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 hear the crying of the hungry in the deserts where they're wandering.
Hear them crying out for heaven's own benevolence upon them.
Hear destructive power prevailing, I hear fools falsely hailing.
To the crooked wits of tyrants when they call.
I hear them all
I hear them all
I hear them all
I hear the sounds of tearing pages and the roar of burning paper.
All the crimes in acquisitions turn to air and ash and vapor.
And the rattle of the shackle far beyond emancipators.
And the loneliest who gather in their stalls.
I hear them all
I hear them all
I hear them all
So while you sit and whistle Dixie with your money and your power.
I can hear the flowers a-growin' in the rubble of the towers.
I hear leaders quit their lying
I hear babies quit their crying.
I hear soldiers quit their dying, one and all.
I hear them all
I hear them all
I hear them all
I hear the tender words from Zion, I hear Noah's waterfall.
Hear the gentle lamb of Judah sleeping at the feet of Buddha.
And the prophets from Elijah to the old Paiute Wovoka.
Take their places at the table when they're called.
I hear them all
I hear them all
I hear them all
I hear them all
I hear them all
I hear them all
I hear them all
I hear them all
I hear them all
Hear them crying out for heaven's own benevolence upon them.
Hear destructive power prevailing, I hear fools falsely hailing.
To the crooked wits of tyrants when they call.
I hear them all
I hear them all
I hear them all
I hear the sounds of tearing pages and the roar of burning paper.
All the crimes in acquisitions turn to air and ash and vapor.
And the rattle of the shackle far beyond emancipators.
And the loneliest who gather in their stalls.
I hear them all
I hear them all
I hear them all
So while you sit and whistle Dixie with your money and your power.
I can hear the flowers a-growin' in the rubble of the towers.
I hear leaders quit their lying
I hear babies quit their crying.
I hear soldiers quit their dying, one and all.
I hear them all
I hear them all
I hear them all
I hear the tender words from Zion, I hear Noah's waterfall.
Hear the gentle lamb of Judah sleeping at the feet of Buddha.
And the prophets from Elijah to the old Paiute Wovoka.
Take their places at the table when they're called.
I hear them all
I hear them all
I hear them all
I hear them all
I hear them all
I hear them all
I hear them all
I hear them all
I hear them all
Lyrics submitted by ThePeoplesHero
I Hear Them All Lyrics as written by N Rawlings Ketch Secor
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing, Downtown Music Publishing, DO WRITE MUSIC LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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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,
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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.
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“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
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“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
I like this song for two reasons. Firstly, verses one through three, while they can be interpreted as relevant to specific moment in history, can be viewed in a very general and universal sense. And second, the last verse combines many modern religions into one general faith. This, to me, suggests that they are all means to the same end.
The first two lines of verse one kind of sum up the plight of all the religious groups mentioned in verse four. The Jews following Moses through the desert for forty years is the most obvious interpretation. However the Native Americans being cast out of their homes, and Buddhists being persecuted in China, are both similar in nature. The second half recognizes that these trials and tribulations were brought upon by leaders within and outside of said groups. Also it paints a grim outlook on the future.
The second verse confirms this outlook by referencing events such as the Nazi book burnings that hobsonecwagner mentioned above. This whole verse has a WWII feel to it with the references to fire and burning in line two. The crematoriums in the Nazi concentration camps also come to mind here. The third line brings to mind an image of prisoners in said camps who feel that rescue is hopeless because their "emancipators," i.e. the allies, are so far away. Once again, however, due to some brilliant writing, other less obvious interpretations can be made that tie in to verse four. The burning, pillaging, or capture of Native American homesteads come to mind. Also the iconic image of the burning Buddhist monk on the streets of Saigon who was protesting the persecution of his people is relevant.
After this we have a harp solo that paves the way for the more hopeful part of the song. While those with the gold continue to nonchalantly screw things up, people start to get wise. The flower reference is a reference to peace. So the song is saying that the narrator is finally seeing some peace come from the September 11 attacks. That peace is illustrated by the remainder of the third verse and brought about by the circumstances in the fourth verse. All religions put aside their differences and unite. Eating together in the biblical sense was a sign of trust and fellowship. So when all these iconic figures of Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Native American religions eat together, it symbolizes unity.
All together this song uses historical and biblical references, both direct and indirect, to relate to more modern emotions. Emotions that were felt very strongly, as is reflected in the video, during and after Hurricane Katrina.