Axl Rose, Guns N' Roses, has written some great lines. For me it's not just about a great line or two, but following an idea through an entire verse.
A few verses from two songs...
From Breakdown:
Just like children hiding in a closet
Can't tell what's going on outside
Sometimes we're so far off the beaten track
We get taken for a ride
By a parlour trick or some words of wit
A hidden hand up a sleeve
To think that the one you love
Could hurt you now
Is a little hard to believe
But everybody darling sometimes
Bites the hand that feeds
I've come to know the cold
I think of it as home
When there ain't enough of me
To go around
I'd rather be left alone
But if I call you out of habit
I'm out of love and I gotta have it
Would you give it to me
If I fit your needs
Like when we both knew we had it
But now the damage's done
And we're back out on the run
Funny how everything was roses
When we held on to the guns
Just because you're winning
Don't mean you're the lucky one
From Don't Damn Me
Be it a song or a casual conversation
To hold my tongue speaks of quiet reservations
Your words once heard
They can place you in a faction
My words may disturb
But at least there's a reaction
Sometimes I want to kill
Sometimes I want to die
Sometimes I want to destroy
Sometimes I want to cry
Sometimes I could get even
Sometimes I could give up
Sometimes I could give
Sometimes I never give a f**k
It's only for a while
I hope you understand
I never wanted this to happen
Didn't want to be a man
So I hid inside my world
I took what I could find
I cried when I was lonely
I fell down when I was blind
But now I've got to smile
I hope you comprehend
For this man can say it happened
'Cause this child has been condemned
So I stepped into your world
I kicked you in the mind
And I'm the only witness
To the nature of my crime
Don't hail me
And don't idolize the ink
Or I've failed in my intentions
Can you find the missing link
Your only validation is living your own life
Vicarious existence is a f**king waste of time
So I send this song to the offended
I said what I meant and I've never pretended
As so many others do intending just to please
If I damned your point of view
Could you turn the other cheek
