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.
A suited man smiled said:
"It's just a matter of time
You can have the world at your feet
By tomorrow
Just sign on this line."
Hold tight, limelight!
Approaching the paramount
With the sun in our eyes
Fearing family ties, legalize,
Compromise
In a dimly lit room with a stool as his
Stage
A dream-stricken prince of a pauper's
Descent
Haunts the eavesdropping silence
That presses his window
As he sweats a performance
To an audience that ticks on the wall
To the practical observer
It's just a matter of time
"You can deviate from the com-
Monplace
Only to fall back in line."
I understand mine's a risky plan
And your system can't miss
But is security after all a cause
Or symptom of happiness?
Brave, yet afraid, his eyes on horizon
In a steady-set gaze
A mariner soon from an open cocoon
Takes a moment to summon his courage
To stifle his grave apprehension and
Trembling, approaches the surf
A father's benediction as his hopeful
Son departs
To brave the sea of rage and conquer
At all costs
Lingers in his memory
And visions still surviving in a logic-
Proof shell
That should have been held sacred, safe
And hidden well
Are compromised in usury
With every rising sun that yields no
Sight of land
The hesitation cultivates within the
Tired man
And rumors spread of mutiny
And though the time will come when
Dream and day unite
Tonight the only consolation causing
Him to fight
In fearless faith in destiny
Even when plans fall to pieces
I can still find the courage
With promise I've found in my faith
Likely or not, it's a dream that we keep
And at odds with our senses we'll climb
But if faith is the answer, we're already
Reached it
And if spirit's a sign
Then it's only a matter of time
"It's just a matter of time
You can have the world at your feet
By tomorrow
Just sign on this line."
Hold tight, limelight!
Approaching the paramount
With the sun in our eyes
Fearing family ties, legalize,
Compromise
In a dimly lit room with a stool as his
Stage
A dream-stricken prince of a pauper's
Descent
Haunts the eavesdropping silence
That presses his window
As he sweats a performance
To an audience that ticks on the wall
To the practical observer
It's just a matter of time
"You can deviate from the com-
Monplace
Only to fall back in line."
I understand mine's a risky plan
And your system can't miss
But is security after all a cause
Or symptom of happiness?
Brave, yet afraid, his eyes on horizon
In a steady-set gaze
A mariner soon from an open cocoon
Takes a moment to summon his courage
To stifle his grave apprehension and
Trembling, approaches the surf
A father's benediction as his hopeful
Son departs
To brave the sea of rage and conquer
At all costs
Lingers in his memory
And visions still surviving in a logic-
Proof shell
That should have been held sacred, safe
And hidden well
Are compromised in usury
With every rising sun that yields no
Sight of land
The hesitation cultivates within the
Tired man
And rumors spread of mutiny
And though the time will come when
Dream and day unite
Tonight the only consolation causing
Him to fight
In fearless faith in destiny
Even when plans fall to pieces
I can still find the courage
With promise I've found in my faith
Likely or not, it's a dream that we keep
And at odds with our senses we'll climb
But if faith is the answer, we're already
Reached it
And if spirit's a sign
Then it's only a matter of time
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Light Up The Sky
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Fast Car
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"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him.
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.
The Night We Met
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This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"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
"Some and now none of you"
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.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Little Feat
Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
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.
Also, this song really shows off Dream Theater's lyrical prowess. The lyrics are absolutely excellent and sound great and yet are still deeply powerful. Only a Matter of Time is, lyrically, probably one of Dream Theater's best.
And this segment of the song happens to be one of the most poetic segments of music I have ever heard:
"A father's benediction as his hopeful son departs to brave the sea of rage and conquer at all costs lingers in his memory and visions still surviving in a logic-proof shell that should have been held sacred, safe and hidden well are compromised in usury with every rising sun that yields no sight of land the hesitation cultivates within the tired man and rumors spread of mutiny and though the time will come when dream and day unite tonight the only consolation causing him to fight is fearless faith in destiny"