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.
My mother loved it so she said
Sad eyed pearl and drop lips
Glancing pierce through writer man
Spoke hushed and frailing hips
Her old eyes skim in creasing lids
A tear falls as she describes
Approaching death with a yearning heart
With pride and no despise
Hot tears flow as she recounts
Her favorite worded token
Forgive me please for hurting so
Don't go away heartbroken no
Just wise owl tones no velvet lies
Crush her velvet call
Oh Marlene suffer all the fools
Who write you on the wall
And hold your tongue about your life
Or dead hands will change the plot
Will make your loving sound like snakes
Like you were never hot
Hot tears flow as she recounts
Her favorite worded token
Forgive me please for hurting so
Don't go away heartbroken no
My mother loved it so she said
Sad eyed pearl and drop lips yeah
Glancing pierce through writer man
Spoke hushed and frailing lips yeah
Old eyes skim in creasing lids
A tear falls as she describes
Approaching death with a yearning heart
With pride and no despise
Hot tears flow as she recounts
Her favorite worded token
Forgive me please for hurting so
Don't go away heartbroken no
Sad eyed pearl and drop lips
Glancing pierce through writer man
Spoke hushed and frailing hips
Her old eyes skim in creasing lids
A tear falls as she describes
Approaching death with a yearning heart
With pride and no despise
Hot tears flow as she recounts
Her favorite worded token
Forgive me please for hurting so
Don't go away heartbroken no
Just wise owl tones no velvet lies
Crush her velvet call
Oh Marlene suffer all the fools
Who write you on the wall
And hold your tongue about your life
Or dead hands will change the plot
Will make your loving sound like snakes
Like you were never hot
Hot tears flow as she recounts
Her favorite worded token
Forgive me please for hurting so
Don't go away heartbroken no
My mother loved it so she said
Sad eyed pearl and drop lips yeah
Glancing pierce through writer man
Spoke hushed and frailing lips yeah
Old eyes skim in creasing lids
A tear falls as she describes
Approaching death with a yearning heart
With pride and no despise
Hot tears flow as she recounts
Her favorite worded token
Forgive me please for hurting so
Don't go away heartbroken no
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In regards to the meaning of this song:
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.
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
Marlene Dietrich was a diva, who's personal life was kept out of the public view. ("hold your tongue about your life") had many lovers, among them famous writers ("writer man"). There's also a reference to Dietrich's singing style: "Just wise owl tones - no velvet lies crush her velvet call" - who sounded bitterly-"sober", and disenchanted. The song describes someone (Marlene?, or the writer's mother?) on her death-bed, remembering a "token" - either used on her, or one that she used (Perhaps a line from one of Dietrich's songs, or a poem she loved?) - "Forgive me please, for hurting (you) so, don't go away heartbroken". "the fools who write you on the wall" might refer to ownership in love, either read literally as: To try to own in love is a foolish thing, or ironicly: What a fool was I to give you my heart.
Peter Murphy saw the documentary film "Marlene" by Maximilian Schell. In it, Schell talks with Dietrich, though only the audio is recorded, she wouldn't allow herself to be filmed. She is at times funny, guarded, caustic, coy, and downright mean. But towards the end of the film, Schell and Dietrich read a poem together that was a favorite of her mother's, and she becomes quite emotional.
The poem is (in German) O lieb’, solang du lieben kannst” by Ferdinand von Freiligrath written in 1845. According to Google Translate :) that title means "O love, as long as you can love" and the poem speaks of a woman by the grave of her deceased love, lamenting a harsh word spoken while he was still alive. You can read it (in German of course, but Google translate does a pretty good job) at germansociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/MarleneProgram.pdf
Beautiful song. Marlene was an actress, I believe, from the 1920's, but I'm not sure what it means.
Beautiful song. Marlene was an actress, I believe, from the 1920's, but I'm not sure what it means.
Beautiful song. Marlene was an actress, I believe, from the 1920's, but I'm not sure what it means.
This is a great and beautiful poetic song coupled with peter murphys great voice. i think the song is about an old woman who is lying on her deathbed abd telling a bout someone she loved and the story brings up buried tears.it also seems as if she was eternally hurt by this man andhe betrayed her somehow.
in spite of this, love deeply and passionatly,it may hurt but is the only way to live life to the fullest
The Philosopher