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.
It's out to get me
And It's all in my head
It wants to take me
Time to put me to bed
Can someone wake me?
Against my own will
And get me out of here
I'm sick of walking on pills
I've got a weakness
So tell me where is the bliss?
Can someone shake me?
And get me out of this fix
All the white walls
Are closing in tight
I need to know
If I can get through the night
It won't let me
Everybody's out to get me
Tell me that the lines are what they seem
Ohh that head screams all a dream
Ohh will it ever let go?
Ohh no no it's the breakdown
Ohh no no it's the breakdown
Ohh no no it's a breakdown
All the vampires
Are out on the look
Oh do they see me?
How long will it take to chase the monsters?
There still in my head
That's all I see
And it needs to be fed
I have them with me
[Background Vocals]It won't let me Everybody is out to get me
To what has been done
They're ahead of me
And I think it has won
Tell me that the lines are what they seem
Ohh that the head screams all a dream
Ohh will it ever let go?
Ohh no no it's the breakdown
Ohh no no it's the breakdown
Ohh no no it's a breakdown
Ohh Breakin down
Breakin down
Oh done it today breakdown
Oh get out of the way so afraid
Oh stand again sit down
Oh done it again breakdown
Oh done it today breakdown
Oh out of the way so afraid
It won't let me
Everybody's out to get me
[Chourus]
Tell me that the lines are what they seem
Ohh that the head screams all a dream
Ohh will it ever let go?
Ohh no no it's the breakdown
Ohh no no it's the breakdown
Ohh no no it's a breakdown
And It's all in my head
It wants to take me
Time to put me to bed
Can someone wake me?
Against my own will
And get me out of here
I'm sick of walking on pills
I've got a weakness
So tell me where is the bliss?
Can someone shake me?
And get me out of this fix
All the white walls
Are closing in tight
I need to know
If I can get through the night
It won't let me
Everybody's out to get me
Tell me that the lines are what they seem
Ohh that head screams all a dream
Ohh will it ever let go?
Ohh no no it's the breakdown
Ohh no no it's the breakdown
Ohh no no it's a breakdown
All the vampires
Are out on the look
Oh do they see me?
How long will it take to chase the monsters?
There still in my head
That's all I see
And it needs to be fed
I have them with me
[Background Vocals]It won't let me Everybody is out to get me
To what has been done
They're ahead of me
And I think it has won
Tell me that the lines are what they seem
Ohh that the head screams all a dream
Ohh will it ever let go?
Ohh no no it's the breakdown
Ohh no no it's the breakdown
Ohh no no it's a breakdown
Ohh Breakin down
Breakin down
Oh done it today breakdown
Oh get out of the way so afraid
Oh stand again sit down
Oh done it again breakdown
Oh done it today breakdown
Oh out of the way so afraid
It won't let me
Everybody's out to get me
[Chourus]
Tell me that the lines are what they seem
Ohh that the head screams all a dream
Ohh will it ever let go?
Ohh no no it's the breakdown
Ohh no no it's the breakdown
Ohh no no it's a breakdown
Lyrics submitted by loveydoveytipsy
The Breakdown Lyrics as written by Daniel M. Nakamura Jack Johnson
Lyrics © Bubble Toes Publishing, REACH MUSIC PUBLISHING, Reservoir Media Management, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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This song is about how columbus discovered america and all the hardships the indians went through due to the white man
hahahaha, i hope you're kidding.
She's talking about how she's getting paranoid about everyone - the industry, maybe? - messing with her head and watching her (All the vampires are out on the look). And how everything seems fake (Tell me that the lines are what they seem).
I agree with heygurlheyyy. 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue.
It's out to get me And it's all in my head It wants to take me Time to put me to bed Can someone wake me Against my will And get me outta here I'm sick of walkin on pills I have a weakness So tell me Where is the bliss? Can someone shake me and get me outta this fix all the white walls are closing in tight i need to know if i can get through the night.
it wont let me everybody's out to get me
tell me that the lines aren't what they seem oh that the heav oh will it ever let go? oh oh oh its a breakdown its a breakdown its a breakdown
all the vampires are out on the look do they see me how long will it take to chase the monster thats still in my head its on the sea and it needs to be fed i have no witness (it won't) to what has been done (let me) it sort of has me (everbody's out to) and i think it's won (get me)
tell me that the lines aren't what they seem oh that the heaven screams all my dreams oh will it ever let go? oh oh oh its a breakdown oh oh no its a breakdown oh oh no its a breakdown
oh breakin' down breakin' down
oh breakdown oh outta the way oh sit down i've done it again breakdown oh breakdown
it wont let me everybody's out to get me
tell me that the lines aren't what they seem oh that the heaven screams all my dreams oh will it ever let go? oh, no no no its a breakdown its a breakdown its a breakdown
isn't it "tell me that the lies aren't what they seem"? it seems to make more sense. ya, like icefairyx said, shes breaking down from the madness of her life at the moment and shes going insane
It's out to get me And it's all in my head It wants to take me Time to put me to bed Can someone wake me Against my will And get me outta here I'm sick of walkin on pills I have a weakness So tell me Where is the bliss? Can someone shake me And get me out of this fix All the white walls Are closin' tight I need to know If I can get through the night
It won't let me Everybody’s out to get me
Tell me that the lies aren't what they seem (OR, "Tell me that the lines aren't what they sing") Oh that the head-swingings all a dream Oh will it ever let go
Oh, woah no It's a breakdown X3
All the vampires are out on the look Oh do they see me? How long will it take To chase the monster What's still in my head? It’s on the sea And it needs to be fed I have no witness [it wont ] To what has been done [let me] It sort of had me [everybody's out to] And I think it has won [get me]
Tell me that the lies aren't what they seem (OR, "Tell me that the lines aren't what they sing") Oh that the head-swingings all a dream Oh will it ever let go
Oh, woah no It's a breakdown X3
Oh breakin' down Breakin' down
Oh, I've done it today Breakdown Oh get outta the way It's on the (something) Oh, I'm sinking, sit down Oh I've done it again, Breakdown Oh, I've done it to death, Breakdown Oh get outta the way It's on the (something)
It won't let me Everybody's out to get me
Tell me that the lies aren't what they seem Oh that the head-swinging's all a dream Oh it'll never let go
Oh woah no, It's a breakdown X3
I think that is mostly correct. I know for certain that the line, "oh that the head swingin's all a dream" is correct. Every other version says it's not, but it definitely is NOT the thing about heaven. That I'm certain of. The other parts I can't figure out.