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.
On the day that Daniel Cowman stopped existing
the world should've ended right then and there
at precisely four-fifteen when he stopped existing
the world should've ended--how could it go on?
How could it go on when I don't exist? I don't exist...
and now that we got that straight, doesn't mean that I can fly
doesn't mean that I can go do whatever I want
now that we got that clear, and you know that I'm not here
doesn't mean that I can go do whatever I please
the premature ejaculation of his death sentence
hit Daniel in the face like a big round spitball
and everything got hazy in the courtroom
and then he stood up and then he sat back down
another two times in a row
and everything got real slow like a gunshot in the movies
and he remembered heroin boy walking through the door
bouncing off the walls and the floor
taking off his belt, taking off his pants
filling up the bathtub, getting ready to go in for a swim
singing, I don't exist...
and he start remembering...
the heroin boy'd walk through the door
and he was screaming and everybody was, like,
what're you screaming as if it's the end of the world?
and he was, like, well it is
and I was sitting in the corner with my pants down
and I was sure someone next door was blowing up balloons
and they was red and orange
and there was this one lady at the bar and she was trying to buy gin
and this other lady at the bar and she was trying to sell gin
and it worked out good for the boths of them
and heroin boy started taking off his belt
started taking off his pants, started taking off his shoes
filling up the bathtub, getting ready to go in for a swim
I says, no--you're gonna drown
and he says, no--I can't drown
simply because...shhhh...
a man destined to hang can never drown
a man destined to drown can never burn
a man destined to fry can never, ever, ever
die in any other way
frying--lucky that I'm dying by hanging and not drowning
so now that we got that straight, can't I just be left alone?
I want to take a fucking bath
the world should've ended right then and there
at precisely four-fifteen when he stopped existing
the world should've ended--how could it go on?
How could it go on when I don't exist? I don't exist...
and now that we got that straight, doesn't mean that I can fly
doesn't mean that I can go do whatever I want
now that we got that clear, and you know that I'm not here
doesn't mean that I can go do whatever I please
the premature ejaculation of his death sentence
hit Daniel in the face like a big round spitball
and everything got hazy in the courtroom
and then he stood up and then he sat back down
another two times in a row
and everything got real slow like a gunshot in the movies
and he remembered heroin boy walking through the door
bouncing off the walls and the floor
taking off his belt, taking off his pants
filling up the bathtub, getting ready to go in for a swim
singing, I don't exist...
and he start remembering...
the heroin boy'd walk through the door
and he was screaming and everybody was, like,
what're you screaming as if it's the end of the world?
and he was, like, well it is
and I was sitting in the corner with my pants down
and I was sure someone next door was blowing up balloons
and they was red and orange
and there was this one lady at the bar and she was trying to buy gin
and this other lady at the bar and she was trying to sell gin
and it worked out good for the boths of them
and heroin boy started taking off his belt
started taking off his pants, started taking off his shoes
filling up the bathtub, getting ready to go in for a swim
I says, no--you're gonna drown
and he says, no--I can't drown
simply because...shhhh...
a man destined to hang can never drown
a man destined to drown can never burn
a man destined to fry can never, ever, ever
die in any other way
frying--lucky that I'm dying by hanging and not drowning
so now that we got that straight, can't I just be left alone?
I want to take a fucking bath
Lyrics submitted by SoakedinMercury
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I don't know about the actual meaning of the song.. but it makes me think of my mothers death. When she stopped existing, the world should have stopped existing too... at least.. I remember looking out the window of the hospital and looking at people and they were just walking across the street doing whatever they had planned and they didn't even know. That seemed so weird to me... that they could just be living their lives when she was on the other side of the wall... dieing...
I kind of went into a period of time when I wondered if I even existed. After all, I was on that side of the wall too. I was trapped on the other side of the wall. I kind of broke myself into two halves.. to put it into the context of this song.. "heroin boy" and the speaker.. The speaker being myself as I was before everything happened, happy and ignorantly blissful. Heroin boy being myself as I became, depressed and practically drowning in the world as it was (the world where I can happen to you).
So, I love the line where it's talking about heroin boy screaming like it's the end of the world. Because I can remember feeling just like that. It was the end of the world, and no one knew it. She starts to talk about people with balloons being happy and people at the bar just going on with their lives and I can remember how that used to infuriate me. It was the end of the world. I wanted everyone to just stop and mourn with me, as ridiculous as that sounds.
The last line is the most powerful, because the heroin boy admits defeat and gets in the water to be depressed.. "take a bath" meaning "just let me die".