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.
Look at you
You haven't seen anything
Your eyes so white and pure
Without a trace of red
No signs of self-abuse there
And no tears have yet been shed
Just pure
Pure white eyes
Look at you
You don't know anything
Not what the towers looked like
On September tenth
And words like hate and death and politics
Mean nothing yet
They're sounds
They're only sounds
Once, long ago I was young
And I saw the world through innocent eyes
Like a child
But those memories are faded now
And all that I can see is our despair
Look at you
You don't fear anything
Not loss of job, or loss of faith
Or loss of self, you're not afraid
You're not afraid of anything
Not even death itself
Look at you
You haven't learned anything
Not all that people do
In every single way
To hurt each other, harm each other, kill each other every day
But you will
And nothing I can say or do will stop you
Once, long ago
We were young
And we saw the world through innocent eyes
Like a child
But those memories are faded now
And all that we can see is our despair
And now I finally understand
Why we're told to suffer the little children
They're what we were before we fell
Sweet unruined innococence
You haven't seen anything
Your eyes so white and pure
Without a trace of red
No signs of self-abuse there
And no tears have yet been shed
Just pure
Pure white eyes
Look at you
You don't know anything
Not what the towers looked like
On September tenth
And words like hate and death and politics
Mean nothing yet
They're sounds
They're only sounds
Once, long ago I was young
And I saw the world through innocent eyes
Like a child
But those memories are faded now
And all that I can see is our despair
Look at you
You don't fear anything
Not loss of job, or loss of faith
Or loss of self, you're not afraid
You're not afraid of anything
Not even death itself
Look at you
You haven't learned anything
Not all that people do
In every single way
To hurt each other, harm each other, kill each other every day
But you will
And nothing I can say or do will stop you
Once, long ago
We were young
And we saw the world through innocent eyes
Like a child
But those memories are faded now
And all that we can see is our despair
And now I finally understand
Why we're told to suffer the little children
They're what we were before we fell
Sweet unruined innococence
Lyrics submitted by revontulet
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In regards to the meaning of this song:
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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