The Age Old Question: A Podcast for Music Fans · Rich Price and Clint Bierman

What Is The Most Profound Lyric Of All-Time (Part 2)?

March 5, 2024·51 min·1 clip

'Progress takes away what forever took to find'—a perfect encapsulation of how innovation erases what came before.

Hosts Rich Price and Clint Bierman continue their quest to identify the most profound song lyric, revisiting listener suggestions and personal favorites. They frame the search as finding lines that distill the human experience, often evoking strong emotional or philosophical responses. Rich immediately corrects his omission from Part One by highlighting several Paul Simon couplets, including "Like a bridge over troubled water, I will ease your mind" and "losing love is like a window in your heart." Clint nominates Dave Matthews' "Progress takes away what forever took to find" from *The Dreaming Tree*. Listener Will Evans suggests Ray LaMontagne's "Empty," leading Rich to share the line "Ain't it about time you realize it's not worth keeping score?" from *Old Before Your Time*. A friend submits lyrics from James Taylor ("Sweet Dreams and Flying Machines in Pieces on the Ground"), Leonard Cohen ("I have tried in my own way to be free"), and Kris Kristofferson ("Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose"). Broadway star Kelly O'Hara offers "Fame, if you win it, comes and goes in a minute" from the musical *Do-Re-Mi*. The hosts explore Jimi Hendrix's psychedelic lyrics, quoting "A broom is drearily sweeping / Up the broken pieces of yesterday's life" from *1983... (A Merman I Should Turn to Be)*. A producer shares the obscure line "A friend of mine is going blind, but through the dimness, he sees so much better than me" by John Dawson Read. Listener comments bring up The Rolling Stones' "How come I'm still in love with you?" from *All About You*, which is interpreted as Keith Richards addressing Mick Jagger. Harry Chapin's "Cat's in the Cradle" is noted for its chilling portrayal of father-son distance. A particularly insightful text from friend Pete Nelson juxtaposes two lines: Clint's own "I don't want to simply survive" from The Grift and Dave Matthews' "Is this not enough? This blessed sip of life" from *Pig*. Musician Mihali of Twiddle submits Bob Marley's "One good thing about music, when it hits, you feel no pain." The episode also touches on lyrics from Ray Scott, They Might Be Giants, Bob Dylan, and Rush. The most surprising claims include the revelation that a 1975 lyric about a friend going blind led to the songwriter's rediscovery after a 30-year hiatus. Another is the analysis of a seemingly angry Rolling Stones song as a poignant reflection on a fractured creative partnership. The idea that profound lyrics can be contradictory—both urging ambition and preaching gratitude—is a key insight. The tone is deeply conversational, earnest, and celebratory, with both hosts displaying genuine awe for the songwriting craft. The style is educational and reflective, weaving personal stories with listener interactions and musical backstories. Music fans who love lyrical analysis and discovering new songs or layers in familiar ones will adore this episode. Listeners seeking high-energy debate or a single definitive answer might prefer to skip it, as the episode revels in open-ended appreciation.

As heard by us

A sequel that turns lyric one liners into a pointed, reflective conversation about what they can do.

Part two stays with listener suggestions and the old question of what makes a lyric land. Rich Price and Clint Beerman treat it like a familiar fandom argument, then work through examples such as "Let It Be" and the Dawes line from "Crack the Case" to show how a few words can…

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Why you'd press play

For when you want lyric talk that feels like a great group text.

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