There are tunes that kick off with such unforgettable lyrics, they hook you in at the very first syllable. So catchy, they have listeners belting them out before the first verse even hits! Writing such memorable opening lyrics is indeed a big feat for a songwriter.
In this gallery, we’re taking a lyrical trip down memory lane, revisiting some of the most legendary opening lines in music history. Ready to test your musical prowess?
Click through and see how many of these iconic intros ring a bell!
"Hey ho, let's go! Hey ho, let's go! Hey ho, let's go! Hey ho, let's go!"... shall we?
"Well, it's one for the money two for the show, Three to get ready now go, cat, go."
“Birds flying high you know how I feel. Sun in the sky you know how I feel…”
"Hello darkness, my old friend. I've come to talk with you again."
"They tried to make me go to rehab but I said: No, no, no. Yes, I've been black, but when I come back you will know, know, know..."
"Some people call me the space cowboy... Yeah... Some call me the gangster of love. Some people call me Maurice, 'Cause I speak of the pompatus of love."
"Just a small town girl. Livin' in a lonely world. She took the midnight train goin' anywhere. Just a city boy. Born and raised in South Detroit. He took the midnight train goin' anywhere."
"And now, the end is here, And so I face the final curtain."
"I believe the children are our future, teach them well and let them lead the way."
“All the leaves are brown, And the sky is gray.”
"Well, you can tell by the way I use my walk, I'm a woman's man, no time to talk."
"I got my first real six-string. Bought it at the five-and-dime. Played it till my fingers bled...Was the summer of '69."
"She was a fast machine, she kept her motor clean. She was the best damn woman that I ever seen."
"At first I was afraid, I was petrified. Kept thinking I could never live without you by my side. But then I spent so many nights thinking how you did me wrong. And I grew strong. And I learned how to get along."
"People are strange when you're a stranger. Faces look ugly when you're alone."
"Today is gonna be the day that they're gonna throw it back to you
And by now, you should've somehow realized what you gotta do I don't believe that anybody feels the way I do about you now""Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene...I'm begging of you please don't take my man. Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene...Please don't take him just because you can."
"Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality. Open your eyes, look up to the skies and see."
"Do you have the time to listen to me whine about nothing and everything all at once?"
"When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me...Speaking words of wisdom, let it be."
"Once I had a love and it was a gas. Soon turned out had a heart of glass."
"She's got a smile that it seems to me, reminds me of childhood memories...Where everything was as fresh as the bright blue sky."
"The world is a vampire."
"You were working as a waitress in a cocktail bar, when I met you. I picked you out, I shook you up and turned you around. Turned you into someone new."
"The world was on fire and no one could save me but you..."
"Ground Control to Major Tom. Ground Control to Major Tom."
"On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair. Warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air."
"I get up in the evenin' and I ain't got nothin' to say. I come home in the mornin', I go to bed feelin' the same way. I ain't nothin' but tired, man, I'm just tired and bored with myself. Hey there, baby, I could use just a little help..."
"We come from the land of the ice and snow, from the midnight sun, where the hot springs flow."
"1989 the number, another summer, get down. Sound of the funky drummer. Music hittin' your heart, 'cause I know you got soul, Brothers and sisters."
"Johnny’s in the basement, Mixing up the medicine. I’m on the pavement, Thinking about the government."
"Please allow me to introduce myself, I'm a man of wealth and taste. I've been around for a long, long year, stole many a man's soul and faith."
"There is a house way down in New Orleans they call the Rising Sun, and it's been the ruin of many a poor boy, and God I know I'm one."
Sources: (Yardbarker) (NME) (BuzzFeed) (Reader's Digest)
See also: The world's most popular genres of music
Legendary opening lines in music history
How many can you sing along to?
MUSIC Songs
There are tunes that kick off with such unforgettable lyrics, they hook you in at the very first syllable. So catchy, they have listeners belting them out before the first verse even hits! Writing such memorable opening lyrics is indeed a big feat for a songwriter.
In this gallery, we’re taking a lyrical trip down memory lane, revisiting some of the most legendary opening lines in music history. Ready to test your musical prowess?
Click through and see how many of these iconic intros ring a bell!