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.
I just don't care about the evening news
I never listen to the crack house blues
They say the city is a place to be
I want to dance with Emily
Everybody come around the window shop
I guess they've never seen the moves I got
I want to be with what the people see
I want to dance with Emily
Emily, sweet baby, won't you be my wife?
Cutting me wide open with a kitchen knife
Everybody said that she's under age
Honky tried to shoot her with a seven gauge
Now I got the cookies that your mama sent
I got permission from the government
Someone should mention to the minister
Now I gotta dance with Jennifer
Jenny's got a mouth so full of pigeon's cum
On top a mountain made a bubblegum
Don't understand what all the grief is for
Now I gotta dance with Eleanor
Eleanor, I wonder if we go too slow
Straight down the hatch beneath the streetlights' glow
Baby, when I get you on a Persian rug
That's the kind of movies I've been dreaming of
Ow ow
I tell you something that you think I'd know
I got two tickets to the sold out show
Some of the fellas like to think I'm Greek
I want to love you maybe three days a week
Oh
I just don't care about the evening news
I never listen to the crackhouse blues
I want to be with what the people see
I want to dance with Emily
I want to dance with Emily
I never listen to the crack house blues
They say the city is a place to be
I want to dance with Emily
Everybody come around the window shop
I guess they've never seen the moves I got
I want to be with what the people see
I want to dance with Emily
Emily, sweet baby, won't you be my wife?
Cutting me wide open with a kitchen knife
Everybody said that she's under age
Honky tried to shoot her with a seven gauge
Now I got the cookies that your mama sent
I got permission from the government
Someone should mention to the minister
Now I gotta dance with Jennifer
Jenny's got a mouth so full of pigeon's cum
On top a mountain made a bubblegum
Don't understand what all the grief is for
Now I gotta dance with Eleanor
Eleanor, I wonder if we go too slow
Straight down the hatch beneath the streetlights' glow
Baby, when I get you on a Persian rug
That's the kind of movies I've been dreaming of
Ow ow
I tell you something that you think I'd know
I got two tickets to the sold out show
Some of the fellas like to think I'm Greek
I want to love you maybe three days a week
Oh
I just don't care about the evening news
I never listen to the crackhouse blues
I want to be with what the people see
I want to dance with Emily
I want to dance with Emily
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More Featured Meanings
Light Up The Sky
Van Halen
Van Halen
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
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
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/
"Now I got the cookies that your momma sent I got permission from the government"
What i think is that he means is that he is in jail?
And the theory about his parent naming him Emelie if he was i girl is intresting.
@Vikfor I'd say the "permission from the government" is a divorce - which is why he's gotta dance with Jennifer, and then Eleanor, in subsequent verses before he goes back to Emily.