3 of the Best Opening Lines From Brandi Carlile Songs

The Pacific Northwest-born Americana artist Brandi Carlile is known for her big, full, rich voice and her empathetic, descriptive, storytelling lyrics. In 2018, after a long career buildup, she burst on the scene with her LP By the Way, I Forgive You. And the album’s signature song, “The Joke,” helped earn her several Grammy Awards. (Now, she has a new album coming with Elton John.)

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Here below, we wanted to explore three of her songs. Specifically, the opening lines to a trio of Carlile’s tracks to see just how the tunes grab our ears. Indeed, these are three of the best opening lines from Brandi Carlile songs.

[RELATED: 5 Albums You Didn’t Know Brandi Carlile Produced]

“Party of One” from By the Way, I Forgive You (2018)

The theme of Brandi Carlile’s signature 2018 LP By the Way, I Forgive You is, well, forgiveness. And that is the theme of this song, too. We get the sense there has been a fight. There is tension between two people. Love is a hard thing to understand. It’s water through your fingers, it’s an explosion of passion and pride. Sometimes these things tear at us, too. So, what do we do? That’s what Carlile sings about here with her woodgrain voice, offering in the opening stanza a scene,

“Waiter, send this to the table, the party of one”
The only other lonely soul in this place
And so you’re finishing up your coffee, but then where you’re gonna run?
Where’d you get that look on your face

“The Joke” from By the Way, I Forgive You (2018)

The song that lifted Carlile to superstardom, this track showcases her level of understanding when it comes to those struggling. In that way, it’s all of us. We are all trying to stay afloat in some way or another and Carlile knows that. She makes that clear with the very first lines of the tune and then continues it throughout its entirety, hitting high notes with her voice and ideas. She sings,

You’re feeling nervous, aren’t you, boy?
With your quiet voice and impeccable style
Don’t ever let them steal your joy
And your gentle ways, to keep ’em from running wild

“The Mother” from By the Way, I Forgive You (2018)

A pitch-perfect song about parenthood. As soon as you have a kid, Carlile sings, your life is no longer your own. There is stress and worry and divine beauty. If you have young children, there is no way this song doesn’t resonate. And on it, Carlile catches our ears instantly with the lovely opening phrase, offering,

Welcome to the end of being alone inside your mind
You tethered to another, and you’re worried all the time
You always knew the melody, but you never heard it rhyme

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