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 turn my camera on
I cut my fingers on the way
On the way, the way I'm slipping away
I turn my feelings off
Y'made me untouchable for life
Yeah, yeah and you wasn't polite
It hit me like a tom
You hit me like a tom
On, on, and on
Ooh yeah
When I turn my feelings on
I turn my feelings on inside
Yeah, feel like I'm gonna ignite
I saw them stars go off
I saw them stars go off at night
Ooh yeah, and they're looking alright
Keep on blowin up
Keep on blowin em off
Get up roll it out
Keep on showin em out
Y'hit me like a tom
It hit me like a tom
On and on a tom
I turn my camera on
I cut my fingers on the way
On the way, on the way
I feel me slippin away
I wipe my feelings off
Y'made me untouchable for life
(Keep on rolling on)
Ooh yeah and you wasn't polite
Y'hit me like a tom
I don't know where it's from
It hit me like a tom-tom
Ooh yeah
Ooh yeah, I turned my camera on
Ooh yeah, I turned my camera on
Ooh yeah
Ooh yeah
I turned my camera on (hit me like a tom)
I turned my camera on (hit me like a tom)
I turned my camera on (hit me like a tom)
I turned my camera on
Feel this slip away
I cut my fingers on the way
On the way, the way I'm slipping away
I turn my feelings off
Y'made me untouchable for life
Yeah, yeah and you wasn't polite
It hit me like a tom
You hit me like a tom
On, on, and on
Ooh yeah
When I turn my feelings on
I turn my feelings on inside
Yeah, feel like I'm gonna ignite
I saw them stars go off
I saw them stars go off at night
Ooh yeah, and they're looking alright
Keep on blowin up
Keep on blowin em off
Get up roll it out
Keep on showin em out
Y'hit me like a tom
It hit me like a tom
On and on a tom
I turn my camera on
I cut my fingers on the way
On the way, on the way
I feel me slippin away
I wipe my feelings off
Y'made me untouchable for life
(Keep on rolling on)
Ooh yeah and you wasn't polite
Y'hit me like a tom
I don't know where it's from
It hit me like a tom-tom
Ooh yeah
Ooh yeah, I turned my camera on
Ooh yeah, I turned my camera on
Ooh yeah
Ooh yeah
I turned my camera on (hit me like a tom)
I turned my camera on (hit me like a tom)
I turned my camera on (hit me like a tom)
I turned my camera on
Feel this slip away
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One thing I love about Spoon is the way they take lyrics and sentiments about sad/depressing experiences, and turn them into funky, groovy numbers that make you want to dance -- very much a product of Britt's Mo-Town influence, I think.
For those who are familiar with the album art, I think the line, "I cut my fingers on the way" may be fairly significant, because the image of a cut finger is part of the cd/record's visual packaging. In my mind, that image represents symbolically cutting through barriers that stand in the way of emotions, inspirations, vitality, alive-ness, etc, much like cutting through skin to get blood.
Essentially, I think this song is expressing emotional impenetrability and an inability to feel, although I see two possible interpretations in terms of context. Perhaps it's about someone who meets another person who blows his mind so much that he couldn't possibly have feelings for anyone else ever again, or perhaps it's about someone who has never felt anything deeply for anyone ever in his life, until he meets this person who turns his feelings on -- perhaps more of a chicken vs. egg kind of thing.
Interestingly, on Ga^5, Eddie's Ragga has the lines, "And then the place ignite, It’s in my face" and later, "And then the place ignite, All out of grace," which harkens back to the line, "Feel like I'm gonna ignite," in this song. Within the context of these two songs, the word, "ignite," sounds to me like it represents a surge of emotions/feelings that is sudden and nearly volatile.
The imagery is also interesting in reference to the pyrotechnic metaphors in You Got Yr Cherry Bomb.
I'll be hopping and dropping a few more comments for Ga^5 and Gimme Fiction songs on this site. Thanks for reading.