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.
The sun shines
And people forget
The spray flies as the speedboat glides
And people forget
Forget they're hiding
The girls smile
And people forget
The snow packs as the skier tracks
People forget
Forget they're hiding
Behind an eminence front
Eminence front, it's a put on
It's an eminence front
It's an eminence front, it's a put on
An eminence front
Eminence front, it's a put on
Eminence front
It's an eminence front
It's an eminence front, it's a put on
It's a put on, it's a put on, it's a put on
Come and join the party
Dress to kill
Won't you come and join the party
Dress to kill, dress to kill
Drinks flow
People forget
That big wheel spins, the hair thins
People forget
Forget they're hiding
The news slows
People forget
Their shares crash, hopes are dashed
People forget
Forget they're hiding
Behind an eminence front
An eminence front, it's a put on
It's just an eminence front
An eminence front, it's a put on
An eminence front
An eminence front, it's a put on
Eminence front
It's an eminence front, it's a put on
It's a put on, it's a put on, it's a put on
Come on join the party
Dress to
Come on join the party
Dress to
Come on join the party
Dress to
Come on join the party
Dress to kill
Dress yourself, dressed to kill
And people forget
The spray flies as the speedboat glides
And people forget
Forget they're hiding
The girls smile
And people forget
The snow packs as the skier tracks
People forget
Forget they're hiding
Behind an eminence front
Eminence front, it's a put on
It's an eminence front
It's an eminence front, it's a put on
An eminence front
Eminence front, it's a put on
Eminence front
It's an eminence front
It's an eminence front, it's a put on
It's a put on, it's a put on, it's a put on
Come and join the party
Dress to kill
Won't you come and join the party
Dress to kill, dress to kill
Drinks flow
People forget
That big wheel spins, the hair thins
People forget
Forget they're hiding
The news slows
People forget
Their shares crash, hopes are dashed
People forget
Forget they're hiding
Behind an eminence front
An eminence front, it's a put on
It's just an eminence front
An eminence front, it's a put on
An eminence front
An eminence front, it's a put on
Eminence front
It's an eminence front, it's a put on
It's a put on, it's a put on, it's a put on
Come on join the party
Dress to
Come on join the party
Dress to
Come on join the party
Dress to
Come on join the party
Dress to kill
Dress yourself, dressed to kill
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In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
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some people become so preoccupied with building up their image that they lose sight of the fact that they are just a fake bitch. some people try way too hard to impress others. its a put on.
one of the greatest rock n roll songs ever created.
@BigMac7 except that it may have to do with big gov. too, you pretty much nailed it!<br /> <br /> And I agree, one of many of the greatest rock n roll songs ever
@BigMac7 Yes, completely right, but...WHY? Why are people so concerned about their image in the western world?
It's about how people can put on airs as if their material wealth and ciruumstances have truly solved all their problems and answered all their fears.
As if they're really above everyone and everything ("Eminence"), but it's really just a Front. And thus a put-on. Because they really just want to "Forget they're hiding" - from fears, insecurities, weaknesses, and maybe even their mortality.
And the way that they maintain this front, is to treat their lives like it's a care-free party, and abuse any who are not part of their lifestyle OR who threaten to reveal the shallowness and emptiness of their party ("Come and join the party - Dress to kill").
But everyone eventually grows older, and/or hit a rough patch in life. "The big wheel spins" (luck changes), the hair thins (people become older and no longer so able to coast on their youth), fame dwindles ("news slows") and with it money ("shares crash, hopes are dashed") - but even then the desperate attempt to put on an Eminence Front continues, and they'll still aggressively go after anyone who brings them to reality so they can maintain their own, desperately needed front of superiority and splendidness.
@ideamonkey you have the best comment so far.... I am pretty sure everyone is on the right track here.
@ideamonkey Again, another great review that understands the basis to the song, but what is the REAL statement that Pete is making??? What "party" and who OWNS it? We live in a FAKE society! Post WWII, advertising/marketing dominated the western world. Why? For who?<br /> <br /> Remember this statement..."Hitler may have lost WWII, but Fascism won"...we live in a world owned by a VERY SMALL group of Corporate families that control governments and society thru printed paper money and their main weapons are the mainstream media and education. Their entire system is based upon turning us into mindless BOOBS! Thin-skinned, fragile, weak-minded people who JUDGE everything, instead of just "rolling with it". Like comedian Steve Hughes says, "You're offended? Who the fuck cares, you're an adult, deal with it...you don't get aids from being offended."<br /> <br /> What Pete is saying is that we have LOST our true values, which should all be based on Love...Family, Friends, Mother Nature & following our passions; however we have been mind manipulated to become Zombies pursuing Money, Power, Sex and Consumer conveniences. We're lost! We watch the news, game shows, sitcoms and Hollywood movies where NONE OF IT IS REAL! Like in the brilliant movie, Network, we have to "WAKE UP GOD DAMMIT" We are human beings...we should be exploring every inch of the globe in Peace and Freedom, giving and taking in balance and harmony with both nature and other human beings...not working for 50+ years at meaningless jobs just so that we can hopefully retire (sans cancer) and enjoy some kind of freedom!!!<br /> <br /> There are those that watch a movie like The Matrix and see only the fight scenes and action; while there are those who AWAKEN to the reality that we are working/consuming slaves to a power elite that doesn't give a fuck about us...at all...like the Super Furry Animals sang (borrowing the bridge from the Steely Dan song, Show Biz Kids), "they don't give a fuck about anybody else, no, they don't give a fuck about anybody else..."
