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.
What will you find, where will you be
When you gotta trade for company
Those plastic guns and infantry
For a silent army in the trees
Well this ain't the woods behind the house
There ain't nobody screaming out
For you to come inside and eat
You're just holding your friends and watching them bleed
Wore camouflage on Halloween
A plastic bag and M-16
Door to door and house to house
But ain't nobody handing it out
Ya nothing's ever what it seems
When you're kicking in teeth and wishing it dreams
Just plastic guns and infantry
Now baby don't you let me down
A world away and still somehow
Can't shake the feeling that you're out
With another man's arms wrapped tight around you
At night it's cold, we sit and freeze
Running 'red lights' in our Humvees
Never thought I live to see the day I'd be
Afraid of little kids playing in the streets
Well this ain't the woods behind the house
There ain't nobody screaming out
For you to come inside and eat
You're just holding your friends and watching them bleed
I'm on fire
But all ice on the outside
That old man in the sky
Well he's all ice on the outside
A muted whale out in the streets
You watch the stage but burn the seats
Two metal legs to get along
You ain't got much without one to stand on
Sometimes at night I hear it roll
A hundred cars long pulling out slow
Like the engineer's inside my head
Cold and dark like your side of the bed
Ya nothing's ever what it seems
And even if it is ends justify means
With plastic guns and infantry
For a silent army in the trees
I'm on fire
But all ice on the outside
That old man in the sky
Well he's all ice on the outside
When you gotta trade for company
Those plastic guns and infantry
For a silent army in the trees
Well this ain't the woods behind the house
There ain't nobody screaming out
For you to come inside and eat
You're just holding your friends and watching them bleed
Wore camouflage on Halloween
A plastic bag and M-16
Door to door and house to house
But ain't nobody handing it out
Ya nothing's ever what it seems
When you're kicking in teeth and wishing it dreams
Just plastic guns and infantry
Now baby don't you let me down
A world away and still somehow
Can't shake the feeling that you're out
With another man's arms wrapped tight around you
At night it's cold, we sit and freeze
Running 'red lights' in our Humvees
Never thought I live to see the day I'd be
Afraid of little kids playing in the streets
Well this ain't the woods behind the house
There ain't nobody screaming out
For you to come inside and eat
You're just holding your friends and watching them bleed
I'm on fire
But all ice on the outside
That old man in the sky
Well he's all ice on the outside
A muted whale out in the streets
You watch the stage but burn the seats
Two metal legs to get along
You ain't got much without one to stand on
Sometimes at night I hear it roll
A hundred cars long pulling out slow
Like the engineer's inside my head
Cold and dark like your side of the bed
Ya nothing's ever what it seems
And even if it is ends justify means
With plastic guns and infantry
For a silent army in the trees
I'm on fire
But all ice on the outside
That old man in the sky
Well he's all ice on the outside
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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.
Cajun Girl
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Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
This is one of the most powerful songs on the Vancouver album. I liked the contrast he makes between the life his wife/significant other is living at home compared to his life a world away where he is "running red lights in [his] Humvee", and "afraid of little kids playing in the streets". It really makes you appreciate the courageous work our troops are probably involved in this moment as we sit in our comfortable safe homes in North America, without a clue of what is really going on over there.
I remember as a kid dressing up for Halloween as a soldier, and imagining how exciting that career would be to enter when I grew up. All it took was one nightmare where people were shooting at me and I was fighting for my life to realize that it wouldn't be that fun after all. I liked the reference to childhood and naive fantasies about war and the military as well, because of that.
Can't wait for Matt Good's next album!