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Songs with Figurative Language

When we hang our lyric tapestry upon the breeze and sculpt the air into poetic phrasing, our laces are bound to get tangled in the winds of change. Wait, what was that? That was figuratively speaking, using poetic metaphors, similes, and expressions to bend the language to suit our message. These songs are almost always beautiful to the ears, even if they're daunting to the comprehension.

Truly, sometimes songwriters just wing it. there's dozens of interviews out there where the lyricist admits that they just jotted this song down in 15 minutes on the back of a bar napkin. Then they'll sheepishly admit that they have no idea, themselves, what a particular line means, but it sounded good at the time. Or as Don McLean answered once when asked what "American Pie" meant for the last time, "It means I never have to work again."

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  A Message Coldplay
• 
  A Thousand Years Christina Perri
• 
  A Year Without Rain Selena Gomez
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  Africa Toto
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  Against the Wind Bob Seger

  Against the wind
  We were runnin' against the wind
  We were young and strong, we were runnin'
  against the wind

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  All Star Smash Mouth
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  All The Good Girls Go To Hell Billie Eilish
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  Amnesia 5 Seconds of Summer
• 
  Animals Maroon 5
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  Bad Company Five Finger Death Punch
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  Bat Country Avenged Sevenfold
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  Before You Go Lewis Capaldi
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  Believer Imagine Dragons
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  Bennie and the Jets Elton John
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  Beside You 5 Seconds of Summer
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  Better Together Luke Combs
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  Big Poppa Notorious B.I.G.
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  Birdhouse in Your Soul They Might Be Giants

  Blue canary in the outlet by the light switch
  Who watches over you
  Make a little birdhouse in your soul

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  Black Hole Sun Soundgarden
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  Blank Space Taylor Swift
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  Blinding Lights Weeknd, The
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  Bodak Yellow Cardi B
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  Bohemian Rhapsody Queen

  Caught in a landslide
  No escape from reality

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  Broken Home 5 Seconds of Summer
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  Can't Help Falling in Love Elvis Presley
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  Caraphernelia Pierce the Veil

  I'll be the fire that'll catch you
  What's so good about picking up the pieces?
  None of the colors ever light up anymore in this hole

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  Carousel Melanie Martinez
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  Carry on Wayward Son Kansas
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  Carrying Cathy Ben Folds

  Her window was hung like a painting
  She worried it might come to life
  She stared for hours
  So obsessed was I and self-absorbed that I
  Didn't see that she was crying

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  Centuries Fall Out Boy
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  Chandelier Sia
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  Circles Post Malone
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  Cold One Eric Church

  "That was a cold one, I never will get back
  Yeah she had to leave, did she have to leave me one beer short of a twelve pack?
  She left me hanging high and dry in that hell high summer sun
  Damn babe, that was a cold one"

• 
  Come Together Beatles

  He bag production, he got walrus gumboot
  He got Ono sideboard, he one spinal cracker
  He got feet down below his knee
  Hold you in his armchair you can feel his disease

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  Dam Would Break Toad the Wet Sprocket

  "I sowed a field of rose and reaped a whipping rod
  And everything i've held too tight inside
  Could make a part of me die
  And if my lips could only speak the name
  The dam would break"

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  Dance Monkey Tones And I
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  Demons Imagine Dragons
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  Desperation Eminem
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  Dollhouse Melanie Martinez
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  Drops of Jupiter Train
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  Drown Bring Me the Horizon
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  Dust in the Wind Kansas

  All my dreams, pass before my eyes, a curiosity
  Dust in the wind, all they are is dust in the wind.
  Same old song, just a drop of water in an endless sea
  All we do, crumbles to the ground, though we refuse to see

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  Every Rose Has Its Thorn Poison

  "Every rose has its thorn
  Just like every night has its dawn
  Just like every cowboy sings his sad, sad song
  Every rose has its thorn"

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  Every Storm (Runs Out of Rain) Gary Allan

  "Every storm runs, runs out of rain, just like
  Every dark night turns into day,"

