Words that rang, rhyme that sprang

The Ridger, at The Greenbelt (that always seems like a slightly odd reference, with the two “the”s, but hey), decided to post a list thingy the other day before she headed to an airport. I think I’ll post the same list thingy, having just come home from an airport, and having listened to some music on my BlackBerry during the flight. Here’s how The Ridger introduces it:

I saw this at Sciencewoman’s blog. I don’t have lots of commenters, but what the hell, I’ll give it a go, especially since I’ll be on an airplane (or in an airport) for most of the day...

Step 1: Put your MP3 player or whatever on random.
Step 2: Post the first line from the first 25 songs that play, no matter how embarrassing the song.
Step 3: Post and let everyone you know guess what song and artist the lines come from.
Step 4: Strike through when someone gets them right. I’ll put it in italics if the title has been gotten, but not the artist.
Step 5: Looking them up on Google or any other search engine is CHEATING.

She notes that she modified it to eliminate instrumentals — yes, of course — but I had none come up. I also planned to modify it to eliminate songs where the title is in the first line (several of The Ridger’s were), but as it turned out, I didn’t get any anyway (though one is close enough that it’s probably a “gimme” for it). I also was a little loose with the definition of “the first line”, sometimes giving what others might think the first two lines.

And you wonder why one always has to remind people not to look the answers up. I mean, where’s the fun in that, anyway? But, yeah, you do have to say it, or else someone will just crank ’em all through Google and post the result. Bleh.

Here’s my list; post answers in the comments. I won’t make a guessing game out of which version I have, so in the cases where there’re multiple likely versions, any will do. Be aware that a couple of them are pretty obscure.

Update, 28 Apr: For any that are unanswered after a week, I’ll update and add more lyrics.

Update, 4 May: More words added... each unanswered song now has the whole first verse.

Update, 11 May: Full solutions there now, including enough lyrics to get to the titles.

1. Many times I tried to tell you, many times I cried alone
   Always I’m surprised how well you cut my feelings to the bone
   Don’t wanna leave you, really; I’ve invested too much time
   To give you up that easy to the doubts that complicate your mind
   — We Belong, by Pat Benatar
2. Well, it’s a strange old game, you learn it slow
   One step forward and it’s back you go
   You’re standing on the throttle, standing on the brake
   In the groove ’til you make a mistake

   Sometimes you’re the windshield; sometimes you’re the bug
   Sometimes it all comes together; sometimes you’re a fool in love
   Sometimes you’re a Louisville slugger; sometimes you’re the ball
   Sometimes it all comes together; sometimes you’re gonna lose it all

   — The Bug, written by Mark Knopfler, sung by Mary Chapin Carpenter

3. Oh, it’s been such a long, long time
   Looked like I’d get you off of my mind
   But I can’t; just the thought of you
   Turns my whole world misty blue

   — Misty Blue, written by Bobby Montgomery, sung by Dorothy Moore

4. Are you breathing what I’m breathing? Are your wishes the same as mine?
   — The Consequences of Falling, by k.d. lang
5. If you’ve been thinking you’re all that you’ve got
   Then don’t feel alone any more
   ’cause when we’re together, then you’ve got a lot
   ’cause I am the river and you are the shore

   And it goes on and on, watching the river run
   Further and further from things that we’ve done
   Leaving them one by one
   And we have just begun watching the river run
   Listening and learning and yearning; run, river, run

   — Watching the River Run, by Loggins and Messina

6. When I think of those East End lights, muggy nights
   — Someone Saved My Life Tonight, by Elton John
7. I know your leaving’s too long overdue
   For far too long I’ve had nothing new to show to you
   Through dry eyes I watched your plane fade off west of the moon
   And it felt so strange to walk away alone

   No regrets, no tears goodbye
   Don’t want you back; we’d only cry again
   And say goodbye again

   — No Regrets, written by Tom Rush, sung by Emmylou Harris

8. On the road of experience and trying to find my own way
   Sometimes I wish that I could fly away
   When I think that I’m moving, suddenly things stand still
   I’m afraid ’cause I think that they always will

