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.
What you do
Raise the roof
Everybody
Wants you to
And you do it with
And you do it with
And you do it with
And you do it with, love
When you do
That thing you do
Love comes through
You raise the roof
Put the music on
Put the music on
Put the music on
They all wanna dance
Can do anything
If you dare
Don't mean a thing
Unless you care
And you do it with
And you do it with
And you do it with
And you do it with, love
All those years I wasted
Sitting on my own
Think what I could have tasted
If I'd only known
Why did I wait
Why did I wait
Don't tell me it's too late
Why did I wait
Don't tell me it's too late
So open up
Before you start
Open hand
Open heart
Bring it on
Bring it on
Bring it on, home
Bring it on, home
Why did I wait
Why did I wait
Don't tell me it's too late
Don't tell me it's too late
Don't tell me it's too late
Don't tell me it's too late
Don't tell me it's too late
Raise the roof
Everybody
Wants you to
And you do it with
And you do it with
And you do it with
And you do it with, love
When you do
That thing you do
Love comes through
You raise the roof
Put the music on
Put the music on
Put the music on
They all wanna dance
Can do anything
If you dare
Don't mean a thing
Unless you care
And you do it with
And you do it with
And you do it with
And you do it with, love
All those years I wasted
Sitting on my own
Think what I could have tasted
If I'd only known
Why did I wait
Why did I wait
Don't tell me it's too late
Why did I wait
Don't tell me it's too late
So open up
Before you start
Open hand
Open heart
Bring it on
Bring it on
Bring it on, home
Bring it on, home
Why did I wait
Why did I wait
Don't tell me it's too late
Don't tell me it's too late
Don't tell me it's too late
Don't tell me it's too late
Don't tell me it's too late
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Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
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I feel like this is sent out to a DJ ("When you do/That thing you do/Love comes through/You raise the roof..."). So it seems to me that the way to Tracey Thorn's heart is through spinning. I better get on that.