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.
Dust cloud coming off an old dirt road
That leads up here to this little graveyard
Seven lights in a perfect row
Under each light is a police car
Just because you say it doesn't make it true
You can say that I'm guilty man I just don't care
You can burn my body black
Just don't make me go back to Jackson Square
I met you on Decatur Street
With your little bare feet and your violin
I was walking by with my guitar in my hand
You smiled at me and I jumped right in
Before I knew it you were all I knew
Every moment together was an answered prayer
After a while we had some money saved up
And we rented a room over Jackson Square
Then one day everything changed
Your eyes got strange, you didn't seem yourself
You'd go to tell a story and you'd start out fine
Halfway through it you'd be somewhere else
And I started having the strangest dream
I held a string and looked up in the air
And you were glowing with the strangest light
Drifting out of sight over Jackson Square
Life is something that you can't control
When you try to hold onto it, it makes you let go
Things are not like they were before
I can hear her crying through the bathroom door
She says, she hears spirits all around the room
And they're telling her things that make her feel scared
I have no idea what to do
Before we're in over our heads in Jackson Square
I woke up with a weight on my chest
People were screaming on the street below
I reached for you, I was alone in the bed
Wind was blowing through an open window
Suddenly I was very old
In a little boat, absolutely nowhere
Staring at the side of the universe
And your tiny body down on Jackson Square
Now don't tell me that there ain't no end
There damn well is and it waits in the wings
I see you kneeling there at center stage
In your tiny cage made of angel wings
While I'm here every night
Loading my gun and trying not to go there
Anyone who says that life is clear
Has never seen a mirror or been to Jackson Square
Yeah, yeah, yeah
That leads up here to this little graveyard
Seven lights in a perfect row
Under each light is a police car
Just because you say it doesn't make it true
You can say that I'm guilty man I just don't care
You can burn my body black
Just don't make me go back to Jackson Square
I met you on Decatur Street
With your little bare feet and your violin
I was walking by with my guitar in my hand
You smiled at me and I jumped right in
Before I knew it you were all I knew
Every moment together was an answered prayer
After a while we had some money saved up
And we rented a room over Jackson Square
Then one day everything changed
Your eyes got strange, you didn't seem yourself
You'd go to tell a story and you'd start out fine
Halfway through it you'd be somewhere else
And I started having the strangest dream
I held a string and looked up in the air
And you were glowing with the strangest light
Drifting out of sight over Jackson Square
Life is something that you can't control
When you try to hold onto it, it makes you let go
Things are not like they were before
I can hear her crying through the bathroom door
She says, she hears spirits all around the room
And they're telling her things that make her feel scared
I have no idea what to do
Before we're in over our heads in Jackson Square
I woke up with a weight on my chest
People were screaming on the street below
I reached for you, I was alone in the bed
Wind was blowing through an open window
Suddenly I was very old
In a little boat, absolutely nowhere
Staring at the side of the universe
And your tiny body down on Jackson Square
Now don't tell me that there ain't no end
There damn well is and it waits in the wings
I see you kneeling there at center stage
In your tiny cage made of angel wings
While I'm here every night
Loading my gun and trying not to go there
Anyone who says that life is clear
Has never seen a mirror or been to Jackson Square
Yeah, yeah, yeah
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Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
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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,
When We Were Young
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Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
I started listening to Jennings after listening to Streetlight Manifesto's cover of Birds Flying Away (as I'm sure many, many other people did) and he instantly piqued my interest. This song definitely solidified him as one of my new favorite artists.