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.
In matching blue raincoats
Our shoes were our show boats
We kicked around
From stairway to station
We made a sensation
With the gadabout crowd
And oh, what a bargain
We're two easy targets
For the old men at the off-tracks
Who've paid in palaver
And crumpled old dollars
Which we squirreled away
In our rat trap hotel by the freeway
And we slept-in Sundays
Your parents were anxious
Your cool was contagious
At the old school
You left without leaving
A note for your grieving
Sweet mother, while
Your brother was so cruel
And here in the alleys
Your spirits were rallied
As you learned quick to make a fast buck
In bathrooms and barrooms
On dumpsters and heirlooms
We bit our tongues
Sucked our lips into our lungs 'til we were falling
Such was our calling
And here in our hollow we fuse like a family
But I will not mourn for you
So take up your makeup
And pocket your pills away
We're kings among runaways
On the bus mall
We're down
On the bus mall
Among all the urchins and old Chinese merchants
Of the old town
We reigned at the pool hall
With one iron cue ball
And we never let the bastards get us down
And we laughed off the quick tricks
The old men with limp dicks
On the colonnades of the waterfront park
As four in the morning came on, cold and boring
We huddled close
In the bus stop enclosure enfolding
Our hands tightly holding
But here in our hollow we fuse like a family
But I will not mourn for you
So take up your makeup
And pocket your pills away
We're kings among runaways
On the bus mall
We're down
On the bus mall
We're down
On the bus mall
We're down
Down on the bus mall
Oh ooh oh
Our shoes were our show boats
We kicked around
From stairway to station
We made a sensation
With the gadabout crowd
And oh, what a bargain
We're two easy targets
For the old men at the off-tracks
Who've paid in palaver
And crumpled old dollars
Which we squirreled away
In our rat trap hotel by the freeway
And we slept-in Sundays
Your parents were anxious
Your cool was contagious
At the old school
You left without leaving
A note for your grieving
Sweet mother, while
Your brother was so cruel
And here in the alleys
Your spirits were rallied
As you learned quick to make a fast buck
In bathrooms and barrooms
On dumpsters and heirlooms
We bit our tongues
Sucked our lips into our lungs 'til we were falling
Such was our calling
And here in our hollow we fuse like a family
But I will not mourn for you
So take up your makeup
And pocket your pills away
We're kings among runaways
On the bus mall
We're down
On the bus mall
Among all the urchins and old Chinese merchants
Of the old town
We reigned at the pool hall
With one iron cue ball
And we never let the bastards get us down
And we laughed off the quick tricks
The old men with limp dicks
On the colonnades of the waterfront park
As four in the morning came on, cold and boring
We huddled close
In the bus stop enclosure enfolding
Our hands tightly holding
But here in our hollow we fuse like a family
But I will not mourn for you
So take up your makeup
And pocket your pills away
We're kings among runaways
On the bus mall
We're down
On the bus mall
We're down
On the bus mall
We're down
Down on the bus mall
Oh ooh oh
Lyrics submitted by EyesSoBright, edited by thendofthetour
On the Bus Mall Lyrics as written by Colin Meloy
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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
Standing On The Edge Of Summer
Thursday
Thursday
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.
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
This song's been mostly scrubbed down, but one important lyrics correction left:
We bit our tongues / Sucked our lips into our lungs / Because we were falling is actually We bit our tongues / Sucked our lips into our lungs / 'Til we were falling
(It's definitely not "because," nor "and," no matter how I try to hear the syllable that way.)
To be really direct here, performing oral sex on a man usually involves covering your lips with your teeth, and doing it in an enthusiastic fashion (as a professional must) can cut off your air long enough that you get dizzy. This lyric is both a poetic description and an accurate one.
Biting one's tongue is not usually part of the process, but that seems more figurative to me, as in swallowing one's pride before doing something demeaning. [I do not consider either oral sex or even professional sex to be necessarily demeaning, but the people in this song are not in a good situation.]