Sharing Music Lyrics that I Like (Part 2)
by Robert Hackman
Photograph by Alexandre St-louis on Unsplash
I got lyrics to go Everybody
(I got lyrics to go) Ah c’mon now
I got lyrics to go Ah, check it out y’all
(I got lyrics to go) It’s like that now
Lyrics from the song ‘Lyrics to Go’
By A Tribe Called Quest
Here is the second helping of music lyrics I like for your enjoyment. The purpose here is end-of-summer fun.
Words matter. Leadership requires more than modeling by example. Please remember, ‘We tend not to pay attention to what we have not put words to,’ attributed to Anonymous. Actions speak louder than words, and words make a difference.
Just as the melody and lyrics enhance each other to create something memorable, aligned words and actions combine to develop compelling leadership.
I appreciate the feedback. Some of you mentioned songs that resonated. Others shared a favorite lyric of theirs, which you will find here.
You can find my music mixes, including many of the songs here, on Spotify under Robert Hackman. There are 22 Quiet Playlists, which lean toward more laid-back music, 25 Rock Playlists, 28 Party Playlists containing eclectic music for parties, 3 Anthem Playlists of progressive rock, and 2 Soul Music Playlists.
You can also find a series of mixes by topic, including 11 Music About Men Playlists, 3 Pandemic Playlists, and a 4-hour Wedding Reception Playlist I made for my friend Tom and his wife Missy.
I encourage you to post yours in the comments or send them to me, and I will include them if there is room.
Please take time to relax, enjoy, and refuel before ramping back up for the Fall.
Fleetwood Mac
I can’t help about the shape I’m in
I can’t sing, I ain’t pretty, and my legs are thin
But don’t ask me what I think of you
I might not give the answer that you want me to
Written by: Peter Greene
Performed by: Fleetwood Mac
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uPk-7cZJqU
Almost Cut My Hair
Almost cut my hair
Happened just the other day
It’s gettin’ kind of long
I could’ve said it was in my way
But I didn’t, and I wonder why
I feel like letting my freak flag fly
And I feel like I owe it, yeah … to someone, yeah
Written by: David Crosby
Performed by: Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Lk2KHajp4Y
Stormy Monday
They call it Stormy Monday
But Tuesday’s just as bad.
They call it Stormy Monday
But Tuesday’s just as bad.
Lord, and Wednesday’s worse
And Thursday’s all so sad.
Written and Performed by: T-bone Walker
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Lk2KHajp4Y
Right Next Door (Because of Me)
I can hear the couple fighting right next door
Their angry words sound clear through these thin walls
Around midnight, I heard him shout, “Unfaithful one”
And I knew right then the axe was gonna fall
It’s because of me
It’s because of me
I heard him shout, “Who is he?” she mumbled low
He said, “Baby, don’t you lie to me no more”
And I’m listening through these thin walls in silent shame
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yftyjsm7JNA
Lawyers, Guns, and Money
Contribution from Sean Dempsey https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-dempsey-1304225/
I went home with the waitress, the way I always do
How was I to know, she was with the Russians, too?
I was gambling in Havana, I took a little risk
Send lawyers, guns and money, dad, get me out of this, ha
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnnoY8R9yCg
A Couple of Lyrics About Cooking and Lust
Blender Blues
If you bring the right ingredients
I’ll make any sauce you choose
I’ll hollandaise or mayonnaise
Any recipe you use
I can whip some waffle batter
I can blend some dough for buns
And if we get done blending,
We might even get some cooking done
Written and Performed by: Bonnie Raitt
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVlD4gU7akk
Too Many Cooks
Too many cooks are trying to get in your kitchen
The first thing you know there’s something missin’
You got a real good oven, you’ve got a hot range, too
Let me butter your buns while you stir the stew
Written and Performed by: Willie Dixon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFEGsTIhM00
Wild Horses
Faith has been broken
Tears must be cried
Let’s do some living
After we die
Wild horses
Couldn’t drag me away
Wild, wild horses
We’ll ride them someday
Written by: Mick Jagar and Keith Richard
Performed by: The Rolling Stones
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnnoY8R9yC
Sunday Kind of Love
I want a Sunday kind of love
A love to last past Saturday night
And I’d like to know
It’s more than love at first sight
And I want a Sunday kind of love
Oh yeah, yeah
Written by: Louis Prima, Barbara Belle, Anita Leonard, Stan Rhodes
Performed by: Etta Jams
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnnoY8R9yC
A couple of lyrics by Smokey Robinson
Tears of a Clown
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah
Now if there’s a smile on my face
It’s only there tryin’ to fool the public
But when it comes down to foolin’ you
Now, honey, that’s quite a different subject
But don’t let my glad expression
Give you the wrong impression
Really I’m sad, oh, sadder than sad
You’re gone, and I’m hurtin’ so bad
Like a clown, I pretend to be glad
Written by: Stevie Wonder, Henry Cosby, William Robinson Jr.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnnoY8R9yC
Second That Emotion
Oh, but if you feel like lovin’ me
If you got the notion
I second that emotion
So, if you feel like giving me a lifetime of devotion
I second that emotion
Written by: Alfred Cleveland, William Robinson Jr.
