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.
Drawn by a sad melody
I enter this old theater
I walk through corridors
But for the music all is still
I reckon I'm late for the show
Strange to say there is no crowd
But enchanted by the sound
I start to walk down one of two aisles
But as I reach the stage
I find the orchestra motionless
Like frozen in their play
All covered up in cobwebs
Indicating the time that passed
All in their evening attire
Beautiful
Like an old monochrome photograph
Bows lie still on violins' strings
The sound comes no longer
From their instruments
It's but an echo between these walls
And has so been for years
Yet ever so strong
Their eyes focus in the direction
Where the conductor once was stood
He'd rule them from the podium
And they'd anxiously obey
Any gesture he would make
No one could in their wildest dreams
Imagine that he while he'd conduct
Would cast a spell and turn them into
Stone, statuesque, proud but sad
The conductor departed but left this dirge
To accompany their destiny
I panic as I realize
The podium was nobody else's place
But mine
Paralyzed by insight
I'm viewing my own life
All my hopes and dreams
All that could have been
Turned to stone
As I stepped down from my throne
I enter this old theater
I walk through corridors
But for the music all is still
I reckon I'm late for the show
Strange to say there is no crowd
But enchanted by the sound
I start to walk down one of two aisles
But as I reach the stage
I find the orchestra motionless
Like frozen in their play
All covered up in cobwebs
Indicating the time that passed
All in their evening attire
Beautiful
Like an old monochrome photograph
Bows lie still on violins' strings
The sound comes no longer
From their instruments
It's but an echo between these walls
And has so been for years
Yet ever so strong
Their eyes focus in the direction
Where the conductor once was stood
He'd rule them from the podium
And they'd anxiously obey
Any gesture he would make
No one could in their wildest dreams
Imagine that he while he'd conduct
Would cast a spell and turn them into
Stone, statuesque, proud but sad
The conductor departed but left this dirge
To accompany their destiny
I panic as I realize
The podium was nobody else's place
But mine
Paralyzed by insight
I'm viewing my own life
All my hopes and dreams
All that could have been
Turned to stone
As I stepped down from my throne
Lyrics submitted by TMA2
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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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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.
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I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
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This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
I think this song is another big metaphor for their disdain towards religion, with the conductor used as a metaphor for gods.