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.
Oh yeah
How come everything is not like it used to be
And how come everything is never the same
Your head spins, turns around a look of confusion
This can't be real, I think it's only a game
They said one way, you're going
One way to be and
I can't believe in those words
[Pre-Chorus]
The truth is there is no truth
Mystified, can't compute
Well I say forget about
Everything you've heard
[Chorus]
You won't last that long
You won't last that long
You might as well transform
You won't last, you won't last
How come everything is not like it used to be
And how come everything is never the same
There you want to, gonna get, first time, last place
Nothing stays the same here, including your name
I've seen it all twice before
They try to be original
Disappoint the way of the world
[Pre-Chorus]
[Chorus]
(Oh yeah, baby - be your right man that's the truth)
Hey, hey, hey [x4]
What's the meaning
You must be dreaming
To want the meaning of life
I heard you screaming
To know the meaning
To know the meaning of life
[Chorus x4]
How come everything is not like it used to be
And how come everything is never the same
Your head spins, turns around a look of confusion
This can't be real, I think it's only a game
They said one way, you're going
One way to be and
I can't believe in those words
[Pre-Chorus]
The truth is there is no truth
Mystified, can't compute
Well I say forget about
Everything you've heard
[Chorus]
You won't last that long
You won't last that long
You might as well transform
You won't last, you won't last
How come everything is not like it used to be
And how come everything is never the same
There you want to, gonna get, first time, last place
Nothing stays the same here, including your name
I've seen it all twice before
They try to be original
Disappoint the way of the world
[Pre-Chorus]
[Chorus]
(Oh yeah, baby - be your right man that's the truth)
Hey, hey, hey [x4]
What's the meaning
You must be dreaming
To want the meaning of life
I heard you screaming
To know the meaning
To know the meaning of life
[Chorus x4]
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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Words of Spider One:
This is the one that ended up best representing the record, which is why I chose "Transform" for the title. The chorus gives it away: "You won't last that long/ You might as well transform," which is basically saying that your window of opportunity opens and closes really fast. Whether you're talking about your life from birth to death, or a certain moment in your life, the fact is, it won't last long. So you've got to seize that moment to try and do something.
This is the song that got me into PM5K