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.
June July I went home to live with my mom
At night I sat out to watch cicadas on the lawn
June July, confusion tennessee
Here sherman's army leveled troops in 1863
now those battlefields are marked and paragraphed
And maintained by national park service trust
at night I walked through those fields
Looking for proof of death, echoes of wounded soldier appeals
Tonight the rain clouds are pressing down
Hovering low, warning me to go back home
I saw lightning flicker in the clouds
One and two thousand, better turn around
light was focused down on me
White spike cracked and threw me to the ground
when I awoke the sun was streaming over the fields
Warming the ground soaked with summer rain
At night I sat out to watch cicadas on the lawn
June July, confusion tennessee
Here sherman's army leveled troops in 1863
now those battlefields are marked and paragraphed
And maintained by national park service trust
at night I walked through those fields
Looking for proof of death, echoes of wounded soldier appeals
Tonight the rain clouds are pressing down
Hovering low, warning me to go back home
I saw lightning flicker in the clouds
One and two thousand, better turn around
light was focused down on me
White spike cracked and threw me to the ground
when I awoke the sun was streaming over the fields
Warming the ground soaked with summer rain
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
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
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.
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
was he really struck by lightning?
this song is so beautiful. i think it's about history of all sorts and how it affects us by its magnitude...which is probably wrong but i feel like the song is trying to say something magnificent with the history of the battlefields once considered majestic and the lightning strike and everything.
i think it's about looking for meaning in things that were thought to have been important. confusion tennesee and the battlefield are metaphors for his state of mind and the relationship. and his relationship feels like it's just another catalogued one in the books. just something that happened. so he's looking for meaning and everything is telling him to go back home, and when he finally does start to leave it's too late cos fate decided to give him a little push and wake him up with a brand new day, something to look forward to past the rain.
I can't help but wonder. Did he die, and is the sun and the warm ground heaven, or was he just knocked unconscious, and maybe woke up the next day?
femmesofrussia's interpretation seems to have the most in common with my own. To me, the narration begins as he's going home to live with his mom, seeking to get away from the pain of a relationship gone wrong. His fixation on the past seems to suggest that his action isn't working well as a coping method. His despondency, as represented by the storm clouds, comes to a peak, despite his awareness that he should be spending his energy otherwise. I imagine that the lightning strike and his awakening the next morning is something akin to hitting bottom and being struck with the number of possibilities that the future still holds.
That could be a whole bunch of over-analysis, though.
For what it's worth, John said he wrote this song for his brother Ray.