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Credit: Far Out \/ Tom Petty \/ Eric Meola<\/p>\n
Sun 31 May 2026 18:30, UK <\/p>\n
The late Lord Byron would hardly have gotten a look in when it comes to classic rock<\/a> lyricism. He might be considered one of the finest writers of all time, but he\u2019s far too cerebral for a genre that Keith Richards describes as \u201cmusic for the neck downwards\u201d.<\/p>\n Gruff guitars and pulsing beats do not crave words that prompt you to ponder. Rock \u2018n\u2019 roll needs action and immediacy. As Bono explained when citing \u2018I Saw Her Standing There\u2019 as the greatest lyric ever written<\/a>, \u201cIt does not describe itself as poetry. It\u2019s better. It\u2019s adolescent and it\u2019s transcendent.\u201d He waffles on from there, as is his wont, but his point remains: move over Byron, some young vagabonds from Liverpool are in the new bards in town.<\/p>\n That was the principle statement of early rock \u2018n\u2019 roll. It was a noisy announcement of a cultural shake-up. And while The Beatles might have been pleasantly proclaiming that love was the way forward, the Rolling Stones were setting themselves up as the inverse. They were proud to be rowdy delinquents, and their lyrics perfectly tied into this.<\/p>\n Owing to the fact that the reverence art is owed is still largely measured on the Byronic scale of old, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards have rarely gotten the lyrical credit that they deserve. However, musicians themselves understand how difficult it is to land on punky phrases with plenty of bite that don\u2019t sound corny.<\/p>\n With that in mind, Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty recognised the duo as masters. They understood that their arresting words were the perfect accompaniment to the blistering riffs and pouting attitude that helped to launch a revolution, and between them, the American contemporaries picked out two lyrics that exemplified this.<\/p>\n \u201cThey had so much attitude, it dripped off the plate,\u201d Petty proudly asserted as a fan of the band. This attitude was writ large across the all-encapsulating \u2018(I Can\u2019t Get No) Satisfaction\u2019<\/a>, and so it became a song that Petty always held as a firm favourite.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe riff and distortion grab you, and the lyric is so worldly,\u201d he said. Relating to Jagger\u2019s cutting remark about an angsty search for happiness, he added in high praise that its opening lines were \u201ca great moment in rock history. Just the phrase is worth a million bucks.\u201d That titular phrase captured more weight than five measly words should be able to manage.<\/p>\n Further reading: From The Vault<\/p>\n Springsteen, similarly, thought their concision was to be applauded. Speaking about his love of \u2018Street Fighting Man\u2019 to writer David Marsh, Springsteen said: \u201cThat one line, \u2018What can a poor boy do but sing in a rock and roll band?\u2019 is one of the greatest rock and roll lines<\/a> of all time. It has that edge-of-the-cliff thing when you hit it. And it\u2019s funny; it\u2019s got humour to it.\u201d<\/p>\n In a flash, that one line illuminates the social mobility made possible by rock \u2018n\u2019 roll that both Springsteen and Petty would cling to. Over half a century later, you still have band like Fontaines DC echoing it in utterances like, \u201cMy childhood was small, But I\u2019m gonna be big\u201d.<\/p>\n Both \u201cI can\u2019t get no satisfaction\u201d and \u201cWhat can a poor boy do but sing in a rock and roll band\u201d might not sound like much on paper, but roared with the backing of a riff, and you hear something that sounds like touchpaper being lit.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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<\/a> The Far Out Classic Rock Newsletter<\/p>\n