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.
Little Janie, she wakes up from a dream
A gun like a jawbone down the waistband of her jeans, oh yeah
Mr Sandman, he could recite today's lesson in his sleep
He says there oughta be some kind of law against me going down the street yeah
And little Janie pipes up and she says
She says "We're gonna have a real cool time tonight"
Hoo, yeah tonight
Alright
Down the back of Janie's jeans she had the jawbone of an ass
Mr Sandman, he runs around the corner, trying to head her off at the pass
He sticks his head over the fence and he yells something way too fast
It's uh, it's today's lesson, yeah, something about the corruption of the working class and
Little Janie wakes up on the floor and she says
"We're gonna have a real cool time tonight"
Come on
Janie says we're all such a crush of want half-mad with loss
We are violated in our sleep and we weep and we toss and we turn and we burn
We are hypnotised, we are cross-eyed, we are pimped, we are bitched
We are told such monstrous lies
Janie wakes up and she says
She says "We're gonna have a real cool time tonight"
(Real cool time)
Mr Sandman, he has a certain appetite for Janie in repose
He digs her pretty knees and that she is completely naked underneath all her clothes
He likes to congregate around the intersection of Janie's jeans yeah
Mr Sandman the inseminator he opens her up like a love letter and enters her dreams
Little Janie wakes up and she says
She says "We're gonna have a real good time tonight"
Tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight
We're gonna have a real cool-cool time
Come on, come on, come on, come on
We're gonna have a real cool time
A gun like a jawbone down the waistband of her jeans, oh yeah
Mr Sandman, he could recite today's lesson in his sleep
He says there oughta be some kind of law against me going down the street yeah
And little Janie pipes up and she says
She says "We're gonna have a real cool time tonight"
Hoo, yeah tonight
Alright
Down the back of Janie's jeans she had the jawbone of an ass
Mr Sandman, he runs around the corner, trying to head her off at the pass
He sticks his head over the fence and he yells something way too fast
It's uh, it's today's lesson, yeah, something about the corruption of the working class and
Little Janie wakes up on the floor and she says
"We're gonna have a real cool time tonight"
Come on
Janie says we're all such a crush of want half-mad with loss
We are violated in our sleep and we weep and we toss and we turn and we burn
We are hypnotised, we are cross-eyed, we are pimped, we are bitched
We are told such monstrous lies
Janie wakes up and she says
She says "We're gonna have a real cool time tonight"
(Real cool time)
Mr Sandman, he has a certain appetite for Janie in repose
He digs her pretty knees and that she is completely naked underneath all her clothes
He likes to congregate around the intersection of Janie's jeans yeah
Mr Sandman the inseminator he opens her up like a love letter and enters her dreams
Little Janie wakes up and she says
She says "We're gonna have a real good time tonight"
Tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight
We're gonna have a real cool-cool time
Come on, come on, come on, come on
We're gonna have a real cool time
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@[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.
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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 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,
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
You can interpret this as a literal story or as something more abstract, and I think the Cave intended a bit of both. Some other commenters have done pretty good work on the narrative, so here's what I think about the more abstract side of things.
At the start of the song we are introduced to "Little Janie" (emphasizing her youth and vulnerability) waking from a dream (childhood?). The "gun like a jawbone down the waistband of her jeans" links violence and destruction with the power of sex (note the play in words with the phrase "jawbone of an ass" later on). Contrasted with this is Mr. Sandman, who "can recite today's lesson in his sleep", suggesting the extent to which he has been shaped and taught by society. What is "today's lesson"? In the second verse we get a partial answer -- "something about the corruption of the working class"... There's a pretty clear dichotemy here, where Janie represents innocence and Mr. Sandman cynicism and corruption, and their association suggests the inevitable loss of innocence that comes with adulthood.
The bridge serves to connect the song in more ways than one. With the use of the first person plural "we", the lyrics emphasize that Little Janie and Mr. Sandman are stand-ins for the listener, personifications of aspects of the human condition. These lines emphasis the power of desire -- "we are all such a crush of want", etc. The phrase "We are violated in our sleep" perhaps alludes to emerging sexuality in dreams, and connects back to the loss of childhood innocence in the first verse. Later lines elaborate on the role society plays in this process: "we are pimped, we are bitched / we are told such monstrous lies". We are all exploited and lied to by society, literally or figuratively. Something potentially positive, sex, is transformed into something exploitative, prostitution, by the influence of greed and dishonesty.
The last verse, probably the most intense, describes the link between Mr. Sandman and Janie. Mr. Sandman likes to see Janie sleeping (innocent and vulnerable), and he "digs her pretty knees and that she is completely naked underneath all her clothes" -- again, this nakedness suggests vulnerability, as well as sexual attractiveness. These lines suggest the allure that youth and has for the older, more experienced and cynical members of society. And the result is that "Mr. Sandman the inseminator, he opens her up like a love-letter and enters her dreams". This can be understood on at least three levels. First, sexual -- "Mr. Sandman the inseminator [...] opens her up [...] and enters her" -- a direct reference to sexual intercourse. Second, societal - Mr. Sandman as the corrupting influence of society now "enters [Janie's] dreams". And finally, personal - Mr. Sandman is the force of sexual desire within Janie, which acts as the "inseminator" (think fertility, vitality) that "opens [Janie] up like a love letter" -- bringing what was formerly latent and secret out into the world -- and "enters her dreams" as adult desire and awareness.
And what is Janie's response to all this? "We're gonna have a real cool time tonight."... I'll let you draw your own conclusions.