Tina Turner is one of the most iconic voices to grace music. When she passed away on May 24, 2023, at the age of 83, Turner left a large void. However, her legacy lives on in such beloved hits as “What’s Love Got to Do With It,'” “Better Be Good to Me,” “We Don’t Need Another Hero” and many more. While Turner’s voice is in a league of its own, the lyrics of her songs are also worth noting.
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We pick five of our favorite lyrics of Turner’s below.
1. “I Don’t Wanna Fight”
There’s a pale moon in the sky /The kind you make your wishes on /Oh, like the light in your eyes/The one I built my dreams upon.
These poetic words open Turner’s 1993 hit, “I Don’t Wanna Fight.” The vivid imagery from the moon in the night sky to the light in her lover’s eyes that seems to be burning out, as told through Turner’s enduring voice, has a captivating effect on the listener. A significant moment in her career, “I Don’t Wanna Fight” was her last worldwide hit before she retired in 2009, not counting a remake of “What’s Love Got to Do With It,” featuring Kygo in 2020 that hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. “Fight” peaked at No. 9 on the Hot 100.
[RELATED: Meaning Behind Tina Turner’s “What’s Love Got to Do With It”]
2. “The Best”
In your heart, I see the star of every night and every day/In your eyes, I get lost/I get washed away/You’re walking away with my heart and my soul/I can feel you even when I’m alone.
“The Best” has long been one of Turner’s signature hits, but it made its way into fans’ hearts again when it was used in the beloved TV show Schitt’s Creek as the love song shared between David and his boyfriend-turned-husband, Patrick. The lyrics above beautifully capture the heart of the song and the undying love Turner has for the man she’s singing about. “The Best” is filled with passion that Turner delivers with conviction.
3. “We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)”
Love and compassion/Their day is coming/All else are castles built in the air/So, what do we do with our lives/We leave only a mark/Will our story shine like a light or end in the dark?/Give it all or nothing.
The lyrics from Turner’s chart-topping hit, “We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome),” speak to the larger theme of global awareness. Featured in the 1985 film Mad Max Beyond the Thunderdome, that sees Turner starring alongside Mel Gibson, the song shows off Turner’s smoky vocals as she professes the powerful lyrics listed above.
4. “Girls”
Girls, we come and we go/Like spirits, we vanish at dawn /My heart, suspended in time /Like you, vanish like tears in the rain.
There’s an aching spirit to the lyrics written by David Bowie and Erdal Kizilcay that Turner recorded for her 1986 album, Break Every Rule. The words are hauntingly beautiful, elevated by Turner’s grand voice. Though “Girls” failed to chart in the U.S., the lyrics stand out in her catalog.
[RELATED: 5 Fiery Live Moments in Honor of Tina Turner[
5. “Private Dancer”
You don’t look at their faces/And you don’t ask their names/You don’t think of them as human/You don’t think of them at all.
“Private Dancer” was one of Turner’s early career hits. She holds no punches stepping into the role of an exotic dancer that only entertains for money and does what she’s told. But she reprises the four lines above throughout the song that give it an air of mystery that keeps the listener hanging on to know where the story leads. “Private Dancer” peaked inside the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1985.
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