The Irish band U2 has given Britain its favorite song lyric, according to a survey released Monday.
The line “One life, with each other, sisters, brothers” from the 1992 song “One” topped a poll conducted by music channel VH1.
Runner-up was the downbeat “So you go and you stand on your own, and you leave on your own, and you go home, and you cry, and you want to die” from The Smiths’ “How Soon is Now.”
A line from Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” — “I feel stupid and contagious, here we are now, entertain us” — came third. Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song” and Coldplay’s “Yellow” took fourth and fifth places.
The top 10 was a mix of the affirmative and the acerbic, ranging from Robbie Williams’ uplifting “Angels” — “And through it all she offers me protection, a lot of love and affection, whether I’m right or wrong” — to Radiohead’s sour “Creep.”
More than 13,000 people participated in the poll on the station’s Web site, choosing from a list of 100 lyrics selected by music industry figures.
Here’s the Top 100 in full:
1) U2 – One
2) The Smiths – How Soon Is Now
3) Nirvana – Smells Like Teen Spirit
4) Bob Marley – Redemption Song
5) Coldplay – Yellow
6) Eminem – Lose Yourself
7) Robbie Williams – Angels
8) The Who – My Generation
9) Radiohead – Creep
10) Marvin Gaye – What’s Going On
11) U2 – Where The Streets Have No Name
12) Abba – The Winner Takes It All
13) The Kinds – Waterloo Sunset
14) Pink Floyd – Another Brick In The Wall
15) Tupac ft Snoop – California Love
16) Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody
17) Bob Dylan – Subterranean Homesick Blues
18) Kaiser Chiefs – I Predict A Riot
19) David Bowie – Heroes
20) The Police – Every Breath You Take
21) REM – Everybody Hurts
22) Christina Aguilera – Beautiful
23) Rolling Stones – Sympathy For The Devil
24) The Pogues – Fairytale Of New York
25) Elton John – Candle In The Wind
26) The Streets – Fit But You Know It
27) The Smiths – There Is A Light
28) The Beach Boys – God Only Knows
29) The Jam – That’s Entertainment
30) Joy Division – Love Will Tear Us Apart
31) Arctic Monkeys – I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor
32) Johnny Cash – I Walk The Line
33) The Beatles – A Day In The Life
34) Eminem – Stan
35) Damien Rice – Cannonball
36) Dionne Warwick – Walk On By
37) The Smiths – This Charming Man
38) Elvis Presley – In The Ghetto
39) U2 – Pride (In The Name Of Love)
40) The Verve – Bittersweet Symphony
41) The Undertones – Teenage Kicks
42) Radiohead – Karma Police
43) Carole King – Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow
44) The Beatles – Yesterday
45) The Killers – All These Things That I Have Done
46) Jay Z – 99 Problems
47) David Bowie – Space Oddity
48) Little Richard – Tutti Frutti
49) Stevie Wonder – Livin For The City
50) Stone Roses – I Am The Resurrection
51) The Rolling Stones – Jumpin Jack Flash
52) The Clash – London Calling
53) Elvis Costello/Robert Wyatt – Shipbuilding
54) White Stripes – Seven Nation Army
55) Cat Stevens – Father And Son
56) Snoop Dogg – Gin And Juice
57) James Brown – It’s A Man’s World
58) The Monkees – I’m A Believer
59) The Prodigy – Firestarter
60) George Michael – Freedom 90
61) Madness – Our House
62) Radiohead – Paranoid Android
63) The Kinks – Lola
64) Simply Red/Cole Porter – Every Time We Say Goodbye
65) Outkast – Hey Ya
66) Blur – Parklife
67) Public Enemy – Fight The Power
68) The Beatles – Eleanor Rigby
69) Robbie Williams – Feel
70) Missy Elliott – Ger Ur Freak On
71) The Righteous Brothers – Unchained Melody
72) Massive Attack – Unfinished Sympathy
73) Iggy Pop – The Passenger
74) T Rex – Children Of The Revolution
75) Underworld – Born Slippy
76) The Ramones – I Wanna Be Sedated
77) Bruce Springsteen – Born In The USA
78) Bill Withers – Lean On Me
79) Grandmaster Flash – The Message
80) Happy Mondays – Kinky Afro
81) The Beatles – Hey Jude
82) TLC – No Scrubs
83) Human League – Don’t You Want Me
84) Motorhead – Ace Of Spades
85) Elvis Presley – Suspicious Minds
86) Frankie Goes To Hollywood – Two Tribes
87) 50 Cent – 21 Questions
88) The Beatles – Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
89) Bob Marley – No Woman No Cry
90) Marvin Gaye – I Heard It Thru The Grapevine
91) Kylie Minogue – I Should Be So Lucky
92) Roxy Music – Love Is The Drug
93) Glen Campbell/Jimmy Webb – By The Time I Get To Phoenix
94) NWA – Straight Outta Compton
95) Scissor Sisters – Take Your Mama
96) Madonna – Like A Virgin
97) Radiohead – No Surprises
98) The Beatles- Sergeant Pepper
99) 10cc – Life Is A Minestrone
100) Ms Dynamite – It Takes More
Credit: AP/MTV.co.uk