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.
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey, hey
Some say the end is near
Some say we'll see Armageddon soon
Certainly hope we will
I sure could use a vacation from this
Bullshit three ring circus
Sideshow of freaks
Here in this hopeless fucking hole we call L.A.
The only way to fix it is to flush it all away
Any fucking time, any fucking day
Learn to swim, see you down in Arizona Bay
Fret for your figure and
Fret for your latte and
Fret for your lawsuit and
Fret for your hairpiece and
Fret for your Prozac and
Fret for your pilot and
Fret for your contract and
Fret for your car
It's a Bullshit three ring circus
Sideshow of freaks
Here in this hopeless fucking hole we call L.A.
The only way to fix it is to flush it all away
Any fucking time, any fucking day
Learn to swim, see you down in Arizona Bay
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
Some say a comet will fall from the sky
Followed by meteor showers and tidal waves
Followed by fault lines that cannot sit still
Followed by millions of dumbfounded dipshits
And some say the end is near
Some say we'll see Armageddon soon
I certainly hope we will
I sure could use a vacation from this
Stupid shit, silly shit, stupid shit
One great big festering neon distraction
I've a suggestion to keep you all occupied
Learn to swim, learn to swim, learn to swim
'Cause mom's gonna fix it all soon
Mom's coming 'round to put it back the way it ought to be
Learn to swim, learn to swim, learn to swim, learn to swim
Learn to swim, learn to swim, learn to swim, learn to swim
Fuck L Ron Hubbard and fuck all his clones
Fuck all those gun-toting hip gangster wannabes
Learn to swim, learn to swim, learn to swim, learn to swim
Learn to swim, learn to swim, learn to swim, learn to swim
Fuck retro anything
Fuck your tattoos
Fuck all you junkies and
Fuck your short memory
Learn to swim, learn to swim, learn to swim, learn to swim
Learn to swim, learn to swim, learn to swim, learn to swim
Yeah, fuck smiley glad-hands with hidden agendas
Fuck these dysfunctional insecure actresses
Learn to swim, learn to swim, learn to swim, learn to swim
Learn to swim, learn to swim, learn to swim
'Cause I'm praying for rain
I'm praying for tidal waves
I want to see the ground give way
I want to watch it all go down
Mom, please flush it all away
I want to see it go right in and down
I want to watch it go right in
Watch you flush it all away
Yeah, time to bring it down again
Yeah, don't just call me pessimist
Try and read between the lines
And I can't imagine why you wouldn't
Welcome any change, my friend
I wanna see it come down
Bring it down, suck it down, flush it down
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey, hey
Some say the end is near
Some say we'll see Armageddon soon
Certainly hope we will
I sure could use a vacation from this
Bullshit three ring circus
Sideshow of freaks
Here in this hopeless fucking hole we call L.A.
The only way to fix it is to flush it all away
Any fucking time, any fucking day
Learn to swim, see you down in Arizona Bay
Fret for your figure and
Fret for your latte and
Fret for your lawsuit and
Fret for your hairpiece and
Fret for your Prozac and
Fret for your pilot and
Fret for your contract and
Fret for your car
It's a Bullshit three ring circus
Sideshow of freaks
Here in this hopeless fucking hole we call L.A.
The only way to fix it is to flush it all away
Any fucking time, any fucking day
Learn to swim, see you down in Arizona Bay
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
Some say a comet will fall from the sky
Followed by meteor showers and tidal waves
Followed by fault lines that cannot sit still
Followed by millions of dumbfounded dipshits
And some say the end is near
Some say we'll see Armageddon soon
I certainly hope we will
I sure could use a vacation from this
Stupid shit, silly shit, stupid shit
One great big festering neon distraction
I've a suggestion to keep you all occupied
Learn to swim, learn to swim, learn to swim
'Cause mom's gonna fix it all soon
Mom's coming 'round to put it back the way it ought to be
Learn to swim, learn to swim, learn to swim, learn to swim
Learn to swim, learn to swim, learn to swim, learn to swim
Fuck L Ron Hubbard and fuck all his clones
Fuck all those gun-toting hip gangster wannabes
Learn to swim, learn to swim, learn to swim, learn to swim
Learn to swim, learn to swim, learn to swim, learn to swim
Fuck retro anything
Fuck your tattoos
Fuck all you junkies and
Fuck your short memory
Learn to swim, learn to swim, learn to swim, learn to swim
Learn to swim, learn to swim, learn to swim, learn to swim
Yeah, fuck smiley glad-hands with hidden agendas
Fuck these dysfunctional insecure actresses
Learn to swim, learn to swim, learn to swim, learn to swim
Learn to swim, learn to swim, learn to swim
'Cause I'm praying for rain
I'm praying for tidal waves
I want to see the ground give way
I want to watch it all go down
Mom, please flush it all away
I want to see it go right in and down
I want to watch it go right in
Watch you flush it all away
Yeah, time to bring it down again
Yeah, don't just call me pessimist
Try and read between the lines
And I can't imagine why you wouldn't
Welcome any change, my friend
I wanna see it come down
Bring it down, suck it down, flush it down
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
Lyrics submitted by implode, edited by quetzalmex, mjoa, travisbr
Ænema Lyrics as written by Daniel Carey Justin Gunner Chancellor
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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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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one time i walked to the store and these guys started giving me shit about being white and i lived in oakland, and they didnt touch me or anything i just went into the 7-11 and got some gummi worms. then when they came out they tried to sell me some illegal drugs and i said, "nu uh, no way that stuff makes you stupid" and they looked at me and said "you callin me stupid" and i said "maybe" and they said "so we're stupid just cuz we're black huh cracker" and i said "..................yeah" but im not racist, they were just stupid and they beat me up.
bummer