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'm not here to entertain you
I'm here to meet my friend the Russian, the Irish, the German, the Colombian
I don't care how bad I fuck up
I care about how fucked up I get
I'm not your clown, I'm your dealer
And I'm holding three bundles of bullshit
And you're buying 'em 'cause you are addicted
To the pure and totally uncut
I'm not here to amuse you
I'm here to abuse my body
I'm here because old habits die hard
And, seriously, what else am I supposed to do?
This isn't my job, my hobby, my habit; it's sad
But this is my life
Welcome to our mission statement
Total self-debasement
And not giving our all
Watch us fall
It's not that we don't pull it
It's just that we only give about sixty-or-so percent
Would you rather be fed bullshit
From some twenty-something, makeup-wearing pop-star?
"This one goes out to all our fans all over the world!
Without you, it'd just be us!
So I just want to say thank you! We fucking love you, Modesto!"
Fuck you!
And you're taking it easy before the show
So you won't lose your voice and disappoint your fans routine
You don't care about the children, you don't even know them
All you know is their money
I'm here to meet my friend the Russian, the Irish, the German, the Colombian
I don't care how bad I fuck up
I care about how fucked up I get
I'm not your clown, I'm your dealer
And I'm holding three bundles of bullshit
And you're buying 'em 'cause you are addicted
To the pure and totally uncut
I'm not here to amuse you
I'm here to abuse my body
I'm here because old habits die hard
And, seriously, what else am I supposed to do?
This isn't my job, my hobby, my habit; it's sad
But this is my life
Welcome to our mission statement
Total self-debasement
And not giving our all
Watch us fall
It's not that we don't pull it
It's just that we only give about sixty-or-so percent
Would you rather be fed bullshit
From some twenty-something, makeup-wearing pop-star?
"This one goes out to all our fans all over the world!
Without you, it'd just be us!
So I just want to say thank you! We fucking love you, Modesto!"
Fuck you!
And you're taking it easy before the show
So you won't lose your voice and disappoint your fans routine
You don't care about the children, you don't even know them
All you know is their money
Lyrics submitted by punkpirate
60% Lyrics as written by Kurtis John Henneberry Leif Christensen
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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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.
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i also agree that this is the best song on the album, but is the part when they say "I'm not your clown, I'm your dealer" taking a shot at the lawrence arms when they say "We are the clowns only here to entertain."? cuz as much as i like the lawrence arms, thats still prretty funny.