Lines You Homage

[Callum_M]

I imagine many at least consider this when writing. Slipping in one of your favorite lines from a book, a movie, a poem, a song, anything. What’s a line you’ve put into your own work that came from somewhere else because you liked it that much? And if you’ve never done this, what would you pick?

 

[EmilyMiller]

I imagine many at least consider this when writing. Slipping in one of your favorite lines from a book, a movie, a poem, a song, anything. What’s a line you’ve put into your own work that came from somewhere else because you liked it that much? And if you’ve never done this, what would you pick?

He/she was good. He/she was very, very good.

 

[BeechLeaf]

I consult my encyclopaedia under the heading 'references'. Story 1 was quite restrained, only quoting Oscar Wilde and Monty Python. A few stories later I briefly quoted, oh dear . . . J.L. Austin, Monty Python, Round the Horne, Shakespeare, The Goon Show, The Honeymooners, Tom Lehrer, Tom Stoppard, and Ulysses. A later one quoted Shaw (Pygmalion), Cole Porter, Joan Aiken, and Edward Gorey. I'm afraid I just can't refrain.

All of the references were a bit too fleeting to count as quotable lines.

 

[EmilyMiller]

I imagine many at least consider this when writing. Slipping in one of your favorite lines from a book, a movie, a poem, a song, anything. What’s a line you’ve put into your own work that came from somewhere else because you liked it that much? And if you’ve never done this, what would you pick?

In my WIP, I have one of my characters address Tom Loftis, mayor of Widow’s Bay, using his own lines from the TV show:

“I know we have to end it. I know we have to try.”

 

[THBGato]

I did this all the time.

From I have made love:

"The dull flame of desire rushes through me, from the very crown top to the tips of my toes, while my body vibrates as if with fever."

Bjork to Shakespeare to Peggy Lee, all in a single sentence.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I pop in song lyrics on occasion, usually Jim Morrison or Leonard Cohen.

I wrote this the other day, who can identify the songwriter?

I walked us to the porch, and she placed her feet back on the ground. She turned her face up, closing her eyes for a kiss, and I kissed Kate for the first time. There's a song, Sweet Jane; this was sweet Kate. She wore no lipstick, unlike her sister, so I tasted Kate for the first time, too. She had lovely full lips, almost the colour of strawberries, and maybe that was the taste. She sucked my bottom lip into her mouth and gave it a tiny nip with her teeth.

When I held her cheeks and pulled my head back to see her face, her eyes were bright and those cheeks ever so slightly flushed, and I knew Kate was all about colours.

 

[Britva415]

Lou Reed, natch

 

[ElectricBlue]

Lou Reed, natch

There would be many young uns here who wouldn't have a clue.

I mean, a dead rock star who knew Andy Warhol - we're getting on a bit .

 

[Cacatua_Galerita]

In space no one can hear you scream.

The movie tagline from Alien (1979) is still referenced today. So the crew in my space sci-fi, set 100 years into the future, know it as an ‘ancient proverb.’

 

[Callum_M]

In space no one can hear you scream.

The movie tagline from Alien (1979) is still referenced today. So the crew in my space sci-fi, set 100 years into the future, know it as an ‘ancient proverb.’

Genuinely, that’s really clever!

 

[talemestories]

Song lyrics from the Tragically Hip in my erotic horror piece, She Cams From A Van.

 

[OddLove]

One of my characters say "I love your fucking guts" when they're excited.

I stole it from a audio skit on an old underground rap or nu-metal album I used to listen too, and I can't remember what rapper had the skit. All I remember is the skit was about a psycho stalker girl who had her 'soul mate' locked in a closet or something and she was trying to explain why she wasn't going to let him go.

I tried googling it and asking around on hip hop forums and subreddits a few times but nobody remembers it and it messes with my head all the time. There's been a few not-popular albums/songs I've lost and when I search the lines that I can remember nothing comes up. Makes me *think someone with a time machine messed up our timeline and I got old memories that never happened anymore.

 

[MrPixel]

"You knew the job was dangerous when you took it."

 

[Stanfield2025]

"If you have to eat shit, best not to nibble."

 

[KittyOfSteele]

My current WIP has several calls to the I Ching; most notably Hexagram #44: Kou / Coming to Meet. The lines "a maiden is powerful," and "under heaven, the wind," are a call to both the judgement and the image from the oracle:

THE JUDGEMENT

COMING TO MEET. The maiden is powerful.
One should not marry such a maiden.

THE IMAGE

Under heaven, wind:
The image of COMING TO MEET.
Thus does the prince act when disseminating his commands
And proclaiming them to the four quarters of heaven.

There's also the line "New Segovia could be seen looking at the northwest: a city sleeping upon a cliff; its neon kaleidoscope hiding secrets only few know," is a callback to the song Neon Dominion, by Sirus:

the city speaks, a heart caught beating
the air alive, with a pulse repeating

I always return to Neon Dominion, one way or another.

 

[JGittes]

I always include lines from Beatles songs in dialogue.

I don't just paste a whole phrase in quotes. Here's an example from a WIP. It's describing a three-block walk home from a bagel shop for the main characters and a small group of reporters. Sunrise happened while they were having breakfast at the shop.

*********************

On the walk home, the reporters had a different set of questions about the Art League and FAM's collaboration with the Erotic Gala. Everything I knew was ten hours old, and much more had been arranged overnight, but that didn't stop the questions.

We waited at the traffic signals as long as we did on our earlier walk to the bagel shop, but now the sun was up, and the sky was blue.

"It's beautiful this morning," Eric whispered as we crossed Bison. "And so are you."

Some darkened shopfronts we'd passed earlier were now alive with opening activity. If the people inside happened to look up and notice, they'd be surprised at first, then smile and wave. We turned on Carefree at the Jackalope and lost entourage members as they reached their cars, said their goodbyes, and drove off.

***********************

I find it interesting how often this happens, but I'm of a certain, very old age.