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.
That hard, cruel, hostile town
There’s no place you’d want to fail
If somewhere you were to fail
Success at any cost
If fade the same and fall
If fade the same and fall
But even there I did not think of
Someone I should have thought of
She was my fabulous friend
I could but be impressed
I could but be impressed
I wish I’d been hers too
What good does wishing do?
What good does wishing do?
I was born afraid
I miss her to this day
For me and only me
My concern it was for me
My concern it was for me
How am I to accept?
I could show such thoughtlessness
I could show such thoughtlessness
I can’t stop thinking of
The person I did not think of
I’m not brave
I’m not special
I’m not any of those things
I’m not any of those things
This guilt that I do feel
I deserve to always feel
Fully deserve to never not feel
There’s no place you’d want to fail
If somewhere you were to fail
Success at any cost
If fade the same and fall
If fade the same and fall
But even there I did not think of
Someone I should have thought of
She was my fabulous friend
I could but be impressed
I could but be impressed
I wish I’d been hers too
What good does wishing do?
What good does wishing do?
I was born afraid
I miss her to this day
For me and only me
My concern it was for me
My concern it was for me
How am I to accept?
I could show such thoughtlessness
I could show such thoughtlessness
I can’t stop thinking of
The person I did not think of
I’m not brave
I’m not special
I’m not any of those things
I’m not any of those things
This guilt that I do feel
I deserve to always feel
Fully deserve to never not feel
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Light Up The Sky
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Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
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Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
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"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
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I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
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“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
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.
This is my favourite song by The Field Mice. I love this song! Every time I hear it I have to press repeat and listen to it again, before I go on to the next song. So I was quite upset to find the lyrics that were posted didn’t resemble what I heard at all. Here’s a more accurate interpretation of the lyrics:
That hard, cruel, hostile tone There’s no place you’d want to fail If some where you were to fail
Success at any cost If fade the same and fall If fade the same and fall But even there I did not think of Someone I should have thought of
She was my fabulous friend I could but be impressed I could but be impressed I wish I’d been hers too What good does wishing do? What good does wishing do?
I was born afraid I miss her to this day For me and only me My concern it was for me My concern it was for me
How am I to accept? I could show such thoughtlessness I could show such thoughtlessness I can’t stop thinking of The person I did not think of
I’m not brave I’m not special I’m not any of those things I’m not any of those things
This guilt that I do feel I deserve to always feel Fully deserve to never not feel
@tootwee4u <br /> Actually, you both have the first sentence slightly wrong. And 'sentence' is key, for the first three lines are all part of a single sentence, with the word "town" making sense as the place he treated her poorly, and the mistake of "There's', which is actually "Is" adding further confusion. Instead, it should read like this, and the rest of the tune makes more sense.<br /> <br /> That hard, cruel, hostile TOWN<br /> IS no place you’d want to fail<br /> If some where you were to fail<br /> <br /> So, just one change to the main lyric body, "Is" for "There's"<br />
Also "some where" should always be a single word, "somewhere."
Pretty basic stuff, but so well done. Basically, I get a sense that the narrator fucked over a very kind friend at some point in their life (seems to be a competitive/job type of thing, if you look at the first two stanzas -- "success at any cost"). It served them well at the time, but now the narrator feels guilty, wishing they could have been the "fabulous friend" that the friend was to them. The narrator can't accept that they were so thoughtless, and now he paradoxically thinks about this friend, when he didn't at the time of screwing her over. He misses her. The last stanza is just pure self-loathing -- the narrator thinks he "fully deserve[s] to never not feel" (which is a double negative of "always," in the line earlier) guilty about what they did to this friend.
I relate to this song a lot. Screwed over a female friend pretty badly in university, and it still haunts me. I too fully deserve to never not feel guilty about it. Oh, and that jangle-y melody that plays throughout the song is perfect.