The First Lyrics You Remember Being Grabbed By

Lior: The Doors - Five To One

“Five to one baby/One in five/No one here gets out alive… They got the guns/But we got the numbers/Gonna win/Yeah we’re taking over”

The meaning of these lyrics has been debated but there is a theory that it is about Vietnam and conscription. For me this song encapsulates what I imagine the feeling would have been around the peace movement at the time of the Vietnam war.

Domini: Joni Mitchell - The Circle Game

There was a fair bit of Joni Mitchell around when I was growing up, and I remember hearing The Circle Game and being really struck by the chorus line: "And the seasons, they go round and round / And the painted ponies go up and down / We're captive on the carousel of time." 

I just thought it was such a beautiful description of the ceaseless passing of time. My mum actually rewrote the verse lyrics of this song to sing it at a dear family friend’s funeral, so it’s taken on a lot of meaning for me.

A Lyric You Wish You'd Written

Domini: Laura Marling - Master Hunter/Little Love Caster

There’s this beautiful Laura Marling lyric that actually straddles two songs on her album Once I Was An Eagle. It starts in Master Hunter, a song which feels like this driving unapologetic admittance of being a predator in love. Laura sings "I am a master hunter / I cured my skin, now nothing gets in." By the end of the song she’s almost spitting the words at us. But the next song on the record, Little Love Caster, opens with "Yes I am a master" sung so very tenderly. It feels almost like the apology at the end of the storm, expressing the grief behind the anger. 

Lior: Don McLean - Vincent

“Starry starry night/Paint your palate blue and grey/Look out on a summer’s day.With eyes that know the darkness in my soul”

I perform a cover of this song. I don’t know if there is a finer lyric from start to finish in the world of singer-songwriters. It so beautifully captures Van Gogh’s genius and tormented life.

A Lyric You Think Is Perfect

Lior: Feist - Mushaboom

“Helping the kids out of their coats/But wait the baby hasn’t been born”

This is my favorite opening couplet. An evocative lyric which looks ahead and paints a dream of a settled and content life in full colour. It always takes me back to my days of being a young, broke  aspiring artist, hearing this song and feeling like she captured this feeling so well.

Domini: The Mountain Goats - No Children

I’m a big fan of The Mountain Goats. I love the way John Darnielle can manage to be so direct and so poetic simultaneously. This simple and devastating lyric from ‘No Children’, detailing the end of a mutually damaging relationship, is a perfect example - "I am drowning / There is no sign of land / You are coming down with me / Hand in unlovable hand."

A Lyric That Makes You Happy

Domini: Gillian Welch - Everything Is Free

There’s this gorgeous lyric from Everything is Free by Gillian Welch, where she expresses giving herself comfort through song - "Sing a little love song / My love, to myself / If there's something that you want to hear / You can sing it yourself." A lot of the song is a bit heartbreaking, because it’s all about the strange and flawed relationship between being an artist and making money from your art, but this line always reminds me of the joy of being able to sing and write purely for yourself.

Lior: Stevie Wonder - Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing

What more needs to be said.

A Lyric That Makes You Sad

Lior: James Taylor - Fire And Rain

“Just yesterday morning they called to tell me you were gone/Suzanne the plans we had put an end to you/Woke up this morning and I wrote down this song/I just can’t remember who to send it to”

Such a perfectly crafted song about loss. The efficiency of the opening verse in pulling you in to the song is remarkable.

Domini: Sufjan Stevens - Should Have Known Better

A friend of mine affectionately refers to Sufjan Stevens as ‘the King of Tears’ so it’s no surprise I’m choosing him for this category. His recent album Carrie & Lowell revolves around losing his mum, who he spent a lot of his life estranged from. There’s this beautiful lyric that captures his regret so poignantly -  "I should have known better / Nothing can be changed / The past is still the past / The bridge to nowhere." Yep, definitely the King.

The Most 'Underrated' Lyrics

Domini: Cake - Love You Madly

Love You Madly by Cake (what a banger) always seems to blaze by at parties with only the chorus getting a sing-along look in. But in the second verse John McCrea casually sings "I don't want to fake it, I just want to make it / The ornaments look pretty but they're pulling down the branches of the tree." What a genius description of the absurdity of prioritising the superficial over the meaningful.

Lior: Supertramp - Take The Long Way Home

“There are times that you feel you're part of the scenery/All the greenery is comin' down, boy/And then your wife seems to think you're part of the furniture”

Most people seem to think this is a feel-good song because the music has this buoyant upbeat flavour to it. When you dissect the lyric however the song takes an unexpected turn – the crushing disparity between experiencing the highs of a revered performer to feeling trapped and under-appreciated upon returning home to a mundane domestic life.

A Favourite Lyric From Your New Release

Both: Lior & Domini - Honest Mistake

“Love is finding someone who wants to own your troubles”

"I’m not your river, that flows endlessly / Can’t take you in, then release you / Naked and clean."

This was written about the experience of feeling like your partner wants you to be their saviour more than anything else. When I sing this line I always feel like we really managed to capture that dynamic, which is very satisfying as a writer.

Animal In Hiding is out tomorrow, Friday 15 October.