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.
Just drifting along with the world
Every motion is paranoid and paralyzing
Give it up
Or give 'em hope
Let us all survive the wake
We, we're a race, a human race
Under the glass behind it all
Watch us crawl, watch us crawl so fearfully
I might be wrong after all, I might be wrong
But weren't we just so delicate yesterday
Sit back and think about it
Sleep it off, sleep on it
Come to, and make your motions
Sit back and think about it
Sleep it off, sleep on it
Come to, and make your motions
Listen up
Listen up
Listen up
There's a calling ahead
A desperation, a falling of man
We are all lost in the sound
Lost in the sound
Lost in the sound of separation
Hands in the air and love at our sides
There's gotta be something bigger
With the beating in our throats
And the tremble in our grip, this can't be it
I'll come up, I'll come up for peace
I'll come down, I'll come down for truth
I'll give in, I'll give up for you
I'll come up, I'll come up for peace
I'll come down, I'll come down for truth
I'll give in, I'll give up for you
I'll give up, I'll give up, I'll give up, I'll give up
The floors are shaking
And we've lost our step
Oh Lord, have mercy
Have mercy on us all
The floors are shaking
And we've lost our step
Oh Lord, have mercy
Have mercy on us all
Oh
Every motion is paranoid and paralyzing
Give it up
Or give 'em hope
Let us all survive the wake
We, we're a race, a human race
Under the glass behind it all
Watch us crawl, watch us crawl so fearfully
I might be wrong after all, I might be wrong
But weren't we just so delicate yesterday
Sit back and think about it
Sleep it off, sleep on it
Come to, and make your motions
Sit back and think about it
Sleep it off, sleep on it
Come to, and make your motions
Listen up
Listen up
Listen up
There's a calling ahead
A desperation, a falling of man
We are all lost in the sound
Lost in the sound
Lost in the sound of separation
Hands in the air and love at our sides
There's gotta be something bigger
With the beating in our throats
And the tremble in our grip, this can't be it
I'll come up, I'll come up for peace
I'll come down, I'll come down for truth
I'll give in, I'll give up for you
I'll come up, I'll come up for peace
I'll come down, I'll come down for truth
I'll give in, I'll give up for you
I'll give up, I'll give up, I'll give up, I'll give up
The floors are shaking
And we've lost our step
Oh Lord, have mercy
Have mercy on us all
The floors are shaking
And we've lost our step
Oh Lord, have mercy
Have mercy on us all
Oh
Lyrics submitted by i am a HERON
We Are the Involuntary Lyrics as written by Christopher Dudley Aaron Gillespie
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Light Up The Sky
Van Halen
Van Halen
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Little Feat
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”
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
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.
i think its first of all, trying to figure yourself out. and, hoping god will be there, and tell you what he wants you to be. thats what i think :) the song is amazing. but, yeah. thats what i thnkkk.