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.
(Intro)
I can't scratch, cause I'm drunk
I got bad teeth and my gums are bleeding
Come and fucking get me, motherfucker
Yeah, break, start the song now, fucker
(Verse 1)
[Slug]
We travelin the missile, weavin' through your cornfields
Leavin behind a trail of amateur porn and orange peels
Navagatin through this basement, the mascarades
As our nation, practicin' my acid take, masturbation
Watchin the expressions on the faces
Of the ones designated to be the queens, kings, and (??)
How many miles can you put on one soul
Before the smile starts to blend into one big bullet hole
[Brother Ali]
Shoot through it as a union, with the best of my crew
Bumpin melodys and memories too, my heads killin me, ohh
Stomach empty, my bladdar is full
(????) on Jay Birds phone Cryin, ya missin me
And I'm stallin', I'll bite ya arm off
Sabertooth Tiger, run the night with the sharp claws
In ya backyard just to fuck with ya guard dog
Throw a brick through your shit and cut the alarm off
Bitch
[Slug]
Fuck yes, I do my best to take advantage in bouts
With one hand over the mouth, still managin' to shout
there's more said, then in the lines in your forehead
Then could ever try to find print on the inside of that warhead
Cross counrty, like a little lost junky
Make them hot and jumpy, trying to get that God money
Stearin the van through the blizzards, the fanfare
Pivit when we visit, spit victim if you stand there
[Brother Ali]
Take a map of this picture, throw a dart at it, that's where
We took a room back full the kids and threw a heart at it
Angry like a hostage, Kickin like a little bitch in one of Dibs's mosh pits
Shifitin through your city limits tryin to find the raw shit
Thread and needle wit it, and weave a world of hate together, till we get
'em car sick
Face full of war paint, strapped ready for action
Battle cracks headin, trying to seek the satisfaction of the captain
[Slug]
Climbed over the side, closed his eyes
Took a dive into his fame, inspiration for stayin alive
Swam to the shore, stepped upon land
Walked up to a whore, grabbed her by the hand
And said
(Chorus)
[Slug & Brother Ali]
Let the wheels spin, let the road shake
Let the speakers blow
Let the line in, let the kids play
Let the people know
Let the roof burn, let the girls love
Let the heat flow
Let the world turn, let the curtains up
Cats Van Bags, Yo
(Verse 2)
[Brother Ali]
Lock eyes, with a thousand people at the same time
They minds, believin this, my style (???)
Squeezin this, the mid west, sweat out of my shirt
And leavin with my life essence embedded in ya dirt
[Slug]
We work, move, and hustle with the rest of the Gypsies
Spoon feed these issues to a new school of Fishies
Swimmin through a hazy shade of passion
Here they come, the Hazleton has-been, and his chaplin
[Brother Ali]
that's them, the migrants, seasonal workers
The finest imperial wordsmiths on the circuit
Two Million smiles and runnin, stompin', trying to flee the heat
Turn around, shootin at the monster till his knees are weak
[Slug]
They call me Jesus Freak, I came to listen
Then I save you, then I make you, my favorite position
Chasin' this pidgeon down the street towards the banks
Just in case, my traffic receives jeeps and tanks
(Bridge)
[Slug]
And we wonder through the snow(?), so let it be known
Mama I don't know if I'ma ever be home
The revolution won't have any distribution
I love my son and my music so I gotta keep it movin'
Like
(Chorus)
[Slug & Brother Ali]
Let the wheels spin, let the road shake
Let the speakers blow
Let the line in, let the kids play
Let the people know
Let the roof burn, let the girls love
Let the heat flow
Let the world turn, let the curtains up
Cats Van Bags, Yo
I can't scratch, cause I'm drunk
I got bad teeth and my gums are bleeding
Come and fucking get me, motherfucker
Yeah, break, start the song now, fucker
(Verse 1)
[Slug]
We travelin the missile, weavin' through your cornfields
Leavin behind a trail of amateur porn and orange peels
Navagatin through this basement, the mascarades
As our nation, practicin' my acid take, masturbation
Watchin the expressions on the faces
Of the ones designated to be the queens, kings, and (??)
How many miles can you put on one soul
Before the smile starts to blend into one big bullet hole
[Brother Ali]
Shoot through it as a union, with the best of my crew
Bumpin melodys and memories too, my heads killin me, ohh
Stomach empty, my bladdar is full
(????) on Jay Birds phone Cryin, ya missin me
And I'm stallin', I'll bite ya arm off
Sabertooth Tiger, run the night with the sharp claws
In ya backyard just to fuck with ya guard dog
Throw a brick through your shit and cut the alarm off
Bitch
[Slug]
Fuck yes, I do my best to take advantage in bouts
With one hand over the mouth, still managin' to shout
there's more said, then in the lines in your forehead
Then could ever try to find print on the inside of that warhead
Cross counrty, like a little lost junky
Make them hot and jumpy, trying to get that God money
Stearin the van through the blizzards, the fanfare
Pivit when we visit, spit victim if you stand there
[Brother Ali]
Take a map of this picture, throw a dart at it, that's where
We took a room back full the kids and threw a heart at it
Angry like a hostage, Kickin like a little bitch in one of Dibs's mosh pits
Shifitin through your city limits tryin to find the raw shit
Thread and needle wit it, and weave a world of hate together, till we get
'em car sick
Face full of war paint, strapped ready for action
Battle cracks headin, trying to seek the satisfaction of the captain
[Slug]
Climbed over the side, closed his eyes
Took a dive into his fame, inspiration for stayin alive
Swam to the shore, stepped upon land
Walked up to a whore, grabbed her by the hand
And said
(Chorus)
[Slug & Brother Ali]
Let the wheels spin, let the road shake
Let the speakers blow
Let the line in, let the kids play
Let the people know
Let the roof burn, let the girls love
Let the heat flow
Let the world turn, let the curtains up
Cats Van Bags, Yo
(Verse 2)
[Brother Ali]
Lock eyes, with a thousand people at the same time
They minds, believin this, my style (???)
Squeezin this, the mid west, sweat out of my shirt
And leavin with my life essence embedded in ya dirt
[Slug]
We work, move, and hustle with the rest of the Gypsies
Spoon feed these issues to a new school of Fishies
Swimmin through a hazy shade of passion
Here they come, the Hazleton has-been, and his chaplin
[Brother Ali]
that's them, the migrants, seasonal workers
The finest imperial wordsmiths on the circuit
Two Million smiles and runnin, stompin', trying to flee the heat
Turn around, shootin at the monster till his knees are weak
[Slug]
They call me Jesus Freak, I came to listen
Then I save you, then I make you, my favorite position
Chasin' this pidgeon down the street towards the banks
Just in case, my traffic receives jeeps and tanks
(Bridge)
[Slug]
And we wonder through the snow(?), so let it be known
Mama I don't know if I'ma ever be home
The revolution won't have any distribution
I love my son and my music so I gotta keep it movin'
Like
(Chorus)
[Slug & Brother Ali]
Let the wheels spin, let the road shake
Let the speakers blow
Let the line in, let the kids play
Let the people know
Let the roof burn, let the girls love
Let the heat flow
Let the world turn, let the curtains up
Cats Van Bags, Yo
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.
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
"Here they come, the hazled and has been'd and his chaplain"
i think this might actually be "here they come, the hazeldon has-been and his chaplain"