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 tried leaving you at home
but every thought returns to you
my head it seems to roam
no matter what i do
you know it's late right now
and every song sings of us
i guess these singers know somehow
and my life they must discuss
Chorus:
but i left the pictures of you behind
because i didn't want to dwell on you
but even the streets speak your name out here
and last nights movie too
the mountains now in the rearview
as the tired road creeps on and on
perhaps i'll leave you in colorado
with this monday morning fog
but the pictures await me back home
and there the streets whisper, whisper your name
escape it seems impossible sometimes
and i'm the one to blame
(chorus)
I tried leaving you behind
but you wouldn't stay
but every thought returns to you
my head it seems to roam
no matter what i do
you know it's late right now
and every song sings of us
i guess these singers know somehow
and my life they must discuss
Chorus:
but i left the pictures of you behind
because i didn't want to dwell on you
but even the streets speak your name out here
and last nights movie too
the mountains now in the rearview
as the tired road creeps on and on
perhaps i'll leave you in colorado
with this monday morning fog
but the pictures await me back home
and there the streets whisper, whisper your name
escape it seems impossible sometimes
and i'm the one to blame
(chorus)
I tried leaving you behind
but you wouldn't stay
Lyrics submitted by MarsTheStrange
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
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him.
There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
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,
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
he wants to forget her, but he can't. or more than that, he feels like he needs to forget her because their relationship won't work for some reason.
this is about what it's like to leave someone. literally. to pick up and leave so that you can get your mind on something else and clear your head. but when you have loved someone the way that he loves her, he hears their story everywhere - whether it's in a song on the radio, in a movie you saw, or just out in the rest of the world.
"even the streets they speak your name out here" - could be a couple different things. at first, i thought about what it's like when you think you hear someone say your name but you don't know them, and they weren't calling you. sometimes when you're thinking about someone, you hear their name all the time.. just because you're so focused on them.
another possibility is that the road reminds him of her... maybe he is driving a familiar route that they used to take. or maybe he just sees her in other people that he comes in contact with out on "the streets". like i said before, when someone is on your mind, you see them everywhere... even if they're nowhere around.
and bonus - he has to go home sometime. and all the pictures of her are waiting for him there.