Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

A Word on the Words: Some of the most heartfelt phrases ever written are in songs

Lyrics contain some of the best 'turns of phrase' (Getty Images)
Lyrics contain some of the best 'turns of phrase' (Getty Images)

ONE of the greatest compliments that could be paid is: “You have a good turn of phrase”. It is the writing equivalent of being told you are beautiful.

An elegant sentence flows like honey. Here’s one The Sunday Post’s Scone Spy used recently about a café and attached shop: “The place is full of regulars nosing among the knick-knackery”. The alliteration of “nosing among the knick-knackery” is a delight.

I enjoy clever phrases like: “Everyone wants to be different and I’m the same.”

A collection of honed phrases is called poetry. In the 19th Century, pale-faced, delicate young men would impress their lady loves by penning verses. Today’s young men do the same thing, but put the words to music.

Some of the most heartfelt phrases ever written are in songs.

Everywhere you listen, there’s a clever lyric. I was always impressed by The Eagles singing: “Some drink to remember, some drink to forget”. It’s a novel’s worth of characterisation in eight words.

Similarly, little-known rockers Company Of Wolves sang: “You think we’ll work it out in some restaurant. I’ve got my reservations.” It says everything about the differences between two lovers – the double meaning in “reservations” is ingenious.

Janice Joplin’s: “Freedom’s just another word for nothin’ left to lose” is downright brilliant.

Genesis told us: “The sands of time were eroded by the river of constant change”. And that’s true.

Once you start thinking of great lyrics, it is difficult to stop. Simon and Garfunkel’s: “The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls” is a timeless protest.

And love songs have contained some glorious lyrics, such as Dire Straits’ “Juliet, when we made love you used to cry. You said I love you like the stars above, I’ll love you till I die”.

Leonard Cohen’s much-covered Hallelujah intones: “All I’ve ever learned from love was how to shoot at someone who outdrew you.” It leaves you with heartache, homesick for a place you’ve never been.

Forlorn memories provide the strongest phrasing of all. The Beatles mourned: “I know I’ll never lose affection for people and things that went before. I know I’ll often stop and think about them. In my life, I love you more.”

Everyone will have their favourite song lyric. What’s yours?

Let us know on Facebook or Twitter.