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.
And it's been forty days - I've tried forty ways
You will never quite leave your sins behind
They'll haunt you, taunt you until the day you die
You will never really go
You'll just think about it much but you'll need to know
how the story ends, so you'll sit around, even though you should just go
Tell your friends what you have heard, show them all the lies unlearned
And when you really go, you will really know you were never meant for earth
What's it worth?
If we're going to break it down with any logic, it's absurd
And no matter where we go, we are not alone
When the silence turns to cries of "Why?"
What a way to begin
We inherit sin
And nobody's going to quench your thirst when the well runs dry
Well runs dry
And nobody's going to hold your hand on the day you die
I've tasted seven sins - so they won't let me in
I knock knock knock until my knuckles are bruised and raw
Stuck in the middle with my blood in a puddle on the floor
We made our beds, we'll judge ourselves
And only then and there will we disappear to our final resting place
What a waste!
So many decent people at the gates
And no matter where we go, we are not alone
When the silence turns to cries of "Why?"
What a way to begin
We inherit sin
And nobody's going to quench your thirst when the well runs dry
Well runs dry
And nobody's going to hold your hand on the day you die
And no matter who you know, you will be alone
When the silence turns to cries of "Why?"
What a way to begin
We inherit sin
And nobody's going to quench your thirst when the well runs dry
Well runs dry
And nobody's going to hold your hand on the day you die
You will never quite leave your sins behind
They'll haunt you, taunt you until the day you die
You will never really go
You'll just think about it much but you'll need to know
how the story ends, so you'll sit around, even though you should just go
Tell your friends what you have heard, show them all the lies unlearned
And when you really go, you will really know you were never meant for earth
What's it worth?
If we're going to break it down with any logic, it's absurd
And no matter where we go, we are not alone
When the silence turns to cries of "Why?"
What a way to begin
We inherit sin
And nobody's going to quench your thirst when the well runs dry
Well runs dry
And nobody's going to hold your hand on the day you die
I've tasted seven sins - so they won't let me in
I knock knock knock until my knuckles are bruised and raw
Stuck in the middle with my blood in a puddle on the floor
We made our beds, we'll judge ourselves
And only then and there will we disappear to our final resting place
What a waste!
So many decent people at the gates
And no matter where we go, we are not alone
When the silence turns to cries of "Why?"
What a way to begin
We inherit sin
And nobody's going to quench your thirst when the well runs dry
Well runs dry
And nobody's going to hold your hand on the day you die
And no matter who you know, you will be alone
When the silence turns to cries of "Why?"
What a way to begin
We inherit sin
And nobody's going to quench your thirst when the well runs dry
Well runs dry
And nobody's going to hold your hand on the day you die
Lyrics submitted by confluence
Forty Days Lyrics as written by
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
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i take a pretty simple meaning from this song and that is this: if we are all born with sin, then can anyone ever really be good enough to go to heaven? and perhaps that since christians believe themselves to already be sinners then maybe the only people who dont have a sin to live with, the only people with nothing on their concience are the atheists, or agnostics, that live good natured lives. as for "so many decent people at the gates", i think kalnoky is reffering to the idea that there are a lot of really good people who cant get into heaven because they werent christian, or because they renounced the idea of a god. i think he is again stating the reasons hes not religious, but he never seems to actually denounce any one religion, or state that they are wrong. i think kalnoky is a decently open minded person, who while not religious himself, for reasons pointed out numerously on this album, doesnt hold the anti-religious sentiments that some of you seem to see in his statements. oh well, im not tomas so i cant really know can i?
@majorpayne401 I think your right I dont think he denounces religion he's just somewhere in the between.
I took the meaning of this song more direct? Maybe I’m using the wrong word. It’s the story of Jesus Christ from when he went through the desert to his crucifixion. It also seems like Satin is talking to Jesus throughout the song.
“And it's been forty days I've tried forty ways You will never quite leave your sins behind They'll haunt you, taunt you until the day you die”
“I’ve” and is referring to Satin. The word “you” is referring the Jesus himself. It’s been forty days through the desert; I (Satin) have tried forty ways to tempt you (Jesus). You won’t leave your sins behind and carry the sins of everyone else. They will haunt you and taunt you until you’re crucified.
“You will never really go You'll just think about it much, but you'll need to know how the story ends, So you'll sit around, even though you should just go”
You will never really go away forever and leave everyone else alone. You will pray about it much, but you need to know how (the story of Jesus’ life and his death for our sins) ends and begins. So you sit around and pray, even though you should leave (Jerusalem?).
“Tell your friends what you have heard, show them all the lies unlearned, And when you really go, you will really know you were never meant for earth What's it worth? If we're going to break it down with any logic, it's absurd.”
Tell your friends (apostles) what you have heard from God, teach them all of God’s ways (of which people think are lies). And when you die, you will know you weren’t meant for earth, but for Heaven. Is it worth to live anymore (tempting Jesus to commit suicide which is a sin). If we are going to break down your beliefs/ your death to save everyone from sin with logic, it’s absurd.
“And no matter where we go, we are not alone When the silence turns to cries of "Why?" What a way to begin: we inherit sin. And nobody's going to quench your thirst when the well runs dry, And nobody's going to hold your hand on the day you die”
We might be Jesus and his apostles. No matter where we go, we aren’t alone from non believers and Satin. When the silence of Jesus’ prayer turns into “My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?” What a way to begin (After Death) we (Human Beings) inherit the knowledge of sin, but we are forgiven. Nobody will give you water in the desert, nobody will lend a hand to help you down from the cross (not including Simon).
“I've tasted seven sins, so they won't let me in I knock knock knock until my knuckles are bruised and raw Stuck in the middle with my blood in a puddle on the floor We made our beds, we'll judge ourselves And only then and there will we disappear to our final resting place What a waste! -So many decent people at the gates”
I’ve committed the seven sins, Heaven won’t let me in. I knock on the gate until my knuckles are bruised and raw. I’m stuck in the middle of earth and Heaven, with my blood (Hell) on the floor, or below the floor. We (Jesus and Apostles) did our deeds, we won’t judge other people. Only then and there, we will go to Heaven for eternal happiness. (Satin saying) what a waste. Either the gates of Heaven, Hell, or Jerusalem.
This last part was pretty hard, there are other ways to interpret this last part, but this way kind of made sense to me.
We its obvious that he is criticising the idea that our own human nature is a sin. Like a few others on the album it seems to have some anti religous feelings (The Line: "If we're going to break it down with any logic, it's absurd" reminds me of the line from we will fall together "all we have is logic and love on our side" i think they are similar). Forty days might also be a referance to the flood or less likely jesus' forty days alone.
"I've tasted seven sins, so they won't let me in I knock knock knock until my knuckles are bruised and raw" Seven deadly sins. He is knocking at the gates of heaven and not getting in.
"What a way to begin: we inherit sin." is about original sin. Christian beliefs even if you live a perfect life without being a christian you'll still go to hell.
Yeah, there are no words I can use to possibly describe the awesomeness of this song..this whole album even.
The forty days I think is symbolic of his repentance period...there's certain numbers (3, 12, 7, 40, etc.) that have certain meanings in the bible that show up an awful lot...forty is generally one that signifies some type of waiting period or time of repentance or penance, i.e. The flood of Noah, Moses' stay in Midian, Moses' time on Mt. Sinai, Israelites time in the desert, Jesus' and Elijah's fasting periods, Kind Saul's, David's, and Solomon's reigning time...and several others
(13 years of Catholic school… it feels good to actually put all this knowledge to use for once =] )
“And it's been forty days I've tried forty ways You will never quite leave your sins behind They'll haunt you, taunt you until the day you die”
I think here he’s using the forty days symbolically as a repentance period, but saying he’s failed to get rid of his sins completely, because there is no way you will ever be without sin.
“Tell your friends what you have heard, show them all the lies unlearned” “If we're going to break it down with any logic, it's absurd.”
These two lines sound like he’s referring to whatever religion he grew up in, most likely a Christian denomination. In my experience, we’ve always just been spoon-fed all this crap and told we’re supposed to believe it. Never a reason why we should, even if it makes absolutely no sense. This seems like it could be one of those things. While we are always told we can be truly happy if we live our lives without sin, we ARE human…so is this actually possible?
“What a way to begin: we inherit sin.”
An obvious reference to being born with original sin...
“I've tasted seven sins, so they won't let me in I knock knock knock until my knuckles are bruised and raw Stuck in the middle with my blood in a puddle on the floor We made our beds, we'll judge ourselves And only then and there will we disappear to our final resting place What a waste! -So many decent people at the gates”
I love this stanza…it’s pretty clear he’s talking about the Seven deadly sins, and standing at the gates of Heaven, and how so many people who actually lived decent lives are being punished for the bad, never commended for the good.
Amazing, amazing song.
And, in response to adsfkahsdf 's comment "Christian beliefs even if you live a perfect life without being a christian you'll still go to hell."
Sounds cynical, but its true. One of the 'unforgivable sins' (intersting name, considering "every sin can be forgiven"..) is that if you "hear the word of God" and "don't observe it", you cannot go to Heaven. Basically, if you know of Christianity, but choose not to follow it, you're fucked.
It's pretty messed up. Props to Streetlight for really getting this idea across.
well i think so far everyone is with me that this song is about the writer being unsure and wary of religion. i just love the way tomas writes everything though. i like the way he thinks.
i just wanted to clear some things up that some have said.
in response to adsfkahsdf 's comment "Christian beliefs even if you live a perfect life without being a christian you'll still go to hell."
thats not quite it. no one can live a perfect. so to say that you could live perfectly and not recieve Jesus and you would be left out of heaven is a bit off. if you choose not to recieve Jesus you won't go to heaven. but its not to say that anyone could have been perfect and deserving of heaven.
and stompthebombs: i just want to say that any sin can be forgiven. the thing is, if you recieve Jesus, all is forgiven. if you do not, none are forgiven. i guess its all or nothing that way. its not like some things are unforgivalbe. so its not so much that not recieving Jesus is unforgivable its just that you havent asked for forgiveness. this sounds a bit confusing but i hope you get it.
and sorry about getting so off topic of the song. i just wanted to clear up some misunderstandings.
SM is great...you guys are great too.
Not all Christians believe that only Christians can get to heaven. Some denominations say that Christianity is one way to get to heaven, and other religions have other ways.
"If we're going to break it down with any logic, it's absurd." To the people who say that this is an anti-religious line, read the lines before it. It's saying that the idea that we were meant for earth is absurd.
The horn part of this song reminds me a lot of Here's To Life, especially the BOTAR version
All the horn work in this song, much more, the album, si fucking amazing. I believe this is their best album so far, content wise, because every song is amazing, whereas both keasbey and EGN had a song or two that I didn't enjoy that much, but every song on this album entices me with it's beauty and it's melody and it's meaning. Great Great Stuff