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.
Lemon gin, corn fields plowed under.
Cigarettes, Southern Comfort
with your friends behind the bleachers it’s my first dance.
He’s gonna beat it in the high school gym
It’s almost summer, almost warm enough to swim.
Backyards are waiting.
He’s got your name, he’s got your number
He’s got your name, he’s got your number
The sun sets across the parking lot,
walking cool with your friends.
Before the ready cops even know you’re in the sand.
The night is waiting
Here he comes, you’re a little nervous
Here he comes; well you’re getting up the courage, yeah
The music sucks
But he’s your salvation
Cherry lip gloss, and you’re what he’s tasting yeah
Yeah yeah yeah
You’re in his car getting high
Pair of fuzzy dice by the dashboard light
Super toke, gets smoke in his eyes
Your head is swimming with the anticipation and suddenly,
You’re puking out the door with your pants around your knees
But he’s a nice boy so he drops you on your street.
I can’t believe it
Looks like you blew it
He’s got your name; he’s got your number
He’s driving away; I want to bomb her yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah
So you stumble home
But you don’t quite make it
You wake up on the lawn
Of your next door neighbor’s
The sun is warm.
It’s almost summer, yeah
Cigarettes, Southern Comfort
with your friends behind the bleachers it’s my first dance.
He’s gonna beat it in the high school gym
It’s almost summer, almost warm enough to swim.
Backyards are waiting.
He’s got your name, he’s got your number
He’s got your name, he’s got your number
The sun sets across the parking lot,
walking cool with your friends.
Before the ready cops even know you’re in the sand.
The night is waiting
Here he comes, you’re a little nervous
Here he comes; well you’re getting up the courage, yeah
The music sucks
But he’s your salvation
Cherry lip gloss, and you’re what he’s tasting yeah
Yeah yeah yeah
You’re in his car getting high
Pair of fuzzy dice by the dashboard light
Super toke, gets smoke in his eyes
Your head is swimming with the anticipation and suddenly,
You’re puking out the door with your pants around your knees
But he’s a nice boy so he drops you on your street.
I can’t believe it
Looks like you blew it
He’s got your name; he’s got your number
He’s driving away; I want to bomb her yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah
So you stumble home
But you don’t quite make it
You wake up on the lawn
Of your next door neighbor’s
The sun is warm.
It’s almost summer, yeah
Lyrics submitted by lemongin
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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"
No Surprises
Radiohead
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Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
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.
A little too many errors for my liking..
Lemon gin, Corn fields ploughed under. Cigarettes, Southern Comfort. With your friends, Behind the bleachers, Tonight there's a dance.. He’s gonna be there, In the high school gym
And it’s almost summer, almost warm enough to swim. Backyards are waiting.
He’s got your name; he’s got your number He’s got your name; he’s got your number
The sun sets across the parking lot, walking cool with your friends - Avoid the rent-a-cops even though you're innocent, The night is waiting.
Here he comes; you’re a little nervous Here he comes; well, you’re getting up the courage, yeah.
The music sucks, But he’s your salvation Cherry lip gloss, And you’re what he’s tasting, Yeah, Yeah yeah yeah
You’re in his car getting high, Pair of fuzzy dice by the dashboard light. Super toke, gets smoke in his eyes, Your head is swimming With the anticipation, and suddenly, You’re puking out the door with your pants around your knees, But he’s a nice boy so he drops you on your street.
You can’t believe it, Looks like you blew it.
He’s got your name; he’s got your number He’s driving away; Ahh, what a bummer Yeah, yeah yeah Yeah, yeah yeah
So you stumble home, But you don’t quite make it You wake up on the lawn Of your next door neighbors. The sun is warm,
It’s almost summer, yeah It's almost summer, yeah It's almost summer, yeah It's almost summer, yeah It's almost summer, yeah It's almost summer, yeah It's almsot summer, yeah It's almost summer, yeah.