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.
Nice legs, Daisy Dukes,
Makes a man go (whistles),
That's the way they all come through like (whistles),
Low-cut, see-through shirts that make ya (whistles),
That's the way she come through like (whistles),
'Cause I just set them up,
Just set them up,
Just set them up to knock them down,
'Cause I just set them up,
Just set them up,
Just set them up to knock them down
I think I should know how to make love to something innocent without leaving my fingerprints out,
Now,
L-o-v-e's just another word I never learned to pronounce,
How do I say I'm sorry 'cause the word is just never gonna come out,
Now,
L-o-v-e's just another word I never learned to pronounce
Tight jeans, double d's makin' me go (whistles),
All the people on the street know (whistles),
Iced out, lit-up make the kids go (whistles),
All the people on the street know (whistles),
'Cause I just set them up,
Just set them up,
Just set them up to knock them down,
'Cause I just set them up,
Just set them up,
Just set them up to knock them down
I think I should know how to make love to something innocent without leaving my fingerprints out,
Now,
L-o-v-e's just another word I never learned to pronounce,
How do I say I'm sorry 'cause the word is just never gonna come out,
Now,
L-o-v-e's just another word I never learned to pronounce
Push it baby, push it baby,
Out of control,
I got my gun cocked tight and I'm ready to blow,
Push it baby, push it baby,
Out of control,
This is the same old dance that you already know,
Push it baby, push it baby,
Out of control,
I got my gun cocked tight and I'm ready to blow,
Push it baby, push it baby,
Out of control,
This is the same old dance that you already know
I think I should know how to make love to something innocent without leaving my fingerprints out,
Now,
L-o-v-e's just another word I never learned to pronounce
Makes a man go (whistles),
That's the way they all come through like (whistles),
Low-cut, see-through shirts that make ya (whistles),
That's the way she come through like (whistles),
'Cause I just set them up,
Just set them up,
Just set them up to knock them down,
'Cause I just set them up,
Just set them up,
Just set them up to knock them down
I think I should know how to make love to something innocent without leaving my fingerprints out,
Now,
L-o-v-e's just another word I never learned to pronounce,
How do I say I'm sorry 'cause the word is just never gonna come out,
Now,
L-o-v-e's just another word I never learned to pronounce
Tight jeans, double d's makin' me go (whistles),
All the people on the street know (whistles),
Iced out, lit-up make the kids go (whistles),
All the people on the street know (whistles),
'Cause I just set them up,
Just set them up,
Just set them up to knock them down,
'Cause I just set them up,
Just set them up,
Just set them up to knock them down
I think I should know how to make love to something innocent without leaving my fingerprints out,
Now,
L-o-v-e's just another word I never learned to pronounce,
How do I say I'm sorry 'cause the word is just never gonna come out,
Now,
L-o-v-e's just another word I never learned to pronounce
Push it baby, push it baby,
Out of control,
I got my gun cocked tight and I'm ready to blow,
Push it baby, push it baby,
Out of control,
This is the same old dance that you already know,
Push it baby, push it baby,
Out of control,
I got my gun cocked tight and I'm ready to blow,
Push it baby, push it baby,
Out of control,
This is the same old dance that you already know
I think I should know how to make love to something innocent without leaving my fingerprints out,
Now,
L-o-v-e's just another word I never learned to pronounce
Lyrics submitted by muegge1
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This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
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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 is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
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Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Everyone is kind of hovering around what this song is about, with slashedupinsanity being closest to the real meaning. let me break it down section by section:
"Nice legs, Daisy Dukes," etc. sets up the first section to show that the narrator, a guy, is the type of dude who looks to go to clubs and check out girls. He's obviously confident in himself and has no problem whistling at the girls, which some people would be afraid to do because they might retaliate.
"'Cause I just set them up," etc. talks about how he has no trouble, most likely due to his confidence, in hooking up with these girls, probably have sex with them, all of that good stuff.
"I think I should know how to make love to something innocent without leaving my fingerprints out," etc. shows a completely different side of this male protagonist. Up until this point, Nate and Sean's style of singing/rapping has been primarily very aggressive, reflecting the character's way with women. At this section, Sean makes his voice sound more wispy and timid. He is showing another side of the narrator, and revealing him to be a multi-dimensional character. Here, the narrator feels bad for mindlessly fucking all of the party girls, even though that's probably all they were looking for from a night out. "I think I should know how to make love to something innocent without leaving my fingerprints out" translates literally to "I think I should be able to have meaningful sex with someone and actually make an impression [like a fingerprint] upon them for more than a 1-night stand" "L-o-v-e's just another word I never learned to pronounce," obviously means he doesn't think he knows how to really LOVE someone, not just fuck them
Then, it's back to the machismo, with the section beginning with "Tight jeans, double d's makin' me go (whistles)." For this section and the next refer back to the 1st 2 sections at the beginning of this meaning.
Then again we go back to the regretful singing, he still wants to love and be able to feel a real connection with someone.
The next section, beginning with "Push it baby, push it baby," is the most interesting one. This is obviously what he's saying either to himself or one of the girls he's having a 1-night stand with, but it has kind of a sad feeling to it. Like he's tired of this, tired of "pushing it," tired of the "same old dance."
To solidify this, he repeats the main part of the chorus 1 last time, emphasizing that, while he's never learned how to love so far, he still wants to learn how to do so.
I think the entire song on the whole in the context of our generation can be taken to mean a number of things. Obviously, Nate and Sean think that a lot of people in our generation have developed this feeling that is described in the song, only it's told exclusively from a male point of view. Despite this, it can be said the same about females. On one hand, our generation is much more free-minded about having sex than any other generation. This is great because it allows us to try out a number of sexual partners and decide who and what is best for us. On the other hand, this can lead to a lot of meaningless connections which, in turn, makes each of us feel lonelier. If all of the people in our generation only have 1-night stands, then what permanent connections are we performing? Obviously, we can have friends, but a romantic is much different than a friendly connection. Also, I realize there are a lot of people in relationships who have very meaningful sex and love each other and don't participate in the orgy of 1-night stands. However, I think this is kind of a cry that is trying to say that the meaningless 1-night stands make it harder to find that "soul mate," make it harder to go on actual dates, instead of just having fun, but meaningless, sex. Maybe we all hope for a little more than just fucking every hot chick or dude who comes along.
I think the same about the meaning of this song. I also think it's very relevant for this generation.