs (sometimes this actually gives away the title, but hey ho). They range from the 1950s to the present day, and some are more obscure than others (some are really quite obscure indeed). Only tracks 1 & 7 have a Christmas theme.

I've posted this on a couple of other websites, and will be disappointed if people here, who clearly have great musical taste, are not victorious. There's one that certainly everyone should get instantly.

Good luck!

1) The village school lies empty, all covered in snow
But on the steps a little boy sits, he's got nowhere to go
His parents were overcome by fumes when fire swept through their home.

2) What's up with what's going down
In every city in every town?
Cramping styles is the plan
They've got in the palm of every hand

3) Drive the little white car on the A470
We're going off to see the mountains
Waterfalls and animals and glittering skies
There is nothing in the city that is half as pretty.

4) Well the weather for the whole area will carry on pretty the same as for the last few days, temperatures 17 centigrade, that's 49 Fahrenheit.

5) They put a phone mast up by the school where we live
Now we've got much better reception
So when the kids go insane we can call to complain
As we're running in the other direction

6) When that I was and a little tiny boy me daddy said to me,
The time has come my bonny bonny bairn to learn your ABC
But Daddy was a lodge chairman in the coalfields of the Tyne
And his alphabet was different to the Enid Blyton kind.

7) Remember last year when you were on your own
You swore the spirit couldn't be found
December rolled round and you were counting on it to roll out

8 ) Yeah baby I want to take you home
On a night like this you shouldn't sleep alone
The stars are all melting and your teeth are on fire
The guys at the bar are all liars

9) People round here don't like to talk about it
Presumed dead

10) Eat what you want while you're falling apart
And it opens a can of worms
The gun's in my hand and I know it looks bad
But believe me I'm innocent

11) Do you seem born out of time, does all the world seem behind you?
You must be

12) Morning came and I tried not to notice
It was time for you to move along
And the minutes fell like petals all around us
Like a goodbye kiss when goodbye felt so wrong

13) Back when I was four and I knew the name of every dinosaur
I learned to read Rom comic books, my babysitter said I was really smart
When the lights went everything changed
The radio music made me feel strange
And I had a real bad dream about a gorilla in the bathroom

14) This here's a story about the Rock Island Line.

15) I got a lust for kicks
a 30 ought 6
and wine

16) Even though I'll never need her
Even though she's only giving me pain
I'll be on my knees to feed her
Spend a day to make her smile her

17) Is it asking too much to be given time,
To know these songs and to sing them?
Is it asking too much of my vacant smile,
And my laugh and lies that bring them?

18 ) People go a-dancing in crowded rooms
My head is getting tired, darkness looms
Children go a-cursing at their only cause

19) Where is Mona?
She's long gone
Where is Mary?
She's taken her along
But they haven't put their mittens on

20) We're all going to die, what if there's nothing?
We'll all have to face this alone
It's a when not an if, inside everybody
Morbid thoughts like these can make me feel so alone.
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[Michael]

OMG. Apart from no.13 I haven't a clue.

Sorry for letting the board down.

[DrNick]

Hmm, maybe they are all more obscure than I realised.

Number 2 is a 90s grunge pop classic.
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[Michael]

OK. I googled no.2 and I actually own that song (on picture disc 12" vinyl no less!). I guess I don't hear/remember lyrics too well

[misshelenc]

Number 19 is Nick Cave. Great song. Great record.
I may know some other ones but probably not! x
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You don’t put your life into your books. You find it there.

[jack fe]

Number 5 is The Kids are Radioactive by Misty's Big Adventure!
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