Courtney Barnett is one of the best singer-songwriters of her generation. Close-Up Culture list off our favourite lyrics from our favourite musician.
75. And in my dreams I wrote the best song that I’ve ever written… can’t remember how it goes – History Eraser
74. I turn on the radio
Need some pop to soothe my soul
A tune to fill the fish-shaped hole you left in me – Valerie
73. Big business overtaking
Without indicating
He passes on the right, been driving through the night
To bring us the best price – Dead Fox
72. I love getting naked in hotel rooms
And ordering expensive food
Drinking mini bar champagne with you – Hotel Rooms (The Olivettes)
71. The city looks pretty when you been indoors
For 23 days I’ve ignored all your phone calls – City Looks Pretty
70. I disconnected the gas heating
Then suggested movie nights
It got colder, you moved closer
So I cooked us Party Pie – Things To Consider Before RSVPing To A Party
69. I feel stupid, I feel useless, I feel insane
I feel toothless, man you’re ruthless, oh yeah – Everybody Here Hates You
68. Before we get started it I’ll clean this up
No use drinking from a leaking cup – Walkin’ On Eggshells
67. You gotta learn your place
Don’t let it go to waste
Humble but hungry, need validation – Help Your Self
66. Leave your shoes at the door
Along with your troubles – Anonymous Club
65. Now we got that percolator
Never made a latte greater – Depreston
64. I don’t know a lot about you but
You seem to know a lot about me so
I take a little time out – I Need A Little Time
63. I think you’re a joke, but I don’t find you very funny – Pedestrian At Best
62. You’re saying definitely maybe
I’m saying probably no – Nobody Really Cares If You Don’t Go To The Party
61. I found an Ezra Pound and made a bet that if I found a cigarette I’d drop it all and marry you – History Eraser
60. My lack of athleticism, sunk like a stone
Like a first owner’s home loan – Aqua Profunda!
59. Never having too much money, I get the cheap stuff at the supermarket
But they’re all pumped up with shit – Dead Fox
58. “Envy is thin because it bites but never eats”
That’s what a nice old Spanish lady once told me – Debbie Downer
57. The city takes pity on your injured soul
And heavenly prose ain’t enough good to fill that hole – City Looks Pretty
56. I wanna walk through the park in the dark
Men are scared that women will laugh at them – Nameless, Faceless
55. And your desperation stinks
I can smell it on your breath
A certain absolute anosmic
Got yourself to blame for this – Crippling Self-Doubt and a General Lack of Confidence