"Eminence" is one of the proper ways to address the King of England. "Front" is an outward, often feigned, appearance or manner. Ever wonder why The Beatles were knighted? Why Mick Jagger (with a drug bust and to quote the newspapers at the time, "no known record of charitable work or public services." was knighted? And The Who weren't?-----Eminence Front "It's a put on."---------- I always admired Pete for this one.
same can be said about the Pope, so I always thought that it was disrespecting the church, or I guess the King haha
@workingclassh Exactly! There is a ruling elite that wants society kept mindless. More "Boy Bands", Beyonce and American Idol...the Queen will get around to knighting all of them...but won't come near the Who or XTC...
@workingclassh About the Knightings, specifically Jagger, Keith basically said it would've meant more if he'd turned it down, but I'm not sure, once it no longer suited him, Jgger had any use for the "counterculture". The ultimate yuppie?
Pete had much opportunity to observe the wealthy and powerful up close, and clearly could see that although on the outside these people seem superior and more blessed than the rest of us, underneath it is often the opposite case. Often their success has been achieved in an effort to get away from low self-esteem, self-hatred, loneliness, etc., and underneath the veneer of superiority lives a scared little child.
This song's meaning is way deeper than most people think...
"The spray flies as the speedboat glides And people forget" (It's referencing the "boat and wake" analogy, about the past (Just search"Allan Watts boat and wake" he explains it very well.))
Forget they're hiding (It's referencing the fact that people forget they're hiding from their true self, behind the ego, wich is the universal consciousness, or god, if you may call it that)
The girls smile And people forget (Distractions, and pepople forget that fact)
The snow packs as the skier tracks People forget Forget they're hiding (Same thing as the boat/wake, the skier leaves a track, but the track doesn't influence the skier. Same way the past doesn't create the future)
Behind an eminence front Eminence front, it's a put on (Behind the ego (eminence front) it's a put on (life is a play)
Come and join the party Dress to kill Won't you come and join the party Dress to kill, dress to kill (The human party, the human game. Dress (create and develop the ego) to kill it later.
Drinks flow People forget (Again, distractions from reality)
Honestly, if you couldn't understand what i pointed out, try to read something about buddhism/hinduism or just listen to some of the good old Alan Watss talks, and come back later to read this again)
I think this is about rich snobs that think they are better than everyone else and hiding behind their wealth.
Acting like your a big deal. To me its not only thinking you are, but the image around you. This song is a party song. It's kind of like it's a good time but there isn't anyone to keep you moving. People hide despite sharing the same genuine feeling... it's a put on... some people will assume because your quiet that you aren't observant and it's a mistake... so many will assume there your unaware of what's going on. People are stupid and they assume just the same of others. It's also important to note that if you don't know someone and assume they're silence is oblivious.... dangerous move for people who are actually weak and hide behind their insecurities in the light of other people who are not like them. Good song. One of my favorite who songs.
Clearly this song full of wonder is no mystery as Pete ploughed the seeds of Acorns and Okra in a Mason Jar with a Sandy level base to grow a tree like totem of Blue Oak. Then a babe named Bullock came along in April and addressed him as His Eminence of Tupperware. I know this sounds like silly putty but the impression that Sandy left on the Maharaja was so significant that his timber rose to new heights like a column in the night. Then the grace of the skies sediment cleared and the continent of Asia proclaimed that Sandra Annette Bullock was a brunette country and that lumber jack tale is told on every gulf course on the globe as Paul proclaimed with a putter that Babe the Blue Ox rose from a tic tac toe board in the form of her son Louis Bullock.
@ZrichKrarkO makes sense to me
@ZrichKrarkO This is a new level of poetry.
Remember this statement..."Hitler may have lost WWII, but Fascism won"...we live in a world owned by a VERY SMALL group of Corporate families that control governments and society thru printed paper money and their main weapons are the mainstream media and education. Their entire system is based upon turning us into mindless BOOBS! Thin-skinned, fragile, weak-minded people who JUDGE everything, instead of just "rolling with it". Like comedian Steve Hughes says, "You're offended? Who the fuck cares, you're an adult, deal with it...you don't get aids from being offended."
What Pete is saying is that we have LOST our true values, which should all be based on Love...Family, Friends, Mother Nature & following our passions; however we have been mind manipulated to become Zombies pursuing Money, Power, Sex and Consumer conveniences. We're lost! We watch the news, game shows, sitcoms and Hollywood movies where NONE OF IT IS REAL! Like in the brilliant movie, Network, we have to "WAKE UP GOD DAMMIT" We are human beings...we should be exploring every inch of the globe in Peace and Freedom, giving and taking in balance and harmony with both nature and other human beings...not working for 50+ years at meaningless jobs just so that we can hopefully retire (sans cancer) and enjoy some kind of freedom!!!
There are those that watch a movie like The Matrix and see only the fight scenes and action; while there are those who AWAKEN to the reality that we are working/consuming slaves to a power elite that doesn't give a fuck about us...at all...like the Super Furry Animals sang (borrowing the bridge from the Steely Dan song, Show Biz Kids), "they don't give a fuck about anybody else, no, they don't give a fuck about anybody else..."
It's about people escaping their problems by perpetually partying. Dress up pretty on the outside to hide the beast on the inside.
You wouldn't happen to know what "the hair thins" means??<br /> <br /> Cheers
Thinning hair? I'd like to believe it's an homage to Nick Carraway. Chapter 7 of The Great Gatsby sees Nick turning 30. "Before me stretched the portentous menacing road of a new decade... Thirty--the promise of a decade of loneliness, a thinning list of single men to know, a thinning brief-case of enthusiasm, thinning hair."<br /> <br /> And as Steve Allen once said, "of course I might be right."<br /> <br /> Regardless, to me, the song seems a correction on the Woody Allen comment about God playing hide and seek in the universe: Man also does his share of hiding. "Who Are You"