The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
I walk into this room
All eyes on me now
But I do not know the people inside
Look straight through me these eyes
Seeking more wisdom
Than I have to give away
Realize realize
What you are
[Chorus:]
What you've become
Just as I have
Are you and I so unalike
Huddled here
You just as I am
Afraid if we dance
We will die
Mock the world
Live safe say why
Don't you know
When you give life
Then you become
What you are
The sea is unsparing
We're all drifting away
Away from you
But I pray for you now
Hoping to god on high
Is like clinging to straws
While drowning oh
[Chorus]
What you are
Is a best in a lover's arms
What you are
Is the devil in a sweet sweet kiss
What you are
Is a puzzle to me
[Chorus]
All eyes on me now
But I do not know the people inside
Look straight through me these eyes
Seeking more wisdom
Than I have to give away
Realize realize
What you are
[Chorus:]
What you've become
Just as I have
Are you and I so unalike
Huddled here
You just as I am
Afraid if we dance
We will die
Mock the world
Live safe say why
Don't you know
When you give life
Then you become
What you are
The sea is unsparing
We're all drifting away
Away from you
But I pray for you now
Hoping to god on high
Is like clinging to straws
While drowning oh
[Chorus]
What you are
Is a best in a lover's arms
What you are
Is the devil in a sweet sweet kiss
What you are
Is a puzzle to me
[Chorus]
Lyrics submitted by Demau Senae
What You Are Lyrics as written by David Matthews Glen Ballard
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Light Up The Sky
Van Halen
Van Halen
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
I always assumed this song was written about the tragedy of his sister and her husband. The one who killed her and ultimately killed himself...
What you are is the beast in a lover's arms What you are is the devil in the sweet, sweet kiss What you are is missing a piece What you are is a puzzle to me
The beginning is almost like as if he is describing walking into her funeral. Like everyone is looking to him for answers...
I walk into this room Oh, all eyes on me now But I do not know the people inside They look straight through me, these eyes Seeking more wisdom than I have to give away Realize, realize what you are...
The seas unsparing We're all drifting away Away from you, I pray for you now But hoping to God on high Is like clinging to straws while drowning, oh Realize, realize what you are...
He knows that his sister is gone, "drifting away." "I pray for you now... He is an atheist so of course to him, hoping to God that she is at peace is like clinging to straws while drowning...
The first time I heard him play it live and he said get down on your knees mother fucker! I had this eerie feeling that he was talking to his sister's husband, but he was the yelling at him to get down on his knees, like he was about to kill him. It was the first time where I felt a really dark vibe coming from Dave and even the inflection in his voice had a sinister tone.
@deedubbadoo I think your interpretation is one of the best I've seen. I've always wondered what he is saying at the end AFTER he says "Get down on your knees mother fucker". You hear him say something about "God is on my side", but with him being an atheist, that wouldn't seem to make sense, so I've still never been able to figure out what he was saying the adlibbed part at the end. It was extremely obvious there is some very powerful emotion he's feeling when he sang the song in the Central Park show. When he sings the word "self" in the line "don't trust me, trust yourself" is one of the most belted out powerful vocals I've ever heard. It still gives me chills every time I hear it.