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 hear Denise is back on the outside
That she's got a wicked plan
She's callin' in the Gong Sisters again
To form the ultimate five-chord band
For eight months now in that freaking cell
She's been knockin' ideas around
Now she's good and ready to make a big noise
Right here in her own hometown
Here comes the H Gang
Slammin' out of Hinktown
Better get off the stage boys
They'll be lookin' for a showdown
On a moonless night they started off
On a bus called "Happy Day"
To bring their vision to cities and towns
Across the USA
And in every club and hall they played
The crowd knew every word
And even today folks are talking about
The incredible songs they heard
Here comes the H Gang
Somebody turn off the floodlights
Better get off the stage son
Unless you're ready for a kickfight
Whatever happened to the H Gang
Some say they were the best
I heard they broke up
That Denise got hitched
And she's living in the Midwest
But there's a film that's in production
The working title's "Song Of Desire"
About an orphan girl with this crazy red hair
And a voice and a dream and a soul on fire
Chorus 1
Chorus 2
That she's got a wicked plan
She's callin' in the Gong Sisters again
To form the ultimate five-chord band
For eight months now in that freaking cell
She's been knockin' ideas around
Now she's good and ready to make a big noise
Right here in her own hometown
Here comes the H Gang
Slammin' out of Hinktown
Better get off the stage boys
They'll be lookin' for a showdown
On a moonless night they started off
On a bus called "Happy Day"
To bring their vision to cities and towns
Across the USA
And in every club and hall they played
The crowd knew every word
And even today folks are talking about
The incredible songs they heard
Here comes the H Gang
Somebody turn off the floodlights
Better get off the stage son
Unless you're ready for a kickfight
Whatever happened to the H Gang
Some say they were the best
I heard they broke up
That Denise got hitched
And she's living in the Midwest
But there's a film that's in production
The working title's "Song Of Desire"
About an orphan girl with this crazy red hair
And a voice and a dream and a soul on fire
Chorus 1
Chorus 2
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Light Up The Sky
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Yo La Tengo
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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,
I Can't Go To Sleep
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Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
Magical
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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.
This is part mythical and part reality-based. The myth is of rock music and how some young girl springs from some sort of messed up, pain filled background but blessed with creativty and emerges out into the world in order to give all the hungry music fans (regular people around the world who need this stuff to survive) all around the world what they need. It's magic what she's doing with this mythical group. The reality is there are a lot of really cool people that for whatever reason have a lot of personal problems, many times it's related to how they live their life a little different in seeking out the fun of it all, they might be a little disheveled and disorganized but there is another part of them in which they are extremely organized and that is when they are doing their 'music'. At different levels, these are the Steely Dans of the world. That's them or it could be quite a few others. Maybe Little Richard or the Stones or Miles Davis. The legends. It all really sprung up from the cotton fields of the South.
This also has to be about redemption, and I like how it is 'imagined'.. Fagen gets at it in a way where you get the real sense of it, the sense that we are dealing with redemption, but not necessarily the happy movie type where it really happens for all to see.. the sense where it is in the girl's imagination and recollection of past glories. A jaded sense of redemption and triumph.