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 was thinking about her, visiting the past
Reconstructing details with old photographs
I was studying the faces with an objective point of view
Suddenly remembering doesn't haunt me
I'll follow the sun
And now the time has come, and so, my love, I must go
And though I lose a friend, in the end you will know oh
One day you'll find that I have gone
But tomorrow might rain so I'll follow the sun
All the time you couldn't tell me that one day I'd be glad
That something that I thought was love was misinterpreted
But they were doing me a favor, a blessing in disguise
If she would've been faithful, if she could have been true
Then I would've been cheated, I would never know real love
I would've missed out on you
I watch you sleeping, your body touching me
There's no doubt about it, this is where I want to be
You know it's so ironic, I had to lose to win
I want to thank her, if she would've been faithful
If she could have been true
Then I would've been cheated, I would never know real love
I would've missed out on you
It's a paradox full of contradiction, how I got from there to here
It defies a logical explanation
If she would've been faithful, if she could have been true
Then I would've been cheated, I would never know real love
I would've missed out on you
If she would've been faithful, if she could have been true
Then I would've been cheated, I would never know real love
I would've missed out on you
Reconstructing details with old photographs
I was studying the faces with an objective point of view
Suddenly remembering doesn't haunt me
I'll follow the sun
And now the time has come, and so, my love, I must go
And though I lose a friend, in the end you will know oh
One day you'll find that I have gone
But tomorrow might rain so I'll follow the sun
All the time you couldn't tell me that one day I'd be glad
That something that I thought was love was misinterpreted
But they were doing me a favor, a blessing in disguise
If she would've been faithful, if she could have been true
Then I would've been cheated, I would never know real love
I would've missed out on you
I watch you sleeping, your body touching me
There's no doubt about it, this is where I want to be
You know it's so ironic, I had to lose to win
I want to thank her, if she would've been faithful
If she could have been true
Then I would've been cheated, I would never know real love
I would've missed out on you
It's a paradox full of contradiction, how I got from there to here
It defies a logical explanation
If she would've been faithful, if she could have been true
Then I would've been cheated, I would never know real love
I would've missed out on you
If she would've been faithful, if she could have been true
Then I would've been cheated, I would never know real love
I would've missed out on you
Lyrics submitted by Demau Senae
If She Would Have Been Faithful... Lyrics as written by Stephen Kipner Randy Goodrum
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Downtown Music Publishing
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I love this song! It sounds great, but the lyrics are insane. It's like someone wrote lyrics with a thesaurus. Its a paradox full of contradictions? Yeah, that's a paradox all right. It does defy a logical explanation. But that's what makes it great!
Obviously, this song is saying that if his ex-love hadn't cheated on him, he wouldn't have found his new long. "I had to lose to win" -- it was probably really hard to lose the other woman, but now he's glad cause if he hadn't ever lost, he wouldn't have won with the woman he's with now, who apparently is MUCH better than the last girl.
DP, you are SO right... I remember hearing this song when I was 11 and wondering why they tried to hard to force such big words into the song, it makes it so ridiculous!!