Performed by: Smokey Robinson and the Miracles
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnnoY8R9yC
Love You Like a Woman
But here’s some food for thought
And I want you to understand
I can love you like a woman,
But oh! Also, fight you like a man
(Did you hear what I said?)
It’s all right
Written by: Morris Dollison
Performed by: Koko Taylor
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnnoY8R9yCg
Love Maker
I ain’t no homemaker
I’m a love maker
Written by: Steve Cropper and Gary Nicholson
Performed by: Irma Thomas, Marcia Ball, and Tracy Nelson
https://www.shazam.com/track/10201150/love-maker
Grapefruit Moon
Now I’m smoking cigarettes
And I strive for purity
Written and Performed by: Tom Waits
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bpZjkjo3Tw
A couple of lyrics from Little Feat
Willin’
I been warped by the rain, driven by the snow
I’m drunk and dirty, don’t ya know
And I’m still, willin’
And I was out on the road, late at night
I see my pretty Alice in every headlight
Alice, Dallas Alice
Written by: Lowell George
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDYm1nYe0y8
Rock and Roll Doctor
A contribution by Ken Sher https://www.linkedin.com/in/kensher/
Two degrees in be-bop, a PHD in swing
He’s the master of rhythm he’s a rock and roll king
Written by: Lowell George and Fred Martin
Performed by: Little Feat
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLEELrICcz4
Some Lyrics About Men
Mamma, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys
Mamas, don’t let your babies grow up to be cowboys
Don’t let ’em pick guitars or drive them old trucks
Let ’em be doctors and lawyers and such
Written By: Patsy Bruce & Ed Bruce
Performed by: Willie Nelson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaWCepCWDyY
Real Men
Take your mind back, I don’t know when
Sometime when it always seemed to be just us and them
Girls that wore pink and boys that wore blue
Boys that always grew up better men than me and you
What’s a man now?
What’s a man mean?
Is he rough or is he rugged?
Is he cultural and clean?
Now it’s all change, it’s got to change more
Cause we think it’s getting better
But nobody’s really sure
Written and Performed by Joe Jackson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPx8bDqB5ak
Papa Don’t Take No Mess
I saw Papa cry when he thought that I would die.
Lookie here!
I saw Papa cry when he thought that I would die.
He said something was in his eye.
I knew it was a lie
Written by: Fred Wesley, James Brown, John Starks, Charles Fred Bobbitt
Performed by: James Brown
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0QQUps8954
The Father in You
Because we never had one at home
No no no as a little girl
So I understand, why daddy couldn’t be there
Cause it’s so obvious nobody taught him how to be a father to me
Oh and I’m not sayin’ this
To reminisce on the past
I’m just saying this to make you understand, that I needed a father
Written and Performed by: Mary J. Blige
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEA2Oh-K7oY
Good Man
I am a good man, food on the table
Working two jobs, ready, willing and able, check
Good man, up having fun
Got no kids and I love the Lord, check
Good man, I’m monogamous
Never did time—well, maybe just once, check
Written by: Raphael Saadiq & Taura Stinson
Performed by: Raphael Saadiq
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UasfEz69SSM
Troubled Man
Anxiety and sorrow
Underneath my skin
Self destruction and failure
Have beat my head in
I laughed out loud once
I won’t do that again
I’ve always traveled the hellfire road
And tasted the sweet smell of sin
I am a troubled man
Written and Performed by: John Mellencamp
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=troubled+man+john+mellencamp
Man in Motion
What do you expect the boy to do?
He’s just a fire burning
A storm passing through
Proceed with caution
He’s a man in motion
Written by: Warren Haynes, Jeffrey Norman Anders
Performed by: Warren Haynes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pinxjgslQe4
A Father and A Son
Now you and me are me, and you
And it’s a different ballgame, though not brand-new
I don’t know what all of this fighting is for
But we’re having us a teenage/middle-age war
I don’t want to die, and you want to live
It takes a little bit of take and a whole lot of give
It never really ends though each race is run
This thing between a father and a son
Maybe it’s power, push, and shove
Maybe it’s hate, probably it’s love
Maybe it’s hate, probably it’s love
Written and Performed by: Loudon Wainwright III
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2Q0GAxhq0w
Father, Son
Out on the moors
We take a pause
See how far we have come
You’re moving quite slow
How far can we go
Father and son
With my dad by my side
Written and Performed by: Peter Gabriel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvqQ7NtY6zM
Drive In Movies
I wanna be the guy who doesn’t like to fight,
But who could kick your ass if you touch his girl
I wanna be the guy who breaks all the rules
But the cops let him off cause they think he’s cool
Written and Performed by: Ray LaMontagne
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEsii6Bz0M0
All a Man Can Do
I took my engine made of steel, I walked it through the killing fields
I took the time to say a prayer or two,
I made some friends along the way, some returned some had to stay
And some of us could bear the pain, but some were never quite the same
Take your chances take your shot, cause 50/50’s all you got
Make each day the best you can, that’s a line I understand
Live each moment like your last, cause life goes by you so damn fast
Make a promise and keep it true cause That is all a man can do
Written and Performed by: Tom Rush
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVuWJ3-kmCY
Jimmy Olsen’s Blues
He’s leaping buildings in a single bound
I’m reading Shakespeare at my place downtown
Come on downtown and make love to me
I’m Jimmy Olsen, not a titan, you see
He’s faster than a bullet, stronger than a train
He’s the one who got lucky got his cape around Miss Lois Lane
I can’t believe my dilemma is real
I’m competing with a man of steel
Written by: Mark White, Chris Barron, Eric Schenkman, Aaron Comess
Performed by: The Spin Doctors
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SvGj6KkiGg
Superman Inside
Look in the mirror, even with a broken heart I’m fine
Keep on pushing, getting closer to peace of mind
Look in the mirror, even with a broken heart I’m fine
Living is so sweet, now with Superman inside,
Written by: Eric Patrick Clapton, Doyle Bramhall Ii, Susannah K Melvoin
Performed by: Eric Clapton
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEF856rsCu0
The Nothing Man
I don’t remember how I felt, I never thought I’d live
To read about myself in my hometown paper
How my brave young life was forever changed
In a misty cloud of pink vapor
Written and Performed by: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6C1FKzkRlc
Independence Day
Well, say goodbye, it’s Independence Day
It’s Independence Day, all boys must run away
So say goodbye, it’s Independence Day
All men must make their way, come Independence Day
Written and Performed by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GggK3Sn258
Walk Like a Man
Well, now the years have gone, and I’ve grown
From that seed you’ve sown
But I didn’t think there’d be so many steps
I’d have to learn on my own
Well, I was young and I didn’t know what to do
When I saw your best steps stolen away from you
Now I’ll do what I can
I’ll walk like a man
Written and Performed by: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6r4KjCuy94g
Additional Lyrics by Bruce Springsteen
Terry’s Song
Now your death is upon us, and we’ll return your ashes to the earth
And I know you’ll take comfort in knowing you’ve been roundly blessed and cursed
But love is a power greater than death, just like the songs and stories told
And when she built you, brother, she broke the mold
That attitude’s a power stronger than death, alive and burning her stone cold
When they built you, brother, they broke the mold
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jo9tv7J0HR8
The River
Now those memories come back to haunt me
They haunt me like a curse
Is a dream a lie if it don’t come true
Or is it something worse?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7BUXRsTbvI
The Promised Land
Blow away the dreams that tear you apart
Blow away the dreams that break your heart
Blow away the lies that leave you nothing
But lost and brokenhearted
Written and Performed by: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SF13Q2pPBz4
One Love
One love, one heart
Let’s get together and feel all right
Written by: Bob Marley, Neville Oril Livingston
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdB-8eLEW8g
Three Little Birds
Written by: Bob Marley
Performed by: Bob Marley and the Wailers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaGUr6wzyT8
Days Like This
When it’s not always raining there’ll be days like this
When there’s no one complaining there’ll be days like this
When everything falls into place like the flick of a switch
Well my mama told me there’ll be days like this
Written and Performed by: Van Morrison
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTZbbRMcjp8
Please reach out to me to share your favorite lyrics and to discuss developing your leadership words to benefit yourself, your team, and your company. I welcome the conversation.
Robert Hackman, Principal, 4C Consulting – Courageously Curious Consulting and Coaching, helps people live and lead with fewer regrets. He grows and develops leaders through executive coaching, strategy consulting, facilitation, and training of individuals, teams, and organizations. He is committed to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. He facilitates trusting environments that promote uncommonly candid conversations. Rob is also passionate about the power of Everyday Legacies and developing Legacy Mindsets. He has conducted over 50 Legacy interviews with people to date.
A serious man with a dry sense of humor who loves absurdity. Rob can often be found hiking rocky elevations or making music playlists. His varied mixes, including Pandemic Playlists and Music About Men, can be found on Spotify.
Bravely bring your curiosity to a conversation with Rob, schedule via voice or text @ 484.800.2203 or rhackman@4cconsulting.net.