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.
Growing tired of bedside resolve
(Public display of depression)
Something's got to give now
Something's going to break down
I grow tired of writing songs
While people listen but never hear
What's really going on now
Tell me what's so wrong now
Clap your hands, all ye children
There's a clamor in your whispering
Clap your hands tonight
Hear what the silence screams
Clap your hands
Clap your hands now, all ye children
Clap your hands, all ye children
There's a clamor in your whispering tonight
For most who live and breathe
Hell is never knowing who they are now
Tell me who you are now
Finally saved from the outside
Trapped in what you know
Are you safe from yourself?
Can you escape all by yourself?
Clap your hands, all ye children
There's a clamor in your whispering
Clam your hands tonight
Hear what the silence screams
Clap your hands
Clap your hands now, all ye children
Clap your hands, all ye children
There's a clamor in your whispering tonight
Clap your hands
Clap your hands now, all ye children
Clap your hands
There's a clamor in your whispering tonight
It's not the lies that you sing
But what the silence will scream
It's not the lies that you sing
But what the silence will scream
It's not the lies that you sing
But what the silence will scream
Clap your hands, all ye children
There's a clamor in your whispering
Clap your hands tonight
Hear what the silence screams
Clap your hands
Clap your hands now, all ye children
Clap your hands, all ye children
There's a clamor in your whispering tonight
(Public display of depression)
Something's got to give now
Something's going to break down
I grow tired of writing songs
While people listen but never hear
What's really going on now
Tell me what's so wrong now
Clap your hands, all ye children
There's a clamor in your whispering
Clap your hands tonight
Hear what the silence screams
Clap your hands
Clap your hands now, all ye children
Clap your hands, all ye children
There's a clamor in your whispering tonight
For most who live and breathe
Hell is never knowing who they are now
Tell me who you are now
Finally saved from the outside
Trapped in what you know
Are you safe from yourself?
Can you escape all by yourself?
Clap your hands, all ye children
There's a clamor in your whispering
Clam your hands tonight
Hear what the silence screams
Clap your hands
Clap your hands now, all ye children
Clap your hands, all ye children
There's a clamor in your whispering tonight
Clap your hands
Clap your hands now, all ye children
Clap your hands
There's a clamor in your whispering tonight
It's not the lies that you sing
But what the silence will scream
It's not the lies that you sing
But what the silence will scream
It's not the lies that you sing
But what the silence will scream
Clap your hands, all ye children
There's a clamor in your whispering
Clap your hands tonight
Hear what the silence screams
Clap your hands
Clap your hands now, all ye children
Clap your hands, all ye children
There's a clamor in your whispering tonight
Lyrics submitted by marco182
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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"
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Page
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There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
Here what the song means and also what inspired Stephen to even write it:
Stephen says he is determined to make Anberlin devotees think. But the fact that they don't always connect to the deeper meaning in his songs can be frustrating.
That notion gave birth to the lyric, "I'm so tired of writing songs, where people listen but never really hear what's going on," on the winning anthem "A Whisper and A Clamor."
"That line isn't an insult," he says. "It's more of a challenge to fans to study the words. I think a lot of times, it's kind of draining on me that people only have one kind of interpretation. I put a lot of thought into what I do.
With our last album, I'd get emails from fans about the song "Symphony of Blasé" and people would say, 'I just broke up with my girlfriend and that song helped me through it.'
And I'd be like, 'It wasn't a break up song at all. It was about alcoholism.' I mean, these songs aren't about the basic pop, 'Ooh girl. I love you.' They're much deeper than that."
*& it's all an excerpt from: toothandnail.com/artist_bio.php
I understand what stephan is trying to do, but he doesn't really give you a clue to the underlying message sometimes. In A whisper and a Clamor, the only words that even give a slight hint to alcoholism is "thirst for substance." but even then it only hints to drugs, and liquid form.<br /> <br /> More lines of the song point toward a break up.<br /> "you can hear me out alright, Please take these feelings for her inside, My chest hurts when I breathe tonight" "this is our last goodnight" "this is where love ends,"<br /> <br /> It makes me laugh that stephan says that we don't understand his song and have to look deeper, because sometimes he only gives us a tiny clue to the actual meaning, i'm sorry but i can't read his mind.
You'd understand if you looked at every possibility and really analyzed the lyrics. He took the time to come up with them, so why should we just overlook it? You could interpret it many ways, but that's the fun part! :)