“Your old road is rapidly agin’, please get out of the new one, if you can’t lend your hand, for the times they are a-changin.’ 1964, before the moon landing, before Vietnam, Bob Dylan was a musical and lyrical genius and I just want to highlight a few lyrics that over the years have meant something to me. ‘Hurricane’ being another Dylan classic I can’t pass by that ends tragically with, ‘Yes, that’s the story of the Hurricane, but it won’t be over ’til they clear his name, and give him back the time he’s done, put in a prison cell, but one time he coulda been, the champion of the world.’

When you hear that acoustic guitar intro come in on, ‘More Than a Feeling’ I don’t know how you don’t turn up the volume involuntarily. Such an amazing rock song with a memorable guitar solo, but for all the happy sounding chords it’s actually sad, ‘When I’m tired and thinking cold, I hide in my music, forget the day, and dream of a girl I used to know, I closed my eyes and she slipped away.’ The one that got away might be a trope, but it’s not untrue. Boston didn’t leave a mis-spent note on this song, and it’s a great one to wake up to.

The iconic intro to, ‘Wonderwall’ is unmistakable and catchy and beautiful. Whoever Noel Gallagher was writing this song to must have been the MVP of womanhood. The guitar is amazing, but I challenge anyone in my generation to find more romantic lyrics than, ‘because maybe, you’re gonna be the one that saves me, and after all, you’re my wonderwall.’ I know it’s a cliche, but I never tire of playing this song on guitar. The composition is perfection like the film, ‘Casablanca’ and I will enjoy strumming this one to death until my passing.

That guitar intro to, ‘Sweet Child of Mine’ is just something else. From the first second, you are immersed in one of the greatest rock songs of all time. It’s the passionate, protective lyric that makes the song though (in addition to Slash’s fantastic wah-wah solo) ‘She’s got eyes of the bluest skies, as if they thought of rain, I’d hate to look into those eyes and see an ounce of pain.’ That first album was fantastic, and I’m not a fan of them, but this song was a masterpiece. I’ll never be able to play like Slash, but I hope I can write something this meaningful someday.

Catchy guitar intros seem to be a theme here, so Incubus’ ‘Drive’ is no surprise. Their first big hit in the late nineties definitely resonated with me, and Brandon Boyd’s voice and lyrics were unforgettable. ‘Whatever tomorrow brings I’ll be there, with open arms and open eyes yeah.’ How can you not love that? Forget Mike Einziger’s warming acoustic guitar, forget the rest of the song, how can you argue with that line?! They might not have topped this track throughout their career, but I’m so glad they made this one when they did, and you should be too.

I could have picked about five for Foo Fighters, but this is the obvious and forever one. ‘Everlong’ is their best song, and best lyric that Dave Grohl has in his deep catalog of classic ones. ‘If everything could ever feel this real forever, if anything could ever be this good again, the only thing I’ll ever ask of you, you’ve got to promise not to stop when I say when.’ You know what, I’m going to extend this paragraph because, ‘Times Like These’ deserves the recognition too. ‘It’s times like these you learn to live again, it’s times like these you give and give again, it’s times like these you learn to love again, it’s times like these time and time again.’ I know great musicians will keep giving me lyrics to fawn about, so play on.