American Songwriter has compiled a short list celebrating four especially memorable lyrics from 1970s classic rock, highlighting lines that have stuck with listeners for decades. The piece looks at how each song's most iconic line came about, drawing on writers' own accounts of the creative process.

The feature is one of the outlet's regular nostalgia-driven "list" articles aimed at classic rock fans, and it follows a similar recent series on 1970s and 1960s tracks.

– Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams" ("Thunder only happens when it's raining…") — Stevie Nicks wrote it in about 10 minutes using a keyboard and cassette player.
– The Eagles' "Take It Easy" — started by Jackson Browne, finished and arranged by Glenn Frey after Browne agreed to let him.
– Carly Simon's "You're So Vain" ("You walked into the party like you were walking onto a yacht") — Simon has said it's about several men, partly including Warren Beatty.
– Bruce Springsteen's "Thunder Road", the 1975 Born to Run opener, meant as an "invitation," per his autobiography.