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.
Once when our mother called
She had a voice of last year's cough
We passed around the phone
Sharing a word about Oregon
When my turn came, I was ashamed
When my turn came, I was ashamed
Once when moved away
She came to Romulus for a day
Her Chevrolet broke down
We prayed it'd never be fixed or be found
We touched her hair, we touched her hair
We touched her hair, we touched her hair
When she had her last child
Once when she had some boyfriends, some wild
She moved away, quite far
Our grandpa bought us a new VCR
We watched it all night, we grew up in spite of it
We watched it all night, we grew up in spite of it
We saw her once last fall
Our grandpa died in a hospital gown
She didn't seem to care
She smoked in her room and colored her hair
I was ashamed, I was ashamed of her
I was ashamed, I was ashamed of her
I was ashamed, I was ashamed of her
I was ashamed, I was ashamed of her
She had a voice of last year's cough
We passed around the phone
Sharing a word about Oregon
When my turn came, I was ashamed
When my turn came, I was ashamed
Once when moved away
She came to Romulus for a day
Her Chevrolet broke down
We prayed it'd never be fixed or be found
We touched her hair, we touched her hair
We touched her hair, we touched her hair
When she had her last child
Once when she had some boyfriends, some wild
She moved away, quite far
Our grandpa bought us a new VCR
We watched it all night, we grew up in spite of it
We watched it all night, we grew up in spite of it
We saw her once last fall
Our grandpa died in a hospital gown
She didn't seem to care
She smoked in her room and colored her hair
I was ashamed, I was ashamed of her
I was ashamed, I was ashamed of her
I was ashamed, I was ashamed of her
I was ashamed, I was ashamed of her
Lyrics submitted by etcetera_whatever, edited by josh113245, CompressedAire
Romulus Lyrics as written by Sufjan Stevens
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
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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.
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I wrote my college application essay about Romulus, it pulled me through some really tough times. But there is nothing we can really say about it that Sufjan hasn't already said.
This song isn't just about some kid. It's about him, this is a biographical song. I don't remember where I read this, maybe it was a transcript of a radio interview or something. Sufjan and his Brother moved in with their grandparents while their mother went out to Oregon for a guy, his Grandpa bought them a VCR to try and get their mind off of it, and even though they were enveloped in the VCR and that's all they wanted to do was watch it, they still grew up Then when their Mother finally drove back, because their Grandfather was dying, her crappy chevrolet broke down, and even though he had done all of that for them She still tried to repress her feelings, and just acted like she didn't care and it was at that point Sufjan lost all respect for his mother
the line "she smoked in her room and colored her hair" has always stood out to me, because that seems to me like something one would do to ease heartache. i can imagine their mother: sitting barefoot in the window, her just-wrinsed hair still dripping dye down her back; her eyes bloodshot from crying at the realization that she hardly knows her children.
It's also really touching that the lyrics sound as if a little kid is telling the story. He mentions the kinds of details that a child would remember, the kind that are seemingly random but usually say a lot about what the event really meant to them. It's cute but also very sad. Also, i agree about the VCR line, it's heartbreaking.
i hate how much i can relate to this song.
I completely relate to this song. The manner in which it is narrated, each stanza by a child grown older and older. He explains the apparent observations he experienced, by doesn't know what it means because he is so overwhelmed with pain and confusion, and just wants his mom to come back. My mom left us when I was ten, and though I genuinely appreciate this song, it doesn't completely portray how bad it is, at least not for me. Extremely well written song.
An ancient Roman story tells of the twin boys, Romulus and Remus who were abandoned by their mother (or thier mother was killed) and left in the forest to be raised by wolves. They would later found Rome.
As soon as I heard this story I thought of this song, brilliant, I love it when you can suddenly appreciate something you already love on an even deeper level.
Yeah, this song is definitely about having an absent mother who seems to not care about her children. He and his siblings loved her so much, and felt almost unworthy of her presence, thus he is ashamed to even talk to her on the phone. When her car breaks down they get to see her and they play with her hair. Their grandpa raises them because their mother moves away. The grandpa buys them a vcr as a sort of distraction, and replacement for their absent mother. The next time they see her is when their grandpa dies. Then, they are old enough to see that their mother really wasnt as good of a person as they had thought she was. She sits and smokes in her room, and doesnt seem to care that their grandpa just died. She colored her hair, possibly a metaphor for the fact that she changed who she was, or who the children thought she was. The children end up being ashamed of her because they realize that she wasn't as good of a person as they thought she was. I also find it interesting how this relates to the line in "The Seer's Tower'' "Oh my mother, she betrayed us, but our father loved and bathed us." Sufjan seems to be making a special point of absent mothers, possibly relating to an experience of someone he knows... Sorry about how long this turned out...
i think that the meaning everyone else has drawn out seems to be fairly correct. the way he sings is amazing. i love the way he whispers "and i was ashamed of her" almost as if it's something he doesn't want to really believe, but has to.
I agree with /lifewasperfect/, but could it be that their mother turned grey when she realized that her father died and she would never see him again and how stupid she was to waste her life for pleasures (constantly changing boyfriends, homes etc) instead of being together with her family, and the boy took grey hair for colored one?