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.
Show me the sidestreets in your life
Train yards like boneyards sharpened knives
Sidewalks are unassuming fields
Concrete and cracks won't cut you deals
Lost teeth like white jewels of some kind
Petty theft for penny crimes
And we yell
Ahh like a good old fashion nightmare
Riding trains to the end of lines
Still we've got nothin but time
The skyline looks brighter tonight
Lets go smash out every light
Your left foot in front of right
And we yell
Ahh like a good old fashion nightmare
Train yards like boneyards sharpened knives
Sidewalks are unassuming fields
Concrete and cracks won't cut you deals
Lost teeth like white jewels of some kind
Petty theft for penny crimes
And we yell
Ahh like a good old fashion nightmare
Riding trains to the end of lines
Still we've got nothin but time
The skyline looks brighter tonight
Lets go smash out every light
Your left foot in front of right
And we yell
Ahh like a good old fashion nightmare
Lyrics submitted by cartoon violence
Good Ol' Fashion Nightmare Lyrics as written by Matthew Wesley Johnson Kimberly Ann Schifino
Lyrics © Spirit Music Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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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.
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"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"
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Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
I second rioking94. I think it is about learning everything about someone and their past, but looking forward to see who they are and appreciate them and their past "nightmares". A lot of this interpretation is founded in the part where he says "Show me the side streets in your life" which means he's looking into all of the little intricacies of a person and admiring every part, much the same way you don't "know" a city until you have seen many of the side streets. Normally, I wouldn't put so much emphasis on a single line, but it's stated without music, increasing the emphasis on the lyric.
He then goes on to discuss a lot of negative imagery, "train yards like boneyards sharpened knives" and how those are the previous situations and nightmares of the past. The sidewalk imagery represents moving along a journey to either know someone or to be who you are. I think it's more about knowing who someone is. The sidewalk is "unassuming" because most people don't ever boast about their past nightmares; they usually try to hide them. "Concrete and cracks won't cut you deals" is more or less talking about the person's past and how their "sidewalk" was harsh and didn't ever cut them any slack. The next lyric pretty much solidifies this whole reasoning for me. "Lost teeth like white jewels of some kind" means that even though this person has had many "good ol' fashion nightmares", these nightmares (lost teeth) have become a sort of jewel for them internally. They use these past horrors to drive them to be who they are.
The second part of the song is all about the person listening simply accepting them for who they are and appreciating their past troubles. The train imagery is meant to represent the journey of this relationship that's being built... