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.
the air is thick
the air is wasted
the lamb lies down for our entertainment
some mother's son
crashed at the pavement
his little eyes gone
we're one in the same man
now you know you never waste it
now you know you're wasted
i hear your voice, there's no emotion
did something die
you're not even responsive
when we were young we'd bottle water
collect reptile bones, commence the slaughter
now you know you never waste it
now you know you're wasted
all your dreams thrown in the trash
you were born into war
you were taught not to ask
for every single possibility
moving shadows in the dark
deciding fates over cocktail lunch
every single possibility
we better bust them out
you better bust them out
heart attacks won't get us down
our rifle butts pressed in the ground
our brains are lost, our skulls are found
we're kicking up the dust above them
the air is wasted
the lamb lies down for our entertainment
some mother's son
crashed at the pavement
his little eyes gone
we're one in the same man
now you know you never waste it
now you know you're wasted
i hear your voice, there's no emotion
did something die
you're not even responsive
when we were young we'd bottle water
collect reptile bones, commence the slaughter
now you know you never waste it
now you know you're wasted
all your dreams thrown in the trash
you were born into war
you were taught not to ask
for every single possibility
moving shadows in the dark
deciding fates over cocktail lunch
every single possibility
we better bust them out
you better bust them out
heart attacks won't get us down
our rifle butts pressed in the ground
our brains are lost, our skulls are found
we're kicking up the dust above them
Lyrics submitted by GrungyBeatle
Harmonium Lyrics as written by Zachary David Schwartz
Lyrics © ROUGH TRADE PUBLISHING, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Light Up The Sky
Van Halen
Van Halen
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
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"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him.
There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"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:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Holiday
Bee Gees
Bee Gees
@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday".
I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
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,
I think this song is about life in general. we are born into a world of conflict ("the air is wasted", "you were born into war", and the other allusions to war). some people take it for granted, but later learn how they shouldn't ("now you know you never waste it").
I also think the song is talking about society in general is slipping away, with the comparison he makes to himself and the dying kid, the person who has no emotion when someone dies, and someone who is down in life and is repressed.
"The Lamb lies down for our entertainment" seems to me to be a reference to a sacrificial Lamb.. I think in this case he is talking about our inability to realize that people at war are out there dying for our freedom.
"When we were young we'd bottle water, collect reptile bones, commence the slaughter" seems to me to be talking about when you are young you don't understand war.. You are naive to the violence and the reality of war.
"You were born into war, you were taught not to ask about every single possibility, moving shadows in the dark deciding fates over cocktail lunch, every single possibility " This to me seems that they are talking about the few "elites" that have the power in this country. They know what all the options are, but they withhold that information and make decisions for the rest of the country.. they only give us the scraps of information that they want us to have.
""You were born into war, you were taught not to ask about every single possibility, moving shadows in the dark deciding fates over cocktail lunch, every single possibility " This to me seems that they are talking about the few "elites" that have the power in this country. They know what all the options are, but they withhold that information and make decisions for the rest of the country.. they only give us the scraps of information that they want us to have."
Couldn't say it any better spottiedottie. I was thinking that a lot during this part of the song:
"we better bust them out you better bust them out"
I think chalking this down to war is missing a lot. There's a lot of that, to be sure, but it's also about our culture and how insensitive WE are to violence and the cost of our entertainment and lifestyle choices.
"the air is thick / the air is wasted" sets the table suggesting that the atmosphere we're living in is harsh and oppressive. the lamb speaks to US and OUR COLLECTIVE NEED for entertainment, perhaps even leading to some perverse enjoyment or at least fascination with suicide (i take the son/pavement/eyes to describe the leap from a building - i guess you could even draw out 9/11 if you try hard enough to interpret WAR), and finally the warning that it could just as easily be us on the pavement.
and that's life. and you know you shouldn't waste it, but lets face it... you're probably wasted.
i think the second verse is about the personal cost of serving in war. the first half might be about us again, and how we can send our soldiers to fight without even considering them or the so-called enemy. the last half is pretty clearly suggesting we kill for resources. or in other words, that we spill blood for luxury.
the third section is back to the atmosphere: your dreams are garbage, whenever you were born there was probably some kind of war, you're not allowed to question it and it might be useless anyway because the darkest things you can imagine are already in motion, having been decided by people hopelessly more powerful while they were distracted by a tipsy meal.
finally the last two lines have almost convinced me the entire song is meant to be about shell shock. i still think there's a lot more to it than simply war.
awesome awesome song. again a bit too long and a lack of consideration for syllables but this song is just builds up as does "sleeping lessons" by the shins. like most rogue wave songs it could be much better but what is given is enough to make the garden state soundtrack. i love the frustration of the lines that imply thhat his relationship has lost its fire.
Totally a song about war. I think its obvious.
It could be not just war in general but the Iraq war, "collect reptile bones," is probably a reference to oil.
another war reference is
"some mother's son crashed at the pavement"
bringing up all of the young men that go to war