The article highlights five memorable one-liners from 1980s rock songs, arguing that lyrics helped make these tracks endure alongside their melodies and instrumental hooks. The lines range from social criticism to romance and reflections on growing older.

The selections are Don Henley’s “Dirty Laundry”, Pat Benatar’s “Love Is a Battlefield”, Tom Petty’s “Runnin’ Down a Dream”, John Mellencamp’s “Jack & Diane” and Dire Straits’ “Money for Nothing”. The article notes that the latter originally contained a homophobic slur; it quotes a later modified version that Mark Knopfler performed.