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.
Dear John,
I'm sorry
I can't do this anymore
You're not the man I fell in love with
And I have to move on with my life.
Goodbye
Goodbye [3x]
You were the one who'd never leave
Beautiful eyes, you seemed so free
Touching your face I felt complete
Holding your hand my heart would weep
So everything that came out of your mouth
Was full of lies
You looked me right dead in the eyes
You'd call your girlfriends and tell them that
I abused your trust
You did your best to demonize
You were the one who'd never leave
Beautiful eyes, you seemed so free
Touching your face I felt complete
Holding your hand my heart would weep
You were the one who raped my soul
Beautiful lies, you stole my hope
Touching your ass, I scratch the skin
Holding your neck, I tie the rope...
Pulling it tight
You were the one who'd never leave
Beautiful eyes, you seemed so free
Touching your face I felt complete
Holding your hand my heart would weep
You were the one, the one for me
Now that you're gone it's hard to see
So much of me has gone away
There's no need to stay another day
But someone's got to pay [8x]
I'm sorry
I can't do this anymore
You're not the man I fell in love with
And I have to move on with my life.
Goodbye
Goodbye [3x]
You were the one who'd never leave
Beautiful eyes, you seemed so free
Touching your face I felt complete
Holding your hand my heart would weep
So everything that came out of your mouth
Was full of lies
You looked me right dead in the eyes
You'd call your girlfriends and tell them that
I abused your trust
You did your best to demonize
You were the one who'd never leave
Beautiful eyes, you seemed so free
Touching your face I felt complete
Holding your hand my heart would weep
You were the one who raped my soul
Beautiful lies, you stole my hope
Touching your ass, I scratch the skin
Holding your neck, I tie the rope...
Pulling it tight
You were the one who'd never leave
Beautiful eyes, you seemed so free
Touching your face I felt complete
Holding your hand my heart would weep
You were the one, the one for me
Now that you're gone it's hard to see
So much of me has gone away
There's no need to stay another day
But someone's got to pay [8x]
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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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In this song apparently Sahaj made some record for the longest single note, but I can't seem to find it. I came here to make sure the lyrics matched the song I'm listening to and it does so, uhm yeah, can anyone lead me to it?
Other than that slight bother, this song is really kickass.