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.
You take my love
You want my soul
I would be crazy to share your life
Why can't you see what I am?
Sharpen your senses and turn the knife
Hurt me and you'll understand
I'll never be Maria Magdalena
(You're a creature of the night)
Maria Magdalena
(You're a victim of the fight)
(You need love)
Promise me delight
(You need love)
I'll never be Maria Magdalena
(You're a creature of the night)
Maria Magdalena
(You're a victim of the fight)
(You need love)
Promise me delight
(You need love)
Why must I lie?
Find alibis
When will you wake up and realize
I can't surrender to you?
Play for affection and win the prize
I know those party games, too
I'll never be Maria Magdalena
(You're a creature of the night)
Maria Magdalena
(You're a victim of the fight)
(You need love)
Promise me delight
(You need love)
I'll never be Maria Magdalena
(You're a creature of the night)
Maria Magdalena
(You're a victim of the fight)
(You need love)
Promise me delight
(You need love)
Oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh
I'll never be Maria Magdalena
(You're a creature of the night)
Maria Magdalena
(You're a victim of the fight)
(You need love)
Promise me delight
(You need love)
I'll never be Maria Magdalena
(You're a creature of the night)
Maria Magdalena
(You're a victim of the fight
(You need love)
Promise me delight
You want my soul
I would be crazy to share your life
Why can't you see what I am?
Sharpen your senses and turn the knife
Hurt me and you'll understand
I'll never be Maria Magdalena
(You're a creature of the night)
Maria Magdalena
(You're a victim of the fight)
(You need love)
Promise me delight
(You need love)
I'll never be Maria Magdalena
(You're a creature of the night)
Maria Magdalena
(You're a victim of the fight)
(You need love)
Promise me delight
(You need love)
Why must I lie?
Find alibis
When will you wake up and realize
I can't surrender to you?
Play for affection and win the prize
I know those party games, too
I'll never be Maria Magdalena
(You're a creature of the night)
Maria Magdalena
(You're a victim of the fight)
(You need love)
Promise me delight
(You need love)
I'll never be Maria Magdalena
(You're a creature of the night)
Maria Magdalena
(You're a victim of the fight)
(You need love)
Promise me delight
(You need love)
Oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh
I'll never be Maria Magdalena
(You're a creature of the night)
Maria Magdalena
(You're a victim of the fight)
(You need love)
Promise me delight
(You need love)
I'll never be Maria Magdalena
(You're a creature of the night)
Maria Magdalena
(You're a victim of the fight
(You need love)
Promise me delight
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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.
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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/
I don't think that this is an outright comparison to the Biblical Maria Magdalena and her being a prostitute - in that, to me, the protagonist of the song isn't necessarily a prostitute herself. I think she refers to Maria Magdalena because this character used to be a promiscuous woman who was at the same time afraid of her sexuality; she gave up her old lifestyle and left behind her demons to become saved. To me, the protagonist is a girl who is neither promiscuous or vulgar, but neither does she consider her sexuality as something dirty and sinful. She won't be Maria Magdalena, because, first, she isn't a "slut", and secondly, she won't abandon her identity and sexuality to please anyone or to earn salvation from anyone. I think in the first verses she sings about how the man she loves demands her - if she loves him indeed - to devote herself to him completely and be "nice" She has her demons though, and she isn't perfect, she's her own person and it would be crazy for her to pretend to please him - if he hurts her, he'll understand that she's not always sweet and obedient. She won't identify herself with Maria Magdalena and she feels she has nothing to apologise for, and that she shouldn't abandon her nature. She's torn between being sexual and tough, and being the sweet kind of girl who needs love - therefore, she's a victim of the fight. She's not going to lie and pose for someone she's not to win his approval - she's been there and she knows what "the game" goes like. To me, this is a song about the modern woman who is neither a dirty harlot nor an overly sweet and silly bae, but lives in a world that keeps sending her mixed signals - on one hand, she's deemed as filthy and expected to behave, on another, she's meant to be desired and playful and successful.
A very good piece. :)
@paganpoetry Best description I've read! Makes this song so appropriate for our times even today.
@paganpoetry Maria Magdalena wasn\'t a prostitute, that\'s not what the bible says.
@paganpoetry Maria Magdalena wasn\'t a prostitute, that\'s not what the bible says.
Maria magdelena was a prostitute but stopped prostituting this song is about being a prostitute and being in a relationship and she is saying to the guy she is with she will never change thats who she is, she has barriers up cos of what she does and she has become that person, someone who has a wall up around them and that she can never love properly.
while I do agree with the whole, her being a prostitute in the song and that she will never change, it is worth to say that the scriptures of the bible had been manipulated and mistranslated (big surprise the church is a very shady organization seeking control, not salvation of the human race) Mary Magdalene was never a prostitute. she was a woman who dared to speak the word of god (something that was at the time only reserved for men) and so she was considered a sinful women, of course the church went ahead and said she was a prostitute but in reality there's no evidence that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute at all.
@LiveToTell What do you mean the scriptures had been manipulated? The scriptures don\'t say at all that she was a prostitute, even in translated versions that\'s not the case.\r\nShe wasn\'t seen as a sinful person because of her speaking up; she was a sinful person because demons possessed her and therefore she acted sinful (that\'s the way it is described in scripture)
Very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, good song.
What Coffie&cigarets said
incredible track
Catchy Euro-Pop-80s-Tune. I only tried this cause she's the voice of Enigma. I like the song. Meh... but the song lyrics are just stupid, they don't make sense.
Thank you so much Crazychick85 for actually using the comments for an interpretation, and not just to hijiack this songmeanings site and write personal comments like "I like the song" or "good song".
Crazychick85, I never thought about the song like that until I read your interpretation. Is it just your personal view or is it based on something the actual singer said?
I believe what crazychick85 is referring to is the Maria Magdalena of the Christian bible.
In parralel universes and lifecycles she always has been in the background, the silent love and comfort giver for the redeemer, supporting the battle between evil and good. but now she wants to try a different path, where she wants to taste other things,like delight and complete freedom without any bonding or sacrifices from her side ...in her bold arrogance she still begs for the pleasures the redeemer always has given her for what she had to offer to him.... in other words: sometimes, if you really love someone, you have to let them go....even if the universe crashes down on you by doing so. Because that is what she's asking for.