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.
Met this girl called Josephine and took her up on my machine
We had a little fun and now we got a little one
Had to get married, being chased out of town
Found ourselves a place to live, we put all our money down
Call it Home Sweet Home, home sweet home
Eleven floors up in a tower block
Happy just to have a home
I've gone and changed the lock on our home
Nothing really worked out right, things got broke,
They stayed that way
None of our friends came around at night and little Sam got
No place to play
"We've got to get out of here, Bill" she said "I've been telling
You all the while"
When I came home from work that night she'd jumped out the
Window with our child
From our Home Sweet Home, home sweet home
Just a place to take a rest, just a place to make our nest
We call it our home
When the insurance money came through seemed dirty didn't know what to do
Took the cash went down the casino, down on the wheel on the double
And I won, oh yes I won, like I never won before
Bought myself a country house with an antique carved oak door
It was Home Sweet Home, home sweet home
Just a place to lay our head think of all those things we said
About in our Home Sweet Home.
We had a little fun and now we got a little one
Had to get married, being chased out of town
Found ourselves a place to live, we put all our money down
Call it Home Sweet Home, home sweet home
Eleven floors up in a tower block
Happy just to have a home
I've gone and changed the lock on our home
Nothing really worked out right, things got broke,
They stayed that way
None of our friends came around at night and little Sam got
No place to play
"We've got to get out of here, Bill" she said "I've been telling
You all the while"
When I came home from work that night she'd jumped out the
Window with our child
From our Home Sweet Home, home sweet home
Just a place to take a rest, just a place to make our nest
We call it our home
When the insurance money came through seemed dirty didn't know what to do
Took the cash went down the casino, down on the wheel on the double
And I won, oh yes I won, like I never won before
Bought myself a country house with an antique carved oak door
It was Home Sweet Home, home sweet home
Just a place to lay our head think of all those things we said
About in our Home Sweet Home.
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.
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,
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.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
pretty self-explaining, right.. one of the clearest peter songs i've ver heard to be honest. in my oppinion, josephine was too quick. she should've heard the gentle voice of kate bush singing "don't give up" before she took little sam and jumped out the window. very sorrowful.