54. Jen insists that we buy organic vegetables
And I must admit that I was a little skeptical at first
A little pesticide can’t hurt – Dead Fox
53. Take your broken heart
Turn it into art – Hopefulessness
52. Every morning I feel more useless than before
Trying hard to see the point in anything at all – How To Boil An Egg
51. Don’t ask me what I really mean
I am just a reflection
Of what you really wanna see
So take what you want from me – Kim’s Caravan
50. The yard is full of hard rubbish it’s a mess and
I guess the neighbors must think we run a meth lab – Avant Gardener
49. Pull yourself together, pick myself apart
Nothing lasts for never, so be still my bleeding heart – How To Boil An Egg
48. You must be having so much fun
Everything’s amazing – Charity
47. Guess it just wants to die
I would wanna die too
With people putting oil into my air
But to be fair, I’ve done my share – Kim’s Caravan
46. I’ll be what you want, oh when you want it
But I’ll never be what you need
And the city looks pretty from where I’m standing – City Looks Pretty
45. Everybody wants to have their say
Forever waiting for some car crash – I Need A Little Time
44. I get adrenalin
Straight to the heart
I feel like Uma Thurman
Post-overdosing kick start – Avant Gardener
43. I go to Loving Hut, I get my hair cut, I feel the same
I feel putrid, I’m getting used to it these days – Everybody Here Hates You
42. I stole your key from your apartment
So you’d have to come around
Stuffed balls of cotton to my sneakers
So I wouldn’t make a sound – Things To Consider Before RSVPing To A Party
41. I come up here for perception and clarity
I like to imagine I’m playing SimCity – Elevator Operator
40. You don’t have to pretend you’re not scared
Everyone else is just as terrified as you – Charity
39. We all think that we’re nobody but everybody is somebody else’s somebody – Kim’s Caravan
38. I like very much being here with you
But you see, all this small talk is killin’ me – Small Talk
37. Why are you so calm? I wanna shout. I wanna rip my goddamn throat out.
Like a Christmas tree on boxing day, thrown away. – Boxing Day Blues (Revisited)
36. Taxidermied kangaroos are littered on the shoulders
A possum Jackson Pollock is painted on the tar – Dead Fox
35. Just because you’re older than me
Doesn’t mean you have to be so condescending
I still see the same things that you see
I’m a little shady on my history – Out Of The Woodwork
34. You said you liked me at a party
I said oh well um – Things To Consider Before RSVPing To A Party
33. Sometimes I sit and think, and sometimes I just sit – Stair Androids & Valley Um…?
32. Put me on a pedestal and I’ll only disappoint you
Tell me I’m exceptional, I promise to exploit you – Pedestrian At Best
31. It must be tiring trying so hard to look like you’re not really trying at all. – Out Of The Woodwork
30. We see police arresting
A man with his hand in a bag
How’s that for first impressions
This place seems depressing – Depreston
29. Anaphylactic and super hypocondriactic
Should’ve stayed in bed today
I much prefer the mundane – Avant Gardener
28. Sometimes I think a single sneeze could be the end of us
My hay-fever is turning up, just swerved into a passing truck – Dead Fox
27. And I don’t wanna hurt your feelings
So I say nothing
A sort of self-righteous, my heart of gold
Just sit back, do what you’re told – Walkin’ On Eggshells
26. Yes I like hearing your stories
But I’ve heard them all before
I’d rather stay in bed with the rain over my head
Than have to pick my brain up off of the floor – Nobody Really Cares If You Don’t Go to the Party
25. You sit alone at home in the darkness
With all the pent-up rage that you harness
I’m real sorry
Bout whatever happened to you – Nameless, Faceless
24. Wondering what you’re doing, what you’re listening to
Which quarter of the moon you’re viewing from your bedroom – An Illustration Of Loneliness
23. How about you? What did you do? Spent my whole night dreaming of you. – “Boxing Day Blues (Revisited)”
22. Surely one day we will part
We’ll break each other’s little hearts
And prove the theory love’s as dangerous as a game of drunken bar room darts – Nip It In The Bud
21. Do you know you’re no good at listening?
But you’re really good at saying everything on your mind – Out Of The Woodwork
20. More people die on the road than they do in the ocean
Maybe we should mull over culling cars instead of sharks
Or just lock them up in parks where we can go and view them – Dead Fox
19. Oh, you have a great abundance of axes there to grind
Remember some people have real problems next time you whine – How To Boil An Egg
18. I’m breathing but I’m wheezing
Feel like I’m emphysemin’
My throat feels like a funnel
Filled with weet bix and kerosene – Avant Gardener
17. We either think that we’re invincible or that we are invisible
When realistically we’re somewhere in between – Kim’s Caravan
16. I may not be 100% happy but at least I’m not with you – Don’t Apply Compression Gently
15. He said “I could eat a bowl of alphabet soup
And spit out better words than you”
But you didn’t – Nameless, Faceless
14. I’m sorry for all of my insecurities, but they’re just a part of me – Debbie Downer / Confusion Says (The Olivettes)
13. Look over my shoulder when I talk to you.
Where’s the more important person in the room? – Out Of The Woodwork
12. Don’t want your sex just want some quiet company
Now get inside of me – Confusion Says (The Olivettes)
11. I don’t want no 9 to 5
Telling me that I’m alive – Are You Looking After Yourself?
10. I’m growing older every time I blink my eyes
Boring, neurotic, everything that I despise – Debbie Downer / Confusion Says (The Olivettes)
9. I love all of your ideas
You love the idea of me – Boxing Day Blues
8. I don’t know what I was drinking. I should get a dog.
Should get married, have some babies, watch the evening news. – Are You Looking After Yourself?
7. They call up triple O
I’d rather die than owe the hospital
Till I get old – Avant Gardener
6. I’m waiting here for you
I’m looking ‘cross the room and hoping that you’re lookin’ too, yeah – Small Talk
5. If you’ve got a spare half a million
You could knock it down and start rebuilding – Depreston
4. I masturbated to the songs you wrote
Resuscitated all of my hopes – Lance Jr
3. I wanna go out but I wanna stay home – Nobody Really Cares If You Don’t Go to the Party
2. The paramedic thinks I’m clever ’cause I play guitar
I think she’s clever cos she stops people dying – Avant Gardener
1. Keep on keeping on
You know you’re not alone
And I know all your stories
But I’ll listen to them again
‘Cause if you move away
You know I’ll miss your face – Sunday Roast