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 had traveled till each road had met the end of the earth
With nowhere else to go, I looked back in amazement
When I finally realized how far that I had actually gone
I was still standing in the same place that I started
Till I fell down and I cried out
There was silence
A deafening silence
More brilliant than anything
And there was a bird with feathers
Bright and red as blood
At least that's what you saw
I saw an angel on the whitest November's morning
And I heard her sing the sweetest cry
As if she wanted to reach down
And tell me it would be alright
And I knew it would be alright
I walked on and stared into that golden sun
I was blinded but enamored by its beauty
Till I fell down and I cried out
There was silence
A deafening silence
More brilliant than anything
And there was a bird with feathers
Bright and red as blood
At least that's what you saw
I saw an angel on the whitest November's morning
And I heard her sing the sweetest cry
As if she wanted to reach down
And tell me it would be alright
And I knew it would be alright
Foreign train tracks serenade you
But their sound is never permanent
These landscapes ever changing
Like arrival times on runway billboards
You close your eyes and they are gone
And there was a bird with feathers
Bright and red as blood
At least that's what you saw
I saw an angel on the whitest November's morning
And I heard her sing the sweetest cry
That you wanted to reach down
And tell me it would be alright
And I knew it would be alright
With nowhere else to go, I looked back in amazement
When I finally realized how far that I had actually gone
I was still standing in the same place that I started
Till I fell down and I cried out
There was silence
A deafening silence
More brilliant than anything
And there was a bird with feathers
Bright and red as blood
At least that's what you saw
I saw an angel on the whitest November's morning
And I heard her sing the sweetest cry
As if she wanted to reach down
And tell me it would be alright
And I knew it would be alright
I walked on and stared into that golden sun
I was blinded but enamored by its beauty
Till I fell down and I cried out
There was silence
A deafening silence
More brilliant than anything
And there was a bird with feathers
Bright and red as blood
At least that's what you saw
I saw an angel on the whitest November's morning
And I heard her sing the sweetest cry
As if she wanted to reach down
And tell me it would be alright
And I knew it would be alright
Foreign train tracks serenade you
But their sound is never permanent
These landscapes ever changing
Like arrival times on runway billboards
You close your eyes and they are gone
And there was a bird with feathers
Bright and red as blood
At least that's what you saw
I saw an angel on the whitest November's morning
And I heard her sing the sweetest cry
That you wanted to reach down
And tell me it would be alright
And I knew it would be alright
Lyrics submitted by eltroyo11
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"I had all and then most of you"
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"Some and now none of you"
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This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
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Blue
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“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Plastic Bag
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“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
Are these lyrics right? Some of it doesn't make much sense...
Anyway, I heard Kris and John play this live at an acoustic show in San Diego... I was sitting on a cold concrete floor and squished by the people around me cuz the room was so small. But then as soon as I heard just the first lines of this song... I knew in my head it was all worth it.
It's so rich of emotion - like there's feelings of helplessness, defeat, uncertainty of where to go from here, all wrapped up in nostalgia but still somehow... I felt comforted, hearing this song...
It's songs like this that make Kris Roe one of the greatest song writers ever, in my humble opinion.
theres several errors in the lyrics:
"How far that I had actually come" ('come' should be 'gone')
"On the whitest of November mornings"
should be: "On the whitest November's morning"
"And I heard her sing the sweetest lines" ('lines' should be 'cry')
"That you wanted to reach down"
should be: "As if she wanted to reach down"
"These lipstains ever changing" ('lipstains' should be 'landscapes')
and lastly "You close your eyes and then the're gone"
'the're' should be 'you're'
Come on now, use some common sense before putting lyrics up: "Like arrival times on railway bluebirds" is definetly wrong. Sounds like it should be "Like arrival times on railway billboards"
Well actually a lot of the lyrics in this song that Kris Roe actually does sing, sound questionable. "I have traveled to each road" is clearly what he says, but I still don't think that makes much sense lol.
And a "bluebird", I believe, is actually a type of train car.
I've decided that it's definitely bluebirds.
No, its billboards. The lyrics in the case of the cd say so. But anyway, if anyone is interested, this song (as stated in an interview by Kris) is about a time where he was living in a hotel room and had nowhere else to live. He was basically at rock bottom. He woke up hung over probably from drugs as well as alcohol (although don't quote me on it). He felt utterly defeated and hopelss, but when he looked outside he saw a brilliantly bright red bird. To him the bird was a symbol telling him that everything would get better, and it helped give him hope. Thus the lyrics "And there was a bird with feathers bright and red as blood At least that's what you saw I saw an angel On the whitest November's morning And I heard her sing the sweetest cry As if she wanted to reach down And tell me it would be alright And I knew it would be alright" To most people, it would have just been a bird, but to kris, it was an angel sent to help him through his hardest times. This song is a perfect example of how beautifully deep this man can write his lyrics
The "Railway Bluebirds?" Yeah, that's supposed to be "Runway Bilboards" - it says this in the CD fold out thingy...
This is my favorite Ataris song ever. I remember hearing it for the first time and just sitting there thinking, "Wow." It's a much different sound than anything in So Long, Astoria, which I consider to be thier best album. But nonetheless, this is what I consider to be their best song. It really makes you appreciate life for what it is, especially the chorus. How Kris saw something as simple as a bird but to him it was "an angel". It's appreciating the life you live that's most important, and every time I listen to it, I can't help but be glad that I'm alive. Awesome.