   And I’m looking for space, and to find out who I am
   And I’m looking to know and understand
   It’s a sweet, sweet dream; sometimes I’m almost there
   Sometimes I fly like an eagle; sometimes I’m deep in despair

   — Looking for Space, by John Denver

9. Mama, where’s your pretty little girl tonight?
   Tryin’ to run before she can walk, that’s right
   She’s going out, she has young man waiting
   She’s going out, she has young man waiting
   — Tenderness on the Block, by Warren Zevon
10. I was standing at the counter, I was waiting for the change
    When I heard that old familiar music start
    It was like a lighted match had been tossed into my soul
    It was like a dam had broken in my heart

    After taking every detour, getting lost and losing track
    So that even if I wanted I could not find my way back
    After driving out the memory of the way things might have been
    After I’ve forgotten all about us, the song remembers when

    — The Song Remembers When, written by Hugh Prestwood, sung by Trisha Yearwood

11. A man conceived a moment’s answers to the dream
    Staying the flowers daily, sensing all the themes
    As a foundation left to create the spiral aim
    A movement regained and regarded both the same
    All complete in the sight of seeds of life with you

    — And You And I, by Yes

12. Well, she’s all you’d ever want, she’s the kind I’d like to flaunt
    — She’s a Lady, written by Paul Anka, sung by Tom Jones
13. There was a time gone by when my heart brushed the sky
    And simple love was the love I knew
    We walked as one back then, untouched by wild winds
    Now once again I remember you

    We danced, we clicked our heels, we dreamed in feathered fields
    And told the stories that lovers tell
    You sang the songs anew and made them all seem true
    With a voice that I loved so well

    Did I ever tell you your name was music to me?
    Did I ever show you from the start?
    Did I ever know you would fly, oh fly away?
    Did I ever offer you my heart?

    — Music to Me, by Bill Staines

14. Cómo lo ves, que el destino llegó a decirlo
    Ahora que estamos mirando al futuro aquí
    Toda la vida quisimos hablar cara a cara
    Como amigos con dos corazones igual

    Desde aquel día que hablamos de andar mano en mano
    Con canciones de paz o quizás con palabras de amor
    Hoy quiero ya prestentarnos con algo posible
    Si el paso al destino no supo intentarlo jamás

    ¡Ya ves que solo nos fuimos!
    ¡Ya ves que de un modo lo hicimos!
    Así lo escribimos y el paso al destino siguió.

    — El Paso del Destino, by Tish Hinojosa

15. I hear the drums echoing tonight
    — Africa, by Toto
16. We all came out to Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline
    — Smoke on the Water, by Deep Purple
17. If there’s one thing in my life that’s missing
    It’s the time that I spend alone sailing on the cool and bright, clear water
    With lots of those friendly people, they’re showing me ways to go
    But I never want to lose their inspiration
    — Cool Change, by the Little River Band
18. I’ve got a feeling we could be serious, girl
    Right at this moment, I could promise you the world
    Before we go crazy, before we explode
    There’s something ’bout me, baby, you got to know

    I get off on ’57 Chevys
    I get off on screaming guitar
    I like the way it gets me every time it hits me
    I’ve got a rock-and-roll, I’ve got a rock-and-roll heart

    — I’ve Got a Rock and Roll Heart, by Eric Clapton

19. Well, my time went so quickly, I went lickety-splitly
    — Ol’ ’55, written by Tom Waits, performed by The Eagles
20. ’twas in another lifetime, one of toil and blood
    — Shelter from the Storm, by Bob Dylan
21. The buzzard took the monkey for a ride in the air
    — Straighten Up and Fly Right, written by Nat King Cole, sung by Linda Ronstadt
22. A love-struck Romeo sang the streets a serenade
    — Romeo and Juliet, by Dire Straits (Mark Knopfler)
23. Guess mine is not the first heart broken
    — Hopelessly Devoted to You, written by John Farrar, sung by Olivia Newton-John
24. Nighttime sharpens, heightens each sensation
    — The Music of the Night, from “Phantom of the Opera”
25. Day after day I’m more confused
    — Drift Away, by Dobie Gray

Go wild.