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  Everybody Dies In Their Nightmares XXXTENTACION
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  Faded Alan Walker
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  Feel Good Inc. Gorillaz
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  Fireflies Owl City

  Cause I get a thousand hugs
  From ten thousand lightning bugs
  As they try to teach me how to dance
  A foxtrot above my head,
  A sock hop beneath my bed,
  A disco ball is just hanging by a thread

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  Fireproof One Direction
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  Firework Katy Perry

  "'Cause baby you're a firework
  Come on, show 'em what you're worth
  Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh"
  As you shoot across the sky-y-y"

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  Fly Me to the Moon Frank Sinatra
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  Ghost Of You 5 Seconds of Summer
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  Girl On Fire Alicia Keys
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  Girls Like You Maroon 5
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  God's Plan Drake
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  Gucci Gang Lil Pump
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  Hallelujah Leonard Cohen
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  Hands To Myself Selena Gomez
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  Happier Ed Sheeran
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  Happy Little Pill Troye Sivan
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  Havana Camila Cabello
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  Heart Shaped Box Nirvana

  "She eyes me like a pisces when I am weak
  I've been locked inside your Heart Shaped box for a weeks
  I've been drawn into your magnet tar pit trap
  I wish I could eat your cancer when you turn black"

• 
  Hide and Seek Imogen Heap
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  Hold On Shawn Mendes
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  Holy Diver Dio
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  Hooked Why Don't We
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  Hungry Like the Wolf Duran Duran
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  Hurricane Luke Combs
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  I Am A Rock Simon & Garfunkel

  I am an island
  I’ve built walls,
  A fortress deep and mighty,
  That none may penetrate

• 
  I Knew I Loved You Savage Garden
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  Imagination Shawn Mendes
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  In Bloom Nirvana
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  Independence Day Martina McBride
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  Infinity One Direction
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  Into You Ariana Grande
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  King For A Day Pierce the Veil
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  Kiss Prince
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  Kiss an Angel Good Mornin' Charley Pride

  Kiss an angel good morning
  and let you know you think about her when you're gone
  Kiss an angel good morning
  and love her like the devil when you get back home

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  Let It Go Idina Menzel
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  Let It Go James Bay
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  Let's Go Crazy Prince
• 
  Life in the Fast Lane Eagles

  There were lines on the mirror, lines on her face
  She pretended not to notice, she was caught up
  in the race

• 
  Life is a Highway Tom Cochrane

  Life's like a road that you travel on
  When there's one day here and the next day gone
  Sometimes you bend, sometimes you stand
  Sometimes you turn your back to the wind

• 
  Life is a Highway Rascal Flatts

  Life's like a road that you travel on
  When there's one day here and the next day gone
  Sometimes you bend, sometimes you stand
  Sometimes you turn your back to the wind

• 
  Like a G6 Far*East Movement (FM)

  Sippin sizzurp in my ride, like Three 6
  Now I'm feeling so fly like a G6

• 
  Like a Prayer Madonna

  When you call my name it’s like a little prayer
  I’m down on my knees, I wanna take you there
  In the midnight hour I can feel your power
  Just like a prayer you know I’ll take you there

• 
  Like A Rolling Stone Bob Dylan

  How does it feel
  To be without a home
  Like a complete unknown
  Like a rolling stone ?

• 
  Like Toy Soldiers Eminem
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  Lions Skillet
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  Little Red Corvette Prince
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  Little Things One Direction
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  Love Story Taylor Swift
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  Lovely Billie Eilish
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  Mercy Shawn Mendes
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  Migraine Twenty One Pilots
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  Mo Bamba Sheck Wes
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  Mr Brightside Killers, The
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  Mr. Tambourine Man Bob Dylan
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  My Blood Twenty One Pilots
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  New York, New York Frank Sinatra
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  No Type Mike Will Made It
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  Not Today Twenty One Pilots
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  Old Friends/Bookends Simon & Garfunkel

  The sounds of the city
  Sifting through trees
  Settle like dust
  On the shoulders
  Of the old friends

