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.
[random sample]
All the peeps said I wouldn't laugh
Don't make me laugh, don't make me laugh
[Sage Francis]
I'd give a twenty one gunshot salute
With a toy rifle you bought me but it won't shoot
And all is well because there's been one too many shots
The sterile robots want to talk to me about Detox
Stop the presses, there's been an update
Delivered via 1:30 AM phone call
When an only half-informative sauce talks discretely
Meet me-- at the family room at the side of the Intensive Care Unit
Immediately, I'll carry a tune
The sirens so loud, can't hear my music
Keep free-- of negative thoughts, everything'll be fine
We all assume... That it would go back to the way things were
That it would go back to normal soon
Saw the moon in a way that I never seen it before
When I looked up that night into the sky wondering why
Lookin' for answers, guess I ain't ask right
I'm guessin most of y'all out there know exactly what that's like
What that's like, now tell me what's that like?
It's like a whirlwind of emotions occurs when moms and dads fight
It's like when a girl grins, an emotion of hers
That holds your arm, and grabs tight
Hurl him into the ocean, one of them cold sweat heat flash types
With extreme fluctuations and temperature changes
Have been known to crack pipes...
...crack pipes...crack pipes...
Meet me-- half way in a gold, extra length just to help your strength
Meet me-- at the AA meeting, needing to take more then 12 steps
Bring me to your hiding place, so I can face your vice grip
I'll chisel every single monkey off your back with this ice pick
Come meet up with me on the sidelines when the game is over
Just to say hello, then afterwards, backstage
To let me know that you enjoyed the show
And go to grandma's house for Sunday dinner
Sit at the table take away the fatal flaw
you made the day before, I seen you bleed
Meet me-- on Christmas Eve, we can fight but make up before you leave
Make peace with the rest of those that rest in pieces on my dreams
Meet me at the fork in the road where lost souls get decisive
Meet me at the crossroads so I can have someone to walk into the light with
All the peeps said I wouldn't laugh
Don't make me laugh, don't make me laugh
[Sage Francis]
I'd give a twenty one gunshot salute
With a toy rifle you bought me but it won't shoot
And all is well because there's been one too many shots
The sterile robots want to talk to me about Detox
Stop the presses, there's been an update
Delivered via 1:30 AM phone call
When an only half-informative sauce talks discretely
Meet me-- at the family room at the side of the Intensive Care Unit
Immediately, I'll carry a tune
The sirens so loud, can't hear my music
Keep free-- of negative thoughts, everything'll be fine
We all assume... That it would go back to the way things were
That it would go back to normal soon
Saw the moon in a way that I never seen it before
When I looked up that night into the sky wondering why
Lookin' for answers, guess I ain't ask right
I'm guessin most of y'all out there know exactly what that's like
What that's like, now tell me what's that like?
It's like a whirlwind of emotions occurs when moms and dads fight
It's like when a girl grins, an emotion of hers
That holds your arm, and grabs tight
Hurl him into the ocean, one of them cold sweat heat flash types
With extreme fluctuations and temperature changes
Have been known to crack pipes...
...crack pipes...crack pipes...
Meet me-- half way in a gold, extra length just to help your strength
Meet me-- at the AA meeting, needing to take more then 12 steps
Bring me to your hiding place, so I can face your vice grip
I'll chisel every single monkey off your back with this ice pick
Come meet up with me on the sidelines when the game is over
Just to say hello, then afterwards, backstage
To let me know that you enjoyed the show
And go to grandma's house for Sunday dinner
Sit at the table take away the fatal flaw
you made the day before, I seen you bleed
Meet me-- on Christmas Eve, we can fight but make up before you leave
Make peace with the rest of those that rest in pieces on my dreams
Meet me at the fork in the road where lost souls get decisive
Meet me at the crossroads so I can have someone to walk into the light with
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Mountain Song
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"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
No Surprises
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Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
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.
"I'd give a .21 gunshot salute" this should be "21 gun shot salute" not .21, as it is not referring to any caracteristic of the gun but rather to the honorary custom of firing 21 gun shots at the arrival or in this case, departure, of someone of great importance (typically in the military).
call me narrow minded, but i feel that "extreme fluxuations in temperature changes have been known to crack pipes" is refering to the idea of how a very extreme loss or sudden change in your life, a "temperatur change", can cause your whole life or your soul, being the pipe, to crack. you see everything diffferently, espescially when that person was really close to you. anyone picking up on that?
Of course. Well I mean, I definitely don't think it's about smoking crack... Well, I KNOW its not...
this is the most powerful song ill ever here... anyone who hasnt heard this should here it.
its about sages dad dying of an overdose, im not sure at what age but it was before he was a teenager so pretty young
I'm sorry that's not what this song is about. Its about Sage's uncle Kevin died. He has stated it before in interviews. Its one of his best pieces of work though.
"It's like when a girl grins, an emotion of hers that holds your arm and grabs tight."
thats what its like. its the feeling you get when the person you love smiles, and you feel that smile in the pit of your self... and then the feeling of when that smile fades away... the emptiness of it all.
this is my favorite sage song. its delivered so well.
I love how this is delivered too. Almost like slam poetry.
\"it\'s like the whirlwind of emotions that occurs when moms and dads fight\"
means so much.....
It's an all around amazing song. Everything about it is amazing. Powerful. Amazing delivery...everything he talks about flows...his lyrics are amazing...This is the song that got me hooked on Sage
god..damn.
"we all assume that it would go back to the way things were. That it would go back to normal soon. Saw the moon, in a way that I've never seen it before. When I looked up that night, into the sky, wondering why, looking for answers."
after loosing some1 important sage begins questioning things in life he once relied on or took for granted. How the loss of that person made him view the world in a new way.