This is the first verse

Nothing much here lately. Just to stop the grass growing, here's another 25-first-lines thing: song titles and artists in comments, please. This one's a bit different, as you'll see. Some more obscure than others; there are a couple I'd be particularly pleased for somebody to get, and one which would probably earn you a pint (it's from a privately-produced CD by a friend of mine). (A couple of bona fide Chart Hits, too.)

Update 4/9/06 An email from Tina bags the last easy ones, plus a couple of difficult ones. (Hi Tina!) The rest are all a bit on the obscure side, I'd say - not that I'd mind being proved wrong. Have at it.

Update 13/9/06 All remaining beans spilled.

1. A certain kind of love, I’d say
   - Soft Machine (Rob)
2. A long time ago, we used to be friends
   - Dandy Warhols (Tina)
3. Bonfires in forests, lamplights in houses, all obscured
   - Graham Coxon (Tina)
4. By a waterfall, I’m calling you
   - the Bonzo Dog Band (Rob)
5. Colin Zeal knows the value of mass appeal
   - Blur (Tina)
6. For years unspotted, Henri Dupont wheeled his barrow in Marseilles
   - Barry Booth (lyrics by Terry Jones)
7. Give me your love and I’ll give you the perfect lovesong
   - the Divine Comedy (John)
8. I can see clearly now the rain has gone
   - Jimmy Ruffin (JJ)
9. I don’t know what to do with my life, should I give it up and make a new start?
   - Buzzcocks (Jamie)
10. I often dream of trains when I’m alone
    - Robyn Hitchcock (Tina)
11. I stand by the building in the pouring rain
    - the Mekons
12. Inside of me, take as much as you can find of me
    - David McComb
13. It’s happened before, most likely it will happen again
    - Ed Kuepper
14. Jacqueline was seventeen, working on a desk
    - Franz Ferdinand (Biscit)
15. Loving you is easy 'cause you’re beautiful
    - the Charlatans (Syd)
16. Mother Mary and the morning wonder, take me home
    - the Earlies
17. Nothing you could say could tear me away from my guy
    - Mary Wells (and subsequently Aretha Franklin, among others) - Alex
18. Put your hands on the wheel, let the Golden Age begin
    - Beck (Justin)
19. Red rain is falling down
    - Peter Gabriel (JJ)
20. Señor, Señor, can you tell me where we’re heading?
    - Bob Dylan (Rob)
21. Sometimes love is friendly
    - Hilary Bichovski
22. This time we almost made the pieces fit, didn’t we girl?
    - Jimmy Webb (Brian)
23. Waste of time - it’s all a waste
    - Peter Blegvad
24. Well, it seems like the funky days are back again
    - Cornershop (Rob)
25. You rolled into town like an unscheduled train
- Nothing Painted Blue