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.
There's a fire
And all the lines are down
There's a panic in the town
And all the wires are crossed
Now they're calling in the dogs
With teeth that shine like pearls
In a witchy underworld
And they all feed the flames
When they're moving in
And everyone knows your name
In the dark it's all the same
When you're done down in the black
You want to take it back
Yeah, you want to take it back
There's a fire
And all the lights are out
There's a strange noise about
Now it's happened all around
Buildings burned to the ground
Now the flames have reached the heart
People are spilling out in cars
And they all feed the flames
When they're moving in
And everyone knows your name
In the dark it's all the same
When you're done down in the black
You want to take it back
Yeah, you want to take it back
And everyone knows your name
In the dark it's all the same
When you're done down in the black
You want to take it back
Yeah, you want to take it back
There's a fire
And all the lines are down
There's a panic in the town
But the worst is almost passed
Now the dogs are gone at last
With teeth that shine like pearls
In a witchy underworld
And when they want to point the blame
You can hear them saying,
"Everyone knows your name
In the end it's all the same
When you're dancing in the light
Or crawling on all fours"
Well in the end it's all the same
When there's no one left to blame
And you're done down in the black
You want to take it back
Yeah, you want to take it back
There's a fire
And all the lines are down
There's a panic in the town
And all the wires are crossed
Now they're calling in the dogs
With teeth that shine like pearls
In a witchy underworld
And they all feed the flames
When they're moving in
And everyone knows your name
In the dark it's all the same
When you're done down in the black
You want to take it back
Yeah, you want to take it back
There's a fire
And all the lights are out
There's a strange noise about
Now it's happened all around
Buildings burned to the ground
Now the flames have reached the heart
People are spilling out in cars
And they all feed the flames
When they're moving in
And everyone knows your name
In the dark it's all the same
When you're done down in the black
You want to take it back
Yeah, you want to take it back
And everyone knows your name
In the dark it's all the same
When you're done down in the black
You want to take it back
Yeah, you want to take it back
There's a fire
And all the lines are down
There's a panic in the town
But the worst is almost passed
Now the dogs are gone at last
With teeth that shine like pearls
In a witchy underworld
And when they want to point the blame
You can hear them saying,
"Everyone knows your name
In the end it's all the same
When you're dancing in the light
Or crawling on all fours"
Well in the end it's all the same
When there's no one left to blame
And you're done down in the black
You want to take it back
Yeah, you want to take it back
There's a fire
Lyrics submitted by KetchupMan36
There's a Fire Lyrics as written by Michael David Lapiana David Marches
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Maybe 7/11?
It seems to be about unity under adversity; in the dark and when things are going wrong, those aspects of society that often cause splits are forgotten or (maybe more importantly) not immediatly obvious.
I do think it is a song about trying times, but that under such circumstances people will behave in a fundamentally decent manner. This applies to group situations (such as in NYC) and also in smaller ways where disparate people will find a common strength in the face of adversity.
Or it could be about dogs with very shiny teeth running around during a power failure....!?