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.
Oh look at how she listens
She says nothing of what she thinks.
She just goes stumbling through her memories
Staring out onto Grey Street.
She thinks, "Hey, how did i come to this?
I dream myself a thousand times around the world,
But i can't get out of this place"
There's an emptiness inside her
And she'd do anything to fill it in.
But all the colors mix together... to grey.
And it breaks her heart.
How she wishes it was different,
She prays to God most every night.
And though she swears He doesn't listen
There's still a hope in her it might
She says, "I pray, but they fall on deaf ears,
Am i supposed to take it on myself?
To get out of this place.
There's a loneliness inside her
And she'd do anything to fill it in.
And though it's red blood bleeding from her now
It feels cold blue ice in her heart.
When all the colors mix together--to grey
And it breaks her heart.
There's a stranger speaks outside her door,
Says take what you can from your dreams.
Make them as real as anything
Oh, It'll take the work out of courage.
But she says, "Please!"
"There's a crazy man that's creeping outside my door."
"I live on the corner of Grey Street"
"And the end of the world."
There's an emptiness inside her,
And she'd do anything to fill it in.
And though it's red blood bleeding from her now
It's more like cold blue ice in her heart.
She feels like kicking out all the windows
And setting fire to this life
She could change everything about her
Using colors bold and bright
But all the colors mix together... to grey
And it breaks her heart
It breaks her heart x2
To grey
She says nothing of what she thinks.
She just goes stumbling through her memories
Staring out onto Grey Street.
She thinks, "Hey, how did i come to this?
I dream myself a thousand times around the world,
But i can't get out of this place"
There's an emptiness inside her
And she'd do anything to fill it in.
But all the colors mix together... to grey.
And it breaks her heart.
How she wishes it was different,
She prays to God most every night.
And though she swears He doesn't listen
There's still a hope in her it might
She says, "I pray, but they fall on deaf ears,
Am i supposed to take it on myself?
To get out of this place.
There's a loneliness inside her
And she'd do anything to fill it in.
And though it's red blood bleeding from her now
It feels cold blue ice in her heart.
When all the colors mix together--to grey
And it breaks her heart.
There's a stranger speaks outside her door,
Says take what you can from your dreams.
Make them as real as anything
Oh, It'll take the work out of courage.
But she says, "Please!"
"There's a crazy man that's creeping outside my door."
"I live on the corner of Grey Street"
"And the end of the world."
There's an emptiness inside her,
And she'd do anything to fill it in.
And though it's red blood bleeding from her now
It's more like cold blue ice in her heart.
She feels like kicking out all the windows
And setting fire to this life
She could change everything about her
Using colors bold and bright
But all the colors mix together... to grey
And it breaks her heart
It breaks her heart x2
To grey
Lyrics submitted by shealwayswearsblue, edited by richtestani
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
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,
When We Were Young
Blink-182
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
i like the busted stuff version WAY more than the lillywhite one. this song is about a depressed girl who wants to get out of her depression, but doesn't know how. i've been to grey street and at one time this song described my life perfectly