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 shallow little jackal of a man posing as a hawk.
Conniving opportunist
Lease the blade the gun the bomb in the name of justice.
A violent panacea for what ails the nation
In advancement for the pig.
You'll not wrest the truth from my hands
Eyes never closed clarity.
Clamped down in a grip so tight on ordinary horror.
Peering through a curtain of blood.
Retribution or vengeance it matters not which
As long as the pig stays on top of the ladder of bone his father has built.
Ashes to ashes to the dust
Eaten spiced with ambivalence.
The nation swallows it all whole
Weakened by their collective neck in the noose.
Commerce brings war
Jihad has come to both sides.
Eye for an eye fire for fire
Raining death as the towers crumble.
This will never end.
Left without a choice
By the fiscal elite
War is set in motion by higher powers.
A pissing contest for the unknown.
Left bankrupt we all die inside.
As a couple jumps hand in hand to their death.
Wrapped in swaddling lies and laid in a dumpster
Spoon fed shit doesn't even turn their stomachs.
Gaping mouths yawn for more abuse
Someone needs to tip the nest.
The pig ascends
As I sink deeper
Seething misanthropic
Waiting for my death
Conniving opportunist
Lease the blade the gun the bomb in the name of justice.
A violent panacea for what ails the nation
In advancement for the pig.
You'll not wrest the truth from my hands
Eyes never closed clarity.
Clamped down in a grip so tight on ordinary horror.
Peering through a curtain of blood.
Retribution or vengeance it matters not which
As long as the pig stays on top of the ladder of bone his father has built.
Ashes to ashes to the dust
Eaten spiced with ambivalence.
The nation swallows it all whole
Weakened by their collective neck in the noose.
Commerce brings war
Jihad has come to both sides.
Eye for an eye fire for fire
Raining death as the towers crumble.
This will never end.
Left without a choice
By the fiscal elite
War is set in motion by higher powers.
A pissing contest for the unknown.
Left bankrupt we all die inside.
As a couple jumps hand in hand to their death.
Wrapped in swaddling lies and laid in a dumpster
Spoon fed shit doesn't even turn their stomachs.
Gaping mouths yawn for more abuse
Someone needs to tip the nest.
The pig ascends
As I sink deeper
Seething misanthropic
Waiting for my death
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Light Up The Sky
Van Halen
Van Halen
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
"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
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
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"
Son Şansın - Şarkı Sözleri
Hayalperest
Hayalperest
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.
In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
DECO, sorry to burst your little condescending attitude you have going on there, but you clearly do not know what you are talking about at all. I'm an enlisted infantryman, yet I scored a 97 on the asvab, graduated top in my class from a military academy, and I am taking college courses right now. OH yea and the fun part! I turned down a full ride to become a doctor and then have the same profession as everyone else in my family. YOU are wrong, conceited, and attack the very people that allow you to sleep at night without mortar shells landing overtop of your house. Before you even say anything, I am not an anomaly to the system at all, there are plenty of fine enlisted and comissioned men and women who are extremely inteligent, but unlike some, are actually doing something about what they beleive in. Finally, do you really think you can bring up the 'ole oil argument to prove anything? Stop watching the liberal ass media and fly yourself over there to see what is really happening. THE MEDIA IS NOT THE TRUTH. You are so incedibly ignorant to everything happening in this world. My guess that is because you are probably sitting in your living room watching the war report with random clips of Fahrenheit 9/11 mixed into the commercials, but who really knows these days. Basically not all soldiers are stupid, even if they are infantry and don't talk about subjects you only hear about through a lens that focuses on the bad. Oh yea and arkhaic - you were definitely right