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.
Follow down the path
It leads to a circle of houses,
Where foreigners are not well thought
And strangers unwelcome to their affairs!
The villagers (so they said) do heathen rituals
"Just for a while
Look through the chimney stack
Through the mist, aren't you afeared?
Ajar are the doors
A smell of rotten woods
In the mud, aren't you afraid?"
[Solo: Jarpen]
Hidden by the clouds
A pallid sun on a November day
An expedition organised
To go and see what's going on
The villagers (none of them) weren't seen in town for weeks
To get provisions as they used to...
"Just for a while
Look through the chimney stack
Through the mist, aren't you afeared?
Ajar are the doors
A smell of rotten woods
In the mud, aren't you afraid?"
Hearsay called him the 14th, was never born, he's always been
The sins to expiate in front of him, will be the
worst part of your dreams!
(Someone said it is a magic place!)
[Chorus:]
Through the hazy heights, two leagues from Avhon,
Among the heart of brushwood, aloof from the glances
Lies a village, built on a clearing
Thirteen houses, aligned maliciously, and a mansion on a hill
That mournful light in (the) ground floor window is always lit!
As they reached the hamlet on the hill
They found nobody at all! (was anybody there?)
Faint light in the house (where have they gone?)
Would they dare to go inside (to go inside)
When they all returned back home
They told of uncanny things
When they all returned back home
Inside (knock, knock) their souls something's hopelessly gone!
Jesp Van Cleave, the first found dead, drowned in the stream
While we was having a bath, "A terrible misfortune,
Was an incredible and fatal accident!"
Ichabold De le Fournier, son of the Major, was the second one,
His horse fell on top of him, the wounds were too serious to be cured.
One by one the thirteen died, all those who
had been to that village faced the unknown One!
One was hanged, the other choked, little by little
all the townsmen understood
The Conjuring of the 14th was gliding in the mazes of their lives
Thirteen souls to replace the old, the evil lifeblood will
flow in the shadows of their bodies
Hearsay called him the 14th, was never born, he's always been
The sins to expiate in front of him, will be the worst part
of your dreams!
(Someone said it is a magic place!)
[Chorus:]
Through the hazy heights, two leagues from Avhon,
Among the heart of brushwood, aloof from the glances
Lies a village, built on a clearing
When they went back to the village then, thirteen houses occupied
Thirteen new inhabitants, whom does he look like?
Thirteen houses, aligned maliciously, and a mansion on a hill
That mournful light in (the) ground floor window will be always lit!
It leads to a circle of houses,
Where foreigners are not well thought
And strangers unwelcome to their affairs!
The villagers (so they said) do heathen rituals
"Just for a while
Look through the chimney stack
Through the mist, aren't you afeared?
Ajar are the doors
A smell of rotten woods
In the mud, aren't you afraid?"
[Solo: Jarpen]
Hidden by the clouds
A pallid sun on a November day
An expedition organised
To go and see what's going on
The villagers (none of them) weren't seen in town for weeks
To get provisions as they used to...
"Just for a while
Look through the chimney stack
Through the mist, aren't you afeared?
Ajar are the doors
A smell of rotten woods
In the mud, aren't you afraid?"
Hearsay called him the 14th, was never born, he's always been
The sins to expiate in front of him, will be the
worst part of your dreams!
(Someone said it is a magic place!)
[Chorus:]
Through the hazy heights, two leagues from Avhon,
Among the heart of brushwood, aloof from the glances
Lies a village, built on a clearing
Thirteen houses, aligned maliciously, and a mansion on a hill
That mournful light in (the) ground floor window is always lit!
As they reached the hamlet on the hill
They found nobody at all! (was anybody there?)
Faint light in the house (where have they gone?)
Would they dare to go inside (to go inside)
When they all returned back home
They told of uncanny things
When they all returned back home
Inside (knock, knock) their souls something's hopelessly gone!
Jesp Van Cleave, the first found dead, drowned in the stream
While we was having a bath, "A terrible misfortune,
Was an incredible and fatal accident!"
Ichabold De le Fournier, son of the Major, was the second one,
His horse fell on top of him, the wounds were too serious to be cured.
One by one the thirteen died, all those who
had been to that village faced the unknown One!
One was hanged, the other choked, little by little
all the townsmen understood
The Conjuring of the 14th was gliding in the mazes of their lives
Thirteen souls to replace the old, the evil lifeblood will
flow in the shadows of their bodies
Hearsay called him the 14th, was never born, he's always been
The sins to expiate in front of him, will be the worst part
of your dreams!
(Someone said it is a magic place!)
[Chorus:]
Through the hazy heights, two leagues from Avhon,
Among the heart of brushwood, aloof from the glances
Lies a village, built on a clearing
When they went back to the village then, thirteen houses occupied
Thirteen new inhabitants, whom does he look like?
Thirteen houses, aligned maliciously, and a mansion on a hill
That mournful light in (the) ground floor window will be always lit!
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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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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
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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"
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This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
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