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 just occurred to me
I must be blind
Why do I try so hard to keep my cool
When I'm about to lose my mind
There was a vision
Flashing by
Of a summers' day I spent with you
Of a child who never learnt how to cry
When those around me
Fall in despair
I call upon my common sense
'Cause someone has to care
A sudden decision
I can't explain
Though I've often tried to change the rules
The game remains the same
For love
I've played the part so many times
It fits me like a glove
But I'm the victim
In the bitter end
I know you need me to be strong
L just don't know how much longer I can pretend
You always need me to be
A good man in a storm
It sometimes scares me
The further we go
Just how much we understand
And just how much we know
So whatever happened
In our hearts
While making perfect sense of life
We still remain so far apart
You always want me to be
A good man in a storm
Trying to fit the social norm
And be a good man in a storm
Trying hard since I was born
To be a good man in a storm
I must be blind
Why do I try so hard to keep my cool
When I'm about to lose my mind
There was a vision
Flashing by
Of a summers' day I spent with you
Of a child who never learnt how to cry
When those around me
Fall in despair
I call upon my common sense
'Cause someone has to care
A sudden decision
I can't explain
Though I've often tried to change the rules
The game remains the same
For love
I've played the part so many times
It fits me like a glove
But I'm the victim
In the bitter end
I know you need me to be strong
L just don't know how much longer I can pretend
You always need me to be
A good man in a storm
It sometimes scares me
The further we go
Just how much we understand
And just how much we know
So whatever happened
In our hearts
While making perfect sense of life
We still remain so far apart
You always want me to be
A good man in a storm
Trying to fit the social norm
And be a good man in a storm
Trying hard since I was born
To be a good man in a storm
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Light Up The Sky
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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"
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This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
Amazing
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Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
This song is quite simple to figure out. Love the song by the way. It's about a relationship where the guy (or girl) is trying to do the right thing yet he knows things will never work. Its about trying to do the right thing yet there is no good outcome. Perhaps you are being used for the sake of others and yet you try to help but eventually accept this is a battle you can not win. I think Mark is telling us he wants to do the right thing. At the same time he may be challenged beyond what he can actually do yet still wants to be a good man in storm. What a great song.