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.
My father died a year ago today,
The rooster started crowing when they carried Dad away
There beside my mother, in the living room, I stood
With my brothers and my sisters knowing Dad was gone for good
Well, I stayed at home just long enough to lay him in the ground
And then I caught a plane to do a show up north in Detroit town
Because I'm older now and I've got no time to cry
I've got no time to look back, I've got no time to see
The pieces of my heart that have been ripped away from me
And if the feeling starts to coming, I've learned to stop 'em fast
Cause I don't know, if I let them go, they might not want to pass
And there's just so many people trying to get me on the phone
And there's bills to pay, and songs to play, and a house to make a home
I guess I'm older now and I've got no time to cry
I can still remember when I was a girl
But so many things have changed so much here in my world
I remember sitting on the front porch when an ambulance went by
And just listening to those sirens I would breakdown and cry
But now I'm walking and I'm talking doing just what I'm supposed to do
Working overtime to make sure that I don't come unglued
I guess I'm older now and I've got no time to cry
I've got no time to look back, I've got no time to see
The pieces of my heart that have been ripped away from me
And if the feeling starts to coming, I've learned to stop 'em fast
Cause I don't know, if I let them go, they might not want to pass
And there's just so many people trying to get me on the phone
And there's bills to pay, and songs to play, and a house to make a home
I guess I'm older now and I've got no time to cry
Now I sit down on the sofa and I watch the evening news
There's a half a dozen tragedies from which to pick and choose
The baby that was missing was found in a ditch today
And there's bombs a-flying and people dying not so far away
I'll take a beer from the 'frigerator and go sit out in the yard
And with a cold one in my hand I'm gonna bite down and swallow hard
Because I'm older now and I've got no time to cry
The rooster started crowing when they carried Dad away
There beside my mother, in the living room, I stood
With my brothers and my sisters knowing Dad was gone for good
Well, I stayed at home just long enough to lay him in the ground
And then I caught a plane to do a show up north in Detroit town
Because I'm older now and I've got no time to cry
I've got no time to look back, I've got no time to see
The pieces of my heart that have been ripped away from me
And if the feeling starts to coming, I've learned to stop 'em fast
Cause I don't know, if I let them go, they might not want to pass
And there's just so many people trying to get me on the phone
And there's bills to pay, and songs to play, and a house to make a home
I guess I'm older now and I've got no time to cry
I can still remember when I was a girl
But so many things have changed so much here in my world
I remember sitting on the front porch when an ambulance went by
And just listening to those sirens I would breakdown and cry
But now I'm walking and I'm talking doing just what I'm supposed to do
Working overtime to make sure that I don't come unglued
I guess I'm older now and I've got no time to cry
I've got no time to look back, I've got no time to see
The pieces of my heart that have been ripped away from me
And if the feeling starts to coming, I've learned to stop 'em fast
Cause I don't know, if I let them go, they might not want to pass
And there's just so many people trying to get me on the phone
And there's bills to pay, and songs to play, and a house to make a home
I guess I'm older now and I've got no time to cry
Now I sit down on the sofa and I watch the evening news
There's a half a dozen tragedies from which to pick and choose
The baby that was missing was found in a ditch today
And there's bombs a-flying and people dying not so far away
I'll take a beer from the 'frigerator and go sit out in the yard
And with a cold one in my hand I'm gonna bite down and swallow hard
Because I'm older now and I've got no time to cry
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