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 saddled up my pony right
And rode into the ghostly night
It was wide, wide open, wide, wide open
I left the only home I knew
I stayed alive and I found you
Now I take you where the water's deep
And make the air you breathe so sweet
But is it not enough to be complete? Please?
Let me give you everything you need, please?
We found a way, we found a street
Directions sweat under the sheets
And I let you have it, let you have it
But it can be a lonely place
Desire comes, desire fades
There's a bright one caught your fancy eye
It's okay so long as you stay mine
And I'm so number one that it's a shame, a shame
That you let other numbers in the game
Now I suffer for your hungry eye
Oh why must it see more than mine?
It's a light you're after, 'cause light moves faster
But when I ride again into the night
My torch will shoot flames strong and bright
And my absence will remind you of
How tough it is to be in love
And it's not what I think it's what you say, hey
And it works great for you to have your way, hey
But if the west can be a desperate place
You search all day for just a taste
Of the cold, cold water, cold, cold water
And if you think I've gone too long
Listen the sky will sing this song
As it burns up all the memories
That flow like water out of me
And rode into the ghostly night
It was wide, wide open, wide, wide open
I left the only home I knew
I stayed alive and I found you
Now I take you where the water's deep
And make the air you breathe so sweet
But is it not enough to be complete? Please?
Let me give you everything you need, please?
We found a way, we found a street
Directions sweat under the sheets
And I let you have it, let you have it
But it can be a lonely place
Desire comes, desire fades
There's a bright one caught your fancy eye
It's okay so long as you stay mine
And I'm so number one that it's a shame, a shame
That you let other numbers in the game
Now I suffer for your hungry eye
Oh why must it see more than mine?
It's a light you're after, 'cause light moves faster
But when I ride again into the night
My torch will shoot flames strong and bright
And my absence will remind you of
How tough it is to be in love
And it's not what I think it's what you say, hey
And it works great for you to have your way, hey
But if the west can be a desperate place
You search all day for just a taste
Of the cold, cold water, cold, cold water
And if you think I've gone too long
Listen the sky will sing this song
As it burns up all the memories
That flow like water out of me
Lyrics submitted by rainydayparade
Cold Cold Water Lyrics as written by Mirah Yom Tov Zeitlyn
Lyrics © TERRORBIRD PUBLISHING LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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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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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.
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"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
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.
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This is the best song in her catalog. The scream in the background after "It works great for you to have your way" ... wow, it gives me chills every time! So much emotion packed in there. This is grand.
I would fuck this song if it was a person :]
favorite song by Mirah... aww her voice is soo pretty!
i think these lyrics might be wrong though... i thought she said "how tough it is to be in love" not delicate... but i could be wrong
Asil, you're right I was listening to it and I was like...Dammit! I don't know how to change it though.
Asil, you're right, I realized it a couple days ago...sorry!
Best lyrics... ever.
i think "But each of us can be a desperate place" is "But the west can be a desperate place." im not positive..but it makes more sense too. who knows.
Woah, just reading the lyrics gives me the shivers. I effing love Mirah so effing much. Here's her site: kpunk.com/mirah/ . She's so good. She's so talented. She lives in Philadelphia. Heh, BAH! Mirah makes me cream my jeans!
i love this song its amazing, i especially like this: "Though I suffer for your hungry eye, Oh, why must it see more than mine? It's a light your after, cause light moves faster." good stuff.