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.
When the bitter end arrives,
Will we be at war or sadly, madly in love?
Will we beg for one more night?
Or will we have our bags packed
Waiting at the door?
When the bitter end arrives,
Will it be a finish line or a starting gate?
Brass and pearl, or maggots and dirt --
Bittersweet or just desserts?
When you didn't answer your phone
I knew there was something wrong;
You'd been a wreck all week.
When it's unbearable,
The more unavailable the world can often seem
When the bitter end arrives,
Will we be exhausted or will we toss and turn?
Will we claw out our eyes?
Or will we simply close them
And let sleep seep in?
When your bitter end arrived
You could've at least
Chicken-scratched some cliched note:
"on the razor's edge",
"at the end of your rope",
"the bitter pills you just had to swallow."
When you didn't answer your phone
Suddenly the last time we spoke
Became the last time we spoke.
What would I have said if I knew
Just how desperate the situation was?
But I know that I knew --
Such overstated clues --
You stopped eating, kept drinking,
Stopped showing up for work.
When you're alone, did you utter dying words?
Why'd the bitter end have to come?
Why'd the bitter end have to come for you?
So sad, so soon.
When your bitter end came around,
Did you wonder how your sentence would sound?
An exclamation or a question mark?!
Will we be at war or sadly, madly in love?
Will we beg for one more night?
Or will we have our bags packed
Waiting at the door?
When the bitter end arrives,
Will it be a finish line or a starting gate?
Brass and pearl, or maggots and dirt --
Bittersweet or just desserts?
When you didn't answer your phone
I knew there was something wrong;
You'd been a wreck all week.
When it's unbearable,
The more unavailable the world can often seem
When the bitter end arrives,
Will we be exhausted or will we toss and turn?
Will we claw out our eyes?
Or will we simply close them
And let sleep seep in?
When your bitter end arrived
You could've at least
Chicken-scratched some cliched note:
"on the razor's edge",
"at the end of your rope",
"the bitter pills you just had to swallow."
When you didn't answer your phone
Suddenly the last time we spoke
Became the last time we spoke.
What would I have said if I knew
Just how desperate the situation was?
But I know that I knew --
Such overstated clues --
You stopped eating, kept drinking,
Stopped showing up for work.
When you're alone, did you utter dying words?
Why'd the bitter end have to come?
Why'd the bitter end have to come for you?
So sad, so soon.
When your bitter end came around,
Did you wonder how your sentence would sound?
An exclamation or a question mark?!
Lyrics submitted by hotdingdong
The Bitter End Lyrics as written by Matthew Ryan Maginn Clint Frederick Schnase
Lyrics © ROUGH TRADE PUBLISHING, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Its not about suicide you dumbass. Its about the Apocalypse. Its on an EP for a CD that is so religiously charged that the intro song calls the 14 songs of the album "14 Hymns for the Heathen". The bitter end is the end of the world. "brass and pearl or maggots and dirt" = heaven or hell...yadda yadda. And two corrections "PROBABLY" and "SONG"