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've had too many crazy nights
I've seen too many crazy sights
I didn't want the scars to show
In those moments only mothers know
You know in retrospect it seems
There's always danger in your dreams
Like an actor stealing scenes
All the magic moments in your teens
All the thoughts you fight to hide
Lady Passion, Lady Pride
Sisters side by side
Talking while our tongues are tied
I've seen too many crazy sights
I didn't want the scars to show
In those moments only mothers know
You know in retrospect it seems
There's always danger in your dreams
Like an actor stealing scenes
All the magic moments in your teens
All the thoughts you fight to hide
Lady Passion, Lady Pride
Sisters side by side
Talking while our tongues are tied
Lyrics submitted by mightypotato
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Light Up The Sky
Van Halen
Van Halen
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him.
There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
It's about the singer's experiences and reflections on their youth, with a focus on the intense emotions and experiences that come with growing up. They mention having "too many crazy nights" and "seeing too many crazy sights," indicating that they have lived a wild and perhaps reckless life. They also mention not wanting their scars to show, which could mean both literally and metaphorically, representing the speaker's desire to hide the physical and emotional scars of their experiences.
It also touches on the idea that there is always a danger in pursuing your dreams, with the metaphor of an actor "stealing scenes" suggesting that the pursuit of fame and success can sometimes overshadow other important aspects of life.
The singer reflects on the "magic moments" of their youth, and the emotions that they fought to hide, such as passion and pride.
"Sisters side by side / Talking while our tongues are tied" represents the bonds of sisterhood and the power of female relationships to support each other through life's challenges, even when words fail. The repeated "la da da / da da da da" at the end of the lyrics could indicate the difficulty of expressing these complex emotions in words and the power of the music that follows is used to convey a meaning beyond language.
According to Mark:
"The last of the four recorded for the last Peel session. Very, very rarely does anyone, fortunate enough to get to do a session for John Peel's programme, get asked back to do another, let alone three. I knew there wouldn't be a fourth and so the song was really a post script to all three sessions. I tried to explain in lyrical terms where all the previous songs had come from, in three simple stanzas."