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.
Don't fret precious I'm heree
Step away from the window
Go back to sleep
Lay your head down child
I won't let the boogeyman come
Counting bodies like sheep
To the rhythm of the war drums
Pay no mind to the rabble
Pay no mind to the rabble
Head down, go to sleep
To the rhythm of the war drums
Pay no mind what other voices say
They don't care about you
Like I do
Like I do
Safe from pain and truth and choice and other poison devils
See they don't give a fuck about you
Like I do
Just stay with me
Safe and ignorant
Go back to sleep
Go back to sleep
Lay your head down child
I won't let the boogeyman come
Count the bodies like sheep
To the rhythm of the war drums
Pay no mind to the rabble
Pay no mind to the rabble
Head down, go to sleep
To the rhythm of the war drums
I'll be the one to protect you from
Your enemies and all your demons
I'll be the one to protect you from
A will to survive and a voice of reason
I'll be the one to protect you from
Your enemies and your choices son
One and the same I must isolate you
Isolate and save you from yourself
Swaying to the rhythm of the new world order and
Count the bodies like sheep
To the rhythm of the war drum
The boogeymen are coming
The boogeymen are coming
Keep your head down go to sleep
To the rhythm of the war drums
Stay with me
Safe and ignorant
Just stay with me
Hold you and protect you from the other ones
The evil ones
Don't love you son
Go back to sleep
Step away from the window
Go back to sleep
Lay your head down child
I won't let the boogeyman come
Counting bodies like sheep
To the rhythm of the war drums
Pay no mind to the rabble
Pay no mind to the rabble
Head down, go to sleep
To the rhythm of the war drums
Pay no mind what other voices say
They don't care about you
Like I do
Like I do
Safe from pain and truth and choice and other poison devils
See they don't give a fuck about you
Like I do
Just stay with me
Safe and ignorant
Go back to sleep
Go back to sleep
Lay your head down child
I won't let the boogeyman come
Count the bodies like sheep
To the rhythm of the war drums
Pay no mind to the rabble
Pay no mind to the rabble
Head down, go to sleep
To the rhythm of the war drums
I'll be the one to protect you from
Your enemies and all your demons
I'll be the one to protect you from
A will to survive and a voice of reason
I'll be the one to protect you from
Your enemies and your choices son
One and the same I must isolate you
Isolate and save you from yourself
Swaying to the rhythm of the new world order and
Count the bodies like sheep
To the rhythm of the war drum
The boogeymen are coming
The boogeymen are coming
Keep your head down go to sleep
To the rhythm of the war drums
Stay with me
Safe and ignorant
Just stay with me
Hold you and protect you from the other ones
The evil ones
Don't love you son
Go back to sleep
Lyrics submitted by OwnPersonalDemon
Pet Lyrics as written by Maynard James Keenan Billy Howerdel
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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This song is about the role of American mega-organizations like government and corporations in shaping American worldviews.
Don't fret precious I'm here Step away from the window Go back to sleep
*The public is the 'precious,' as government and corporations derive their power from the collective consent of the individual constituents. The 'window' is a view of another perspective which elucidates the ignorance of the common American to the effect their country has on the rest of the world.
Lay your head down child I won't let the boogeyman come Counting bodies like sheep To the rhythm of the war drums Pay no mind to the rabble Pay no mind to the rabble Head down, go to sleep To the rhythm of the war drums
*The 'bogeyman' is an imagined, hyped-up enemy that comes when you are sleeping. In this case, it is radical muslim terrorists. We see them as a threat to our country's well-being and we base our fear in our misunderstanding of their motives. They don't oppose Christians or Americans on principle, but rather how we impose our belief systems on the rest of the world, to our own benefit.
Pay no mind what other voices say They don't care about you Like I do Like I do Safe from pain and truth and choice and other poison devils See they don't give a fuck about you Like I do
'Truth' and 'choice' represent real freedom, but we sacrifice these for national security. The 'pain' is what we might feel if we were actually aware of and empathetic to all the people who are thrown under the American bus. The word 'devil' is an example of how we label what opposes us as a devil, which carries with it the assumption that we are pristine.
Just stay with me Safe and ignorant Go back to sleep Go back to sleep
Lay your head down child I won't let the boogeyman come Count the bodies like sheep To the rhythm of the war drums Pay no mind to the rabble Pay no mind to the rabble Head down, go to sleep To the rhythm of the war drums
'Pay no mind to the rabble' is like our government and media telling us that the growing number of people who oppose American policies are somehow wrong or insignificant.
I'll be the one to protect you from Your enemies and all your demons I'll be the one to protect you from A will to survive and a voice of reason I'll be the one to protect you from Your enemies and your choices son One and the same I must isolate you Isolate and save you from yourself
Swaying to the rhythm of the new world order and Count the bodies like sheep To the rhythm of the war drum The boogeymen are coming The boogeymen are coming Keep your head down go to sleep To the rhythm of the war drums
Honestly I think the 'new world order' mention of a reversal of the traditional power structure. The old order is where we see all humans as having rights, and protecting those rights is the purpose of the top organizations. The new order is where the top organizations have rights and the people get rights in so much as they can serve the purposes of the top organizations. Economically, this is already true; workers in developing nations get paid often 1/100 of what Americans get. This means, in economic terms, an hour of their work is worth 1/100 of ours.
Stay with me Safe and ignorant Just stay with me Hold you and protect you from the other ones The evil ones Don't love you son Go back to sleep
Incorrect. Maynard stated on the aMOTION DVD what this song is about. This song is about addiction. When the addict is so far into their addiction that the world seems out to get them and the only safe thing in their life is their addiction. The entire album The Thirteenth Step is about the thirteen steps of addiction. It's an entire drug album. When this song was remade into Counting Bodies Like Sheep to the Rhythm of the War Drums, it was redone to take on the anti-government meaning you describe here. <br /> <br /> Think what you want about the meaning behind the song, I'm only telling you what the man who wrote the song says it's about. Sad to see so many misinformed APC fans out there. Considering Maynard rarely says what his lyrics truly mean, I figured you guys would take it as the word of god when he does. This album has very deep meaning to me and describes a long, painful few years in my life dealing with an ex, and I can see exactly where Maynard was coming from when he wrote this album.
@ajsteph this is one of the stupidest things I have ever encountered.
@ajsteph spot on. I agree. It’s a song about corporate enslavement and isolationism of the people to me. Sort of what’s going on in america since corporations have been used to violate peoples rights.