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.
When you gaze into your polished metal plates
You picture the face of a man who longs to see his soul
But claws are claws, whether sharpened or painted or blunted
From hours of bounding, one-track-minded, through the snow
I have arrived, an exile too inferior for your highness to fight
Armored, not humored, and prepared to seize your life
The prisoner I came to rescue sits down to watch the fight
With tears in her eyes,
Who knew a tongue could do so much harm
Lying in one’s mouth?
Dancing to music that wasn’t really there
Muttering about moments we never even shared
Your twisted jaw moves
But you’ve lost all sound
How soon till your breath runs out?
When the others gaze into your polished eyes
As glassy as the doll’s you hold to represent your soul
They witness the face of an animal acting like a man
In their confusion, you dressed them in sashes and perfume,
But the stench seeps through
I long to scream, “My country,
This is not how we were supposed to live!”
And with each mortifying blow, I’m fading rapidly
“Get up!” I hear that faithful onlooker plead
She won’t insult me by looking away
When I start to bleed
Who knew a tongue could do so much harm
Lying in one’s mouth?
Dancing to music that wasn’t really there
Muttering about moments we never even shared
Your twisted jaw moves
But you’ve lost all sound
How soon till your breath runs out?
One leap, one strike, and the metal snaps away from your face
That chattering jaw comes unhinged
And your insincere tongue hangs down from your neck
I plunge through the ribs and grasp the steaming, slippery heart
It slides down my throat and I am king again
“Tear down these garish walls and let the prisoners free!
Throw their gaudy stones out to the sea!
Rip these dolls limb from limb, claws proudly unsheathed!
Our souls were never meant to be seen.
You picture the face of a man who longs to see his soul
But claws are claws, whether sharpened or painted or blunted
From hours of bounding, one-track-minded, through the snow
I have arrived, an exile too inferior for your highness to fight
Armored, not humored, and prepared to seize your life
The prisoner I came to rescue sits down to watch the fight
With tears in her eyes,
Who knew a tongue could do so much harm
Lying in one’s mouth?
Dancing to music that wasn’t really there
Muttering about moments we never even shared
Your twisted jaw moves
But you’ve lost all sound
How soon till your breath runs out?
When the others gaze into your polished eyes
As glassy as the doll’s you hold to represent your soul
They witness the face of an animal acting like a man
In their confusion, you dressed them in sashes and perfume,
But the stench seeps through
I long to scream, “My country,
This is not how we were supposed to live!”
And with each mortifying blow, I’m fading rapidly
“Get up!” I hear that faithful onlooker plead
She won’t insult me by looking away
When I start to bleed
Who knew a tongue could do so much harm
Lying in one’s mouth?
Dancing to music that wasn’t really there
Muttering about moments we never even shared
Your twisted jaw moves
But you’ve lost all sound
How soon till your breath runs out?
One leap, one strike, and the metal snaps away from your face
That chattering jaw comes unhinged
And your insincere tongue hangs down from your neck
I plunge through the ribs and grasp the steaming, slippery heart
It slides down my throat and I am king again
“Tear down these garish walls and let the prisoners free!
Throw their gaudy stones out to the sea!
Rip these dolls limb from limb, claws proudly unsheathed!
Our souls were never meant to be seen.
Lyrics submitted by metalisgod
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"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:
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"Some and now none of you"
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This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
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wat a good song i love this band ...........to bad they broke up