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  One Dance Drake
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  One Last Time Ariana Grande
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  Photograph Ed Sheeran
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  Piano Man Billy Joel
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  Pompeii Bastille
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  R.I.P. 2 My Youth Neighbourhood, The
• 
  Radioactive Imagine Dragons
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  Raining Blood Slayer
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  Red Taylor Swift
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  Red Nose Sage The Gemini
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  Reminder Weeknd, The
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  Return to Sender Elvis Presley
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  Roar Katy Perry
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  Rock You Like A Hurricane Scorpions
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  Rolling in the Deep Adele
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  Rooster Alice In Chains
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  Rosanna Toto
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  Say Something A Great Big World
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  Scars To Your Beautiful Alessia Cara
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  Shape Of You Ed Sheeran
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  She Tyler the Creator
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  Ships Barry Manilow
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  Sink or Swim Tyrone Wells

  Kamikaze airplanes in the sky
  Are we going down or will we fly?
  This could be a shipwreck on the shore
  Or we could sail away forevermore
  This time it's sink or swim, sink or swim

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  Six Feet Under Billie Eilish
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  So Far Away Staind
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  So Small Carrie Underwood

  'Cause sometimes that mountain you've been climbing
  is just a grain of sand ...
  forever is in your hands

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  Something Different Why Don't We
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  Somewhere Out There Our Lady Peace
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  Speed of Sound Coldplay
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  Stairway To Heaven Led Zeppelin
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  Stitches Shawn Mendes
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  Story of My Life One Direction

  Written in these walls are the stories that I can't explain
  I leave my heart open but it stays right here empty for days

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  Stressed Out Twenty One Pilots
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  Stricken Disturbed
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  Sugar Maroon 5
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  Summer Love One Direction
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  Sweater Weather Neighbourhood, The
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  Take Me To Church Hozier
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  Talk Coldplay
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  The Bomb Dot Com V2.0 Sleeping with Sirens

  These hands hold up nothing but scars underneath (scars underneath)
  From swimming these oceans and learning to breathe (learning to breathe)

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  The New National Anthem Pierce the Veil
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  The Scientist Coldplay
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  Thunder Imagine Dragons
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  Thunderstruck AC/DC
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  Time Pink Floyd
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  Tonight I Climbed the Wall Alan Jackson
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  Touch Little Mix
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  Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey Paul McCartney

  We're so sorry, uncle albert,
  But there's no one left at home
  And i believe i'm gonna rain.

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  Uncomfortable Andy Mineo
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  Video Killed The Radio Star Buggles, The

  And now we meet in an abandoned studio,
  We hear the playback and it seems so long ago,
  And you remember the jingles used to go?
  Oh-a oh

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  Wagon Wheel Darius Rucker

  So rock me momma like a wagon wheel
  Rock me momma any way you feel
  Hey momma rock me
  Rock me momma like the wind and the rain
  Rock me momma like a south bound train

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  Waiting For Superman Daughtry

  She’s talking to angels, counting the stars
  Making a wish on a passing car
  She’s dancing with strangers, falling apart
  Waiting for Superman to pick her up

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  Watching You Rodney Atkins
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  Waterfalls TLC
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  Welcome to the Jungle Guns N' Roses
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  What Makes You Beautiful One Direction
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  What You Give Tesla
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  Wheel in the Sky Journey
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  When I Fall Barenaked Ladies

  Look straight in the mirror, watch it come clearer
  I look like a painter, behind all the grease
  But paintings creating, and I’m just erasing
  A crystal-clear canvas is my masterpiece

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  When I Was Your Man Bruno Mars
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  While My Guitar Gently Weeps Beatles
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  Whiskey Glasses Morgan Wallen
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  Wind of Change Scorpions

  Take me to the magic of the moment
  On a glory night
  Where the children of tomorrow dream away
  In the wind of change

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  Wolves Selena Gomez
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  Wrecked Imagine Dragons
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  Wrecking Ball Miley Cyrus
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  You Say Lauren Daigle
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  You're the Top Cole Porter

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