When people think of the greatest songs of all time, we all think of that time we sang karaoke to Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’ or Whitney Houston’s I Will Always Love You, but which lyrics really stand the test of time? Here’s the Frederick Symphony Orchestra’s countdown a few of the most powerful lyrics from 1965 to today: 

• “Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free, silhouetted by the sea, circled by the circus sands / With all memory and fate driven deep beneath the waves / Let me forget about today until tomorrow”
  –Mr. Tambourine Man by Bob Dylan, 1965
• “We’re lost in a cloud / With too much rain / We’re trapped in a world / That’s troubled with pain / But as long as a man / Has the strength to dream / He can redeem his soul and fly”
  –If I Can Dream by Elvis Presley, 1968

• “Look at your children / See their faces in golden rays / Don’t kid yourself they belong to you / They’re the start of a coming race”
  –Oh! You Pretty Things! by David Bowie, 1971
• “You may say I’m a dreamer / But I’m not the only one / I hope someday you’ll join us”
  –Imagine by John Lennon, 1971
• “Some of it’s magic / Some of it’s tragic / But I had a good life all the way”
  –He Went to Paris by Jimmy Buffet, 1973
• “Wake up all the teachers / Time to teach a new way / Maybe then they’ll listen to whatcha have to say / ‘Cause they’re the ones who’s coming up / And the world is in their hands / When you teach the children / Teach ‘em the very best you can”
  –Wake Up Everybody by Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, 1975
• “When this old world starts a getting me down / And people are just too much for me to face / I’ll climb way up to the top of the stairs and all my cares just drift right into space / On the roof, it’s peaceful as can be and there the world below don’t bother me”
  –Up on the Roof by James Taylor, 1979
• “We are strong / No one can tell us we’re wrong / Searching our hearts for so long / Both of us knowing / Love is a battlefield”
  –Love Is A Battlefield by Pat Benatar, 1983
• “Dearly beloved / We are gathered here today to get you through this thing called life”
  –Let’s Go Crazy by Prince, 1984
• “I’m starting with the man in the mirror / I’m asking him to change his ways / And no message could have been any clearer / If you wanna make the world a better place / Take a look at yourself, and then make a change”
  –Man In The Mirror by Michael Jackson, 1987
• “So don’t be tempted by the shiny apple / Don’t you eat of a bitter fruit / Hunger only for a taste of justice / Hunger only for a world of truth / ‘Cause all that you have is your soul”
  –All That You Have Is Your Soul by Tracy Chapman, 1989
• “Someday we’ll all be gone / But lullabies go on and on / They never die / That’s how you and I will be”
  –Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel) by Billy Joel, 1993
• “You’ve got the music in you / Don’t let go / You’ve got the music in you / One dance left / This world is gonna pull through / Don’t give up / You’ve got a reason to live / Can’t forget / We only get what we give”
  –You Get What You Give by New Radicals, 1998
• “You can spend your whole life buildin’ / Somethin’ from nothin’ / One storm can come and blow it all away / Build it anyway”
  –Anyway by Martina McBride, 2007

• “If you’re ready, we can shake the world / Believe again, it starts within / We don’t have to wait for destiny / We should be the change we want to see”
  –If You’re Out There by John Legend, 2008

• “Be students / Be teachers / Be politicians / Be preachers / Be believers / Be leaders / Be astronauts / Be champions / Be truth seekers”
  –Hall of Fame by The Script feat. will.i.am, 2012

• “Sometimes I just feel it’s only me / Who never became who they thought they’d be / I wish I could live a little more / Look up to the sky, not just the floor”
  –Million Years Ago by Adele, 2015

These powerful lyrics span across genres and generations, telling stories, provoking change and hope, and teaching listeners about what it means to live and love.

If you’d like to hear the inspirational music of The Titanic, Romeo and Juliet, Phantom of the Opera, Forrest Gump, and West Side Story, come to Forbidden Love on June 17, 2017.