by Moe Zilla

Created on: June 05, 2007   Last Updated: August 16, 2009

How do the song-writers do it? Here are some of the greatest opening lines ever written - and an explanation of what makes them great! A song's first line sets the stage for the story to come, and the best songs grab us instantly by triggering our most powerful emotions.

Some of the most powerful songs start by looking backwards to younger days gone by. They can be wistful, nostalgic, sad, or boastful - but this technique always gives the songs an extra emotional kick.

"Remember when you were young, you shone like the sun."

"We learned the truth at 17 - that love was meant for beauty queens."

"A long, long time ago, I can still remember how that music used to make me smile..."

"I heard you on the wireless back in '52..."

"I was born in a crossfire hurricane."

- Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Pink Floyd)
- At Seventeen (Janis Ian)
- American Pie (Don McLean)
- Video Killed the Radio Star (The Buggles)
- Jumping Jack Flash (Mick Jagger)

It's actually a fairly common technique and Bob Seger was a master it. Two of his most famous songs start by remembering his life as a teenager.

"I was a little too tall, could've used a few pounds..." (Night Moves)
"It seems like yesterday, but it was long ago." (Against the Wind)

But there's other ways to write a great opening line. In fact, some other songs use exactly the opposite technique - speaking about the moment before death.

"And now, the end is near, and I must face the final curtain." (My Way by Frank Sintra)

"Love of mine, someday you will die..." (I'll Follow You Into The Dark by Death Cab for Cutie)

There's another opening-line trick that involves starting immediately with questions about the afterlife...

"Imagine there's no heaven." (Imagine by John Lennon)

"There's a lady who's sure all that glitters is gold, and she's buying a stairway to heaven." (Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin)

Sad songs are powerful songs, and the best opening lines start at the heart of an emotional moment. Instead of being about the end of a life, they're about the end of a love.

"If I leave here tomorrow, I won't be coming back again"

"Touch me in the morning, then just walk away"

"Spring was never waiting for us, girl. It ran one step ahead..."

- Freebird (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
- Touch Me in the Morning (Diana Ross)
- MacArthur Park (Richard Harris)

But not every song is a tortured journey of high emotion. Instead of focusing on something tragic, there's a few great songs that open by peeking in on a relationship right in the middle of its happiest moments - catching the intimate words one lover whispers to another.

"Could you whisper in my ear, the things you wanna feel"

"I wish you could swim, like dolphins can swim..."

- Slide by the Goo-Goo Dolls
- Heroes by David Bowie

It's amazing how many songs will fit into one of these four categories - but there's a few that remain gloriously unique. When a song is telling a specific story, it reaches for an opening line that's all its own.

"In the day we sweat it out in the streets of a runaway American dream."

"The Silicon chip inside her head gets switched to overload."

"Friday night I crashed your party, Saturday I said I'm sorry."

- Born To Run (Bruce Springsteen)
- I Don't Like Mondays (The Boomtown Rats)
- Billy Joel (You May Be Right)

There are a lot of great songs that start out slowly, hiding their best lyrics in the chorus. But a few songs bowl you over from the very beginning - thanks to some of these great opening lines.

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