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.
One, two, three…
It's just a kid,
he wants a ride.
They took his ears,
They took his eyes,
They said a ride
Is never free,
He couldn’t hear
He couldn’t see.
Well there are things
That have to die
So other things
Can stay alive
The fire burns,
It burns to give,
It has to burn, alive,
To live.
The other men spoke low;
They took a vote and said no.
They turned around real slow
Where did they go? Where did they go?
Is the question of the question
Can the kid keep his eyes
If the fire doesn't die, say NO!!!
Say NO!!!
Say, “You don’t know what king we serve, boy.
You don’t know what things we employ.”
The other men spoke low;
They took a vote and said no.
They turned around real slow
Where did they go? Where did they go?
Is the question of the question
Can the kid keep his eyes?
If the fire doesn’t die
Can the kid keep his eyes?
On the question of the question
Can the kid keep his eyes?
If the fire doesn’t die
I said be CAREFUL
Of what you wish for
Oh be CAREFUL
Of what you wish for
And be CAREFUL
Around the fire-light
And be CAREFUL
Around the bright, bright, light
‘Cause the fire never dies
So the kid lost his eyes
Oh, that’s how it goes, Baby
That’s how it goes, Baby
That’s how it goes, Baby
That’s how it goes.
It's just a kid,
he wants a ride.
They took his ears,
They took his eyes,
They said a ride
Is never free,
He couldn’t hear
He couldn’t see.
Well there are things
That have to die
So other things
Can stay alive
The fire burns,
It burns to give,
It has to burn, alive,
To live.
The other men spoke low;
They took a vote and said no.
They turned around real slow
Where did they go? Where did they go?
Is the question of the question
Can the kid keep his eyes
If the fire doesn't die, say NO!!!
Say NO!!!
Say, “You don’t know what king we serve, boy.
You don’t know what things we employ.”
The other men spoke low;
They took a vote and said no.
They turned around real slow
Where did they go? Where did they go?
Is the question of the question
Can the kid keep his eyes?
If the fire doesn’t die
Can the kid keep his eyes?
On the question of the question
Can the kid keep his eyes?
If the fire doesn’t die
I said be CAREFUL
Of what you wish for
Oh be CAREFUL
Of what you wish for
And be CAREFUL
Around the fire-light
And be CAREFUL
Around the bright, bright, light
‘Cause the fire never dies
So the kid lost his eyes
Oh, that’s how it goes, Baby
That’s how it goes, Baby
That’s how it goes, Baby
That’s how it goes.
Lyrics submitted by Clap Your Hands, edited by onigami, smileyoureontv
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Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
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This song seems political to me. I might just be taking the lyrics too literally, but certain line make the song seem like a "call to arms" against the political establishment. "They took his ears, They took his eyes" To me it seems that he is talking about how the government is blinding us through indoctrination. "They said a ride is never free, He couldn’t hear, He couldn’t see. Well there are things That have to die So other things Can stay alive." I interpreted this as a snipe of the conservative philosophy, "no one gets a free ride regardless of their circumstances". "The other men spoke low; They took a vote and said no. They turned around real slow, Where did they go? Where did they go?" The other men are the people who have power and choose to do nothing rather than do good for society. Well, thats my take on it, but I doubt thats what Spencer had in mind when he wrote the song.
Exactly, except the men with power don't "choose to do nothing." They choose to sacrifice the boy's eyes for the(ir) greater good.
the first two lines are
"he's just a kid / he wants a ride"
great song "it has to burn alive to live" spencer krug is a genius
The kid from this song is the same one as the kid from Stadiums and Shrines II, right? Both mention a kid being too old to ride/wanting a ride.
i think this song is about a kidnapping. when it says the took his ears the took his eyes it is the kidnappers blindfolding him and covering his ears so he doesn't know where they are going. the free ride is refering to the kidnapping and and it can't be free becasue there will be some ransom or in this case they are going to take his life. i believe the man they are taking is someone with power that is stoping the group from doing something so they have to kill him to do what the want. which is said "Well there are things That have to die So other things Can stay alive". he is the thing that must die and the action they want to do is the thing that must stay alive. maybe it is a person that this man may be killing if he is not kidnapped and stopped. when they have the man of power the main kidnapper(maybe the man whos life is on the line) wants to kill him but the other men take a vote and decide not to kill him. the part that says "If the fire doesn’t die I said be CAREFUL Of what you wish for Oh be CAREFUL..." is them having secound thoughts. the kidnapped man is the fire. now that they have him they have to kill him they can't just let him go but they don't want to kill him. thats what they should of been careful of wishing for( the kidnap and death of this man). the kids fit in because his kids were taken too although they didn't take their eyes because they were to young to do anything about the situation anyway. at the end where there is a birght light that hurts the kids eyes it is his father dying and them haveing to see it. lastly the thats how it goes baby part is the kidnappers being like o well thats how it goes we killed him.
Spencer also put "it has to burn alive to live" in the song all fires that he did with Swan Lake.
to me it seems, its about expecting too much from people, and expecting them to turn a blind eye or forgive you even though youre not sorry or still doing the thing that hurts them. "If the fire doesn’t die Can the kid keep his eyes?"
Kind of reminds me of Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury, if you take it very literally.