“Oh, hey dude, I know that song!”
- Jeff Spicoli/Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Jeremiah was a bullfrog!…
Chances are, you know the line that follows that, don't you? And probably the name of the song too. Talking about compelling and famous opening sentences in books got me thinking about song openers. There are ones, that for a huge chunk of the population, elicit an almost Pavlovian response. When you hear the first line, you can't not fill in what comes next.
Then I thought, is that because they're particularly catchy in themselves, or are they memorable because they're attached to a song that's iconic? I think it's a mix of both:
Blue jean, baby, L.A. lady…
There must be some kinda way outta here…
Hello darkness my old friend…
Old man take a look at my life…
I hear the train a comin'…
There is a house in New Orleans…
When I find myself in times of trouble…
If I leave here tomorrow….
I saw a werewolf with a Chinese menu in his hand…
Whatever the case, even for songs that never become well known, it can't hurt to have a killer line right out of the chute.
Here are three that got my attention. How about you?
“Jesus was a social drinker”
"In a town where you can sum up every girl in just one sentence, give or take the subject or the verb"
“You and I both know that the house is haunted”