Two jump to mind for me -

"Gold coast slave ship bound for cotton fields..."

"I met a gin-soaked barroom queen in Memphis"

so evocative and crammed with detail - really great writing

I hear the click clack of your feet on the stairs

Im a fleabit peanut monkey
All my friends are junkies,
Thats not really true

this could get interesting

"what a drag it is getting old"

did any band ever have as many great opening come on lines?

I got nasty habits, I take tea at three

The Fields of Eden Are Full Of Trash

Nunna nun narr nuh nuh nunarrr OhYeeeah .....



ROCKMAN

I was born in a cross-fire hurricane
And I howled at my ma in the driving rain

I hear you talking when I'm on the street,
Your mouth don't move but I can hear you speak.


Did you ever wake up to find
A day that broke up your mind

"Someone woke me up this morning and I lit a cigarette/Found myself when I stopped yawning, started getting myself dressed"

never kept dollar past sunset
always burb a hole in my pants

DANCE LITTLE SISTER (IORR, 1974):

On Thursday night she looked a fright
Her pricki hair all curled, oh Lord, what a sight
Dance, dance, little sister, dance

-----

Esspeciallay the first line, how Mick lets "night" an "fright" rhyme, great singing.

Mr.Ed

Agree about HTW and Mother's Little Helper. Also:

"She would never say where she came from"

"Please allow me to introduce myself..."

and of course

I can't get NO satisfaction

The band's onstage and it's one of those nights

I think we will get all the opening lines now...
Nice post though

You can turn off and on more times than a flashing neon sign

Not an opener, but great nonetheless:

She busted in and she burglerized my soul
But now the bad news: she's out on parole

And I love you, dirty fu cker
Sister and brother
Moaning in the moonlight
Singing for your supper

Oh, a storm is threatning
My very life today

Hannah honey was a peachy kind of girl, her eyes were hazel and her nose was slightly curved ". It's like setting up a story.

Please allow me to introduce myself...

"I WAS BORN IN A CROSSFIRE HURRICANE"

MILO, NYC

This title is shared by Let it Loose and Shine a Light

Worked in bars and sideshows along the twilight zone

i read every one of these and get goosebumps

so you know--the purpose of this wasn't random - I think Mick/Keith as writers get overlooked somewhat - but their words are incredible -- the storytelling is exceptional - and the first line set-ups are some of the best in music - nobody sets the table like Mick and Keith, IMO

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erikjjf
The band's onstage and it's one of those nights

Yes. You have it.

"Honey is there anyplace that you would like to eat?"

"Saw you stretched out in room 10-09"

"Down in the graveyard, where we have our tryst"

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UnionHall
I hear the click clack of your feet on the stairs

This one. The imagery is masterful.

I see a red door and I want to paint it black