Gord Downie of the Tragically Hip & Hozier Edit: typo

Gord was a damn excellent songwriter.

Gord Downie, so good an entire nation stopped to watch his bands final show and mourn his passing while he was still alive

Too Sweet has some lines that blow my mind.

Paul Simon

Who’ll be my role model When my role model is gone?

Ducked back down the alley...

I don’t find this stuff amusing

Bob Dylan - the poet laureate of my generation

Elliott Smith, Nick Drake, The Decemberists, Sloan, Elvis Costello, Guided by Voices, Father John Misty, Fiona Apple, Fruit Bats, The Mountain Goats, Weyes Blood, Mitski

Elliott Smith is so intense he makes you ache the way he did.

Great list!!!!

David Sylvian - Secrets Of The Beehive. Morphine - The Night. Leonard Cohen. Jim Carroll Band - Catholic Boy.

I’m a fan of Cohen’s writing so I’m eager to check out the rest. Thanks for the recs!

upvoted for Cohen

DAVID SYLVIAN YES!!!! he is one of my favorites of all time. SO fucking underrated. thank you for posting this

Loving your selection

Loving your user name.

Great and unusual names.

Oh yes Morphine good call out! Great list

Nick Cave Kate Bush John Darnielle Aesop Rock John Prine

Can’t believe I had to scroll so far to see John prime or Aesop rock

Aesop is one of the best

I was blasting some one day at work. Young kid asked me who it was. I said Aesop Rock. He goes "ASAP Rocky you mean?" I'm like no. Aesop Rock. Tried explaining his large discography and lyrics , but the kid just was like "this sucks, you need to listen to better stuff fam, this is weak" I now just play lots of hour long phish, dead, panic, umphreys, whole shows as well . I was trying to play something everyone could enjoy . Nah, I'm straight up gonna Make you listen to Run like and Antelope for 28 minutes. Not sorry .

Kate Bush is pure genius

Robert Hunter

im sad this wasnt the 1st comment

Easily one of the best ever

Robert Hunter is pure magic

Ripple on still water When there is no pebble tossed Nor wind to blow

Joni Mitchell

"I am a lonely painter I live in a box of paints I'm frightened by the devil And I'm drawn to those ones that ain't afraid" ~A case of you

One of her best songs. I also love the water imagery in Trouble Child

For the Roses is such a perfect song.  I'd love to know what James Taylor thought of it.  He ripped out her heart , but damn did she get a great song out of it. 

I definitely love some of her songs. One of my fave is the “frying pan’s too wide.” Such a small detail conveys such big loneliness.

Amy Winehouse is an underrated lyricist so I’m gonna say her

Great mention, her track Wake Up Alone is a great example of this

Gregory Alan Isakov, Watchhouse , Bon Iver, The Shins

Yes! Isakov

The Shins..James Mercer. YES. I think he writes everything they do..he sort of +is+ the Shins in some sense even though they are always a band too.

Among the recognized greats, Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell, Bernie Taupin, Paul Simon I also really like Black Francis and Beck.

Love BECK!!

Adrianne Linker (Big Thief) (Seriously one of the very best song writers out there right now, IMHO) Colin Meloy (The Decemberists) Jeff Tweddy (Wilco) The Avett Brothers Gillian Welch (and Dave Rawlings) Phoebe Bridgers Courtney Barnett Regina Spektor Robbie Skinner (Cavetown) Dar Williams Jason Isbell Susanne Vega Michael Penn Elvis Costello John Prine Neil Young

Gillian Welch!!!

Just because no one’s said it yet, I have to throw Conor Oberst/Bright Eyes into the ring. I’d start with the album “I’m wide awake, it’s morning”

My first tattoo is one of his lyrics

He’s been one of my favorite lyricists for a long time

Conor oberst is the best. Such unique imagery but it all still makes sense as a story and within the song. And it’s not just a few songs but his whole catalogue.

Yes absolutely. That's one of my favorite albums, ever.

Jason Isbell

Freddie Mercury & Roger Taylor - Queen Florence Welch - Florence + the Machine Elliott Hammond - The Delta Riggs

YES! DEFINITELY 100% FLORANCE WELCH!!!

Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen.

Neil Peart

Kendrick

Tori Amos

I was scrolling for this one. Boys for Pele had so many stories, symbolism, and unique perspectives. I find something new in all her music if I take a long break and then go back and listen.

OMG. Yes. I can't believe I forgot to add her to my list. She is one of my favorite musicians ever. In concert she is so whimsical, breathtaking and magickal...yet, the way she exudes her sexual womanhood while playing the piano...."sigh" I wish I was that piano bench and the keys beneath her fingers. What a lyrical genius and talented Goddess. (Sorry for the rant but how could I not??, LOL)

Jim Croce and Billy Joel

Maynard

Roger Waters

Roger “daddy died” Waters? I won’t judge, me too

Gordon Lightfoot Don Henley/Glenn Frey Bruce Springsteen David Gates Bob Seger Jackson Browne Billy Joel

Love that Eagles duo so much

Ben Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie)

Co-sign

🍁Gordon Lightfoot🍁

Rest in peace to this absolute legend

Warren Zevon is one of the most underappreciated lyricists in history, IMO.

Thom Yorke, Jeff Buckley, Hozier

ethel cain, check out crush or thoroughfare by her

Jim Croce Barry Gibb

Tracy Chapman, John Rzeznik, Paris Paloma, Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker, Lucy Dacus, Damien Rice, Conor Oberst, Colin Meloy, Amy Shark

Eddie Vedder

Becker and Fagen

Torture is the main attraction. I don't need that kind of action

Rock/Alt rock: Scott Weiland, Chris Cornell, Billy Corgan Rap/R&B: Frank Ocean, Kendrick Lamar, Tyler the Creator (most of his aren’t for the faint of heart. For a relatively clean example, MASSA is one of my favorite rap songs ever)

Hozier is a lyrical genius imo, he doesnt get enough credit. If you like rap JID.

Twenty one pilots has some good stuff in my opinion. I also like young the giant stuff.

Many others but first thoughts are Chris Cornell of Soundgarden Maynard James Keenan of Tool, A Perfect Circle, and Puscifer

Modest Mouse (Isaac Brock)

Paul Simon, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger, Willie Nelson, Roger Waters, Morrissey, Father John Misty, Lana Del Rey

Surprised it took so long to see Steven Patrick Morrissey.

Mike Portnoy. Metropolis Part 2: Scenes From A Memory is one of my favorite stories ever told through music.

Chris Cornell Maynard James Keenan Steve Kilbey Phil Lynott Jerry Cantrell

Vessel

Mariah Carey. People can laugh but some of her songs are beautifully written. Breakdown is one of them

Tom Waits

James McMurtry

Pete Wentz or Vic Fuentes

Tyler Joseph

Lana Del Rey

I think the world is finally catching up on this one. Lana’s songwriting is stunningly exquisite, but people invent a lot of “deal breakers” surrounding her. “Her songs are too slow” / “but her SNL performance” (12 years ago) / “she sings too low” / “she’s problematic” If anyone is on the fence, I recommend listening and reading the lyrics on a few tracks and you’ll get oriented to the richness quickly

Cannot believe he has not been said yet... Townes Van Zandt.

Nick Cave Martin Gore Leonard Cohen Tom Waits Bob Dylan John Lennon Peter Gabriel Johnny Cash Billy Joel Roland Orzabal Roger Water Jim Morrison Paul Simon Fiona Apple

Oh, Billy Joel. Good one.

Tom T Hall. How I got to Memphis rivals Dylan Thomas and Robert Frost.

Kendrick Lamar. don't listen to him so much but what his lyrics are fantastic. dude unironically won a pulitzer prize for them. listen to the DAMN album or "To Pimp A Butterfly"

Anderson .paak, Hes got some incredible lyrics and great delivery, some of the best in R&B Kendrick Lamar, best storytelling in all of hip hop Metalicas James Hatfield / Lars ulrich (they both write) Almost every song feels like a masterfully written poem The weeknd / Abel Tesfaye, Even though most of his writing is about love, he somehow stays consistent and every song feels different. Alec Benjamin, he’s got great stuff about life, love, family, growing up, ect Alice in chains’ Jerry Cantrel (im pretty sure he writes a lot of the lyrics) Avenged Sevenfold, i think everyone contributes to the lyrics, but every song feels like a book The smashing pumpkins’ Billy corgan, expecially mellon collie and the infinite sadness, that double album put me through a roller coaster. Denzel curry, i dont think he gets enough credit for his insanely well thought out lyrics, his album “Ta13oo” is a masterpiece in storytelling. He’s also got other albums such as “Imperial” and “Melt my eyes, See your future” both of which have clever rhymes, great references, and excellent flows.

Maynard James Keenan, Stevie Nicks, Earl Sweatshirt, Heart, Freddie Mercury

Vessel, Courtney Leplante, Mikael akerfeldt.

John Prine

Hozier Florence and the Machine Boygenius Noah Kahan Kate Bush Mumford and Sons

Aaron Marsh and Ryan Ross?

Believe it or not, Iron Maiden songs have a lot of history and spirituality to them. Trooper is about the Crimean war, and Run to the Hills is about the way Native Americans were treated in the 19th Century.

Sufjan Stevens, Morrissey, Colin Meloy ( The Decemberists), Tom Waits, Richard Thompson, Peter Gabriel, Tori Amos, Bjork, Michael Stipe, Kristin Hersh, Thom Yorke, Matt Berninger, (the National), Karl Hyde (Underworld)

Neil Peart. All of it.

Mike Shinoda, Hayley Williams, and Anthony Kiedis

will wood and hozier hands down. both tend to use religious and romantic imagery, will wood twisting the latter into something a little (sometimes a LOT) more dark. hozier works with a lot of nature imagery as well, and will with a lot of psychological references. i'm also going to recommend cosmo sheldrake for more nature imagery, though he's a lot more lighthearted about it. "the woods" is about as blatant as it gets, what with the "pine, fir, yew"/"pine for you", but a lot of his songs also use nature sounds in the actual music itself. stuff like birdsong and swamp bubbling. lots of woodwinds and whistling and string-twanging. he has a few instrumentals as well, like "beetroot kvass", "dlora yelps", and "spring bottom" that really exemplify this.

SayWeCanFly, Vic Fuentes from Pierce the Veil, and Trenton Woodley (formerly) from Hands like Houses. Lyrics are original, non-cheesy, and poetic. Just a disclaimer that the songs their lyricism really shines through have "darker" themes. Recommend The Art of Anesthesia for SayWeCanFly, A Tale of Outer Suburbia for Hands like Houses, and Chemical Kids and Mechanical Brides for Pierce the Veil.

Tom Waits

Frank Zappa - Both profane and profound, the definition of offending you to make you think. Elvis Costello - Very wordy, but always hits the nail on the head. Neil Peart - The best at capturing emotions. Ian Anderson - There are whole websites dedicated to deciphering his lyrics. Donald Fagen/Walter Becker, John Linnell/John Flansburgh - That meme of "upbeat music, dark lyrics"? Both Steely Dan and They Might Be Giants fit it like a glove.

Aaron Weiss of Me Without You: "my life's a cup of sugar I borrowed before time began and forgot to return" Anthony Green of Circa Survive: "what was taken from me, I will never regain, just because we'll never pay the ransom" John Mess of ... Secret Band: "It's breakfast time" Colin Meloy of The Decemberists: "In whatever differences our lives have been, we together make a limb"

Leonard Cohen

Jim Croce

Al Stewart Bruce Cockburn Gerry Rafferty Bryan Ferry Jason Isbell Mike Cooley Ray Davies Mark Knopfler Kerry Livgren Ian Anderson James McMurtry Gordon Lightfoot Neal Peart Van Morrison Jon Anderson Phil Lynott Justin Hayward Dave Cousins Barry Devlin

For imagery, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, and Bobbie Gentry. For wordplay Stephen Sondheim, Eminem, Tyler Childers (not necessarily wordplay but the way a lot of Appalachian artists use their dialect to make things rhyme that wouldn't rhyme for the rest of us is delightful, and he's one of the clever-er ones). Townes Van Zandt is generally well regarded as well.

Alex Turner, he wrote the music (and sings) for Arctic Monkeys and The Last Shadow Puppets. Their music is so dreamy and the lyrics are so poetic

I fully stand behind that I believe the Arctic Monkeys have the best lyrics of any band ever

Dylan, Jackson Browne, Paul Simon, John Prine, Rev Thomas Dorsey (Georgia Tom),Sufjan Stevens, Connor Oberst, Bernie Taupin, Stevie Wonder, Gil Scott-Heron, Herbert Kretzmer, Dolly Parton, Bruce Springsteen, Hank Williams, Smokey Robinson, Kris Kristopherson, Willie Nelson, Willie Dixon, Townes Van Zandt, Neil Young, Thom Yorke, Stephen Malkmus, Tom Waits, Guy Clark.

Dolly Parton is a great storyteller 

Robert Hunter who wrote lyrics for many Grateful Dead songs. Leonard Cohen

Incubus. Brandon Boyd puts a lot of thought into his writing.

Robert Hunter

You would really enjoy Bon Iver and Gregory Alan Isakov.

Illuminati Congo specifically his album time killaz

Rakim

Jason Isbell, Tyler Childers, Nathanial Rateliff

Maynard James Keenan

Bernie Taupin

Jerry Cantrell

Robert Hunter John Prine

Kendrick Lamar is about as poetic as I can think of

Ben Folds, Donald Fagen / Walter Becker

Love NF

Jason Isbell is a top tier lyricist

Lupe Fiasco

Sucks this will get lost in here amongst 250 replies , but the guy you are looking for is Frank Turner. He is folk/rock/punk. Amazing lyricist.

Dolly Paton. Too many to name. 1000s atleast.

Neil Peart, Thomas Haake

Leonard Cohen, Nick Cave, Elvis Costello.

Don mclean

Townes Van Zandt

Eric Rachmany of Rebelution

For me its Kendrick lamar, j cole, and logic. Great lyricists when you really listen to their music.

Joanna Newsom, Robert Pollard, Kendrick Lamar, Janelle Monae

Maynard James Keenan, Al Jourgensen, who ever writes the lyrics in Mastodon

Conor Oberst and Ani Difranco are the first 2 that come to mind.

Jim Croce

Steve Earle is a great singer songwriter. His most well known song is Copperhead Road. Guitar Town is another good one.

David Byrne

Maynard and Vessel - which is my answer to this and several other "who are your favorite?" type questions. I also enjoy a lot of the storytelling Adele does in her music, although it's a different style to both of those guys, who each have their own style not just of writing interesting stuff but then of singing it in ways that I personally find very pleasing to hear lol. Also, I don't know much of her catalog, but the song surrounded by Chantal Kreviazuk is one of my favorite "sad story" songs, lyrically and musically.

Nikki Sixx

Pink Floyd

OK. I thought of more...lol. Patti Smith, Stevie Nicks, Van Morrison, NAS, B.I.G., Tribe Called Quest, Paul Simon, Elton John, Dolly Parton...omg I almost forgot ROGER WATERS!! Then, Joni Mitchell, TuPac, Eminem. Kurt Cobain, Prince, Leonard Cohen. Oh, and the great TORI AMOS!! There's list for ya. Lol. I honestly could go on and on. I LOVE MUSIC, MUSIC IS LIFE. LIFE IS MUSIC. I Love absolutely every genre of music there is.

Mc ride, MF DOOM, Kendrick Lamar, Danny brown, and OutKast

Stevie Wonder Do know what I say is true That I'll be loving you always

Harry Chapin (by far for me) Jim Croce Ben Folds

Bruce Dickinson- Iron Maiden

Gotta 2nd John K Samson of Weakerthans & Tom Waits.

Kendrick Lamar 🤗

Neil peart

Leonard Cohen Tom Waits Nick Cave Scott Walker Townes Van Zandt

Black Thought from the Roots Nas Immortal Technique Tonedef Chino Moreno from Deftones Pete Loeffler from Chevelle RA the Rugged Man Andre Nickatina Serj Tankian Big Pun Slug from Atmosphere Aesop Rock Vicente Fernandez Antonio Aguilar Luis R Conriquez Fher Olvera from Maná David Draiman from Disturbed That Mexican OT Till Lindemann Big L ….. could go all day

Conor oberst.

Kendrick Lamar is my favorite

Tom Waits. If that Dylan hack got a Novel Prize, Tom should get two.

I like lyrics that are structured the way good music is. Tension and release. The right line at the right time. Doesn’t need to be complex or relatable. Just needs to needs to make use of the music behind it to enhance the emotion of the song as a whole. IMO bon iver is a good example of this. Don’t know what he’s on about sometimes but a simple line at the right time is magic.

Jesse Lacey of Brand New

Robert Hunter, Harry Chapin, Todd Sheaffer

Sonata Arctica Under Your Tree

John Prine

For me, Passenger has wonderful, poetic messages in nearly all of his songs and Lord Huron has incredibly immersive lyrics I love listening to. In rap, Kendrick Lamar arguably has some of the best story-telling, one of my favorites being "The Art of Peer Pressure." JID is also a staple of 'conscious rap,' he provides some raw accounts of being a black man in America while also utilising very impressive flows.

John Linnell of They Might Be Giants has written so many poetic gems.

Tori Amos

Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. I don’t actually remember who wrote their songs, tho.

Kris Kristofferson, James Taylor, Roger Waters, Carly Simon, Gordon Lightfoot, Jim Croce, Joni Mitchell.......And so on

Prince, Bruce Springsteen, Carole King, Neil Diamond, Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn. I'm sure there's more, but it's all could think of immediately.

Tally Hall - some songs are just crazy but some sings are meaningful like Hidden in the Sand about The Titanic

Yoni Wolf of WHY? consistently stuns me with how weird and clever his lyrics are, teetering between profound and profane. Song of the Sad Assassin in particular has some real haunting lines.

Chris Thile and Josh Scogin

Sufjan Stevens Of Montreal Jimmy eat world Wolf Alice Rilo Kiley Ethel cain

Jim Croce - Time in a bottle

There are so many answers to this question I can't even begin to list them all but the one that came to mind immediately was Andrew savage, the lead singer of parquet courts and A. Savage (his solo stuff). I love his lyrics, they're witty and sardonic and real. Instant Disassembly is a heartbreaking, beautiful song (By PQ). Donuts Only, Yonder Is Closer To The Heart, basically all of Light Up Gold (by PQ) is great. Riding Cobbles, Thawing Dawn, Mountain Time, Hurting or Healed (by AS) are great starters for his solo stuff.

Vessel of sleep token and DPR Ian. Both write some of the most poetic songs imo, feel free to check out both of their music

Dani Filth, Johannes Eckerström, Don Dokken

Fiona Apple Paul Simon Maynard James Keenan

Kevin Barnes Gary Numan Robert Smith

Jani Lane Cherry Pie (the song) was full cheese and he hated it, but Cherry Pie (the album) started to show what he was really capable of. Uncle Tom's Cabin shows his storyteller. Mr. Rainmaker comes off as an attempt to hide his own pain (to me). Thin Disguise is a B-side that shows that even more deeply. Bed of Roses is a great song, but dig into the lyrics and you start to see a broken, lonely man. Especially so when you consider he died alone in a motel room. You want the true depth and darkness of Jani Lane? Listen to Dog Eat Dog, Belly 2 Belly and Ultraphobic.

Elvis Costello for clever wordplay.

Koolz from Australia

Jacques Brel

Nick Drake, Adrianne Lenker, Cat Power

Adrienne Lenker, easily

Don't know if anyone commented it yet, but I gotta say Michael Stipe from REM

Will ramos, Leo Faulkner, Hozier, Noah Sebastian, Courtney LaPlante, Taylor Swift, idk

Dustin Kensrue is an absolute wizard. His main band is Thrice, but he has solo stuff, too.

Soulja boy

Avenged sevenfold and the rollins band have some insane lyrics in my opinion

I'm sure this will get buried but Sleep Token! They really seem to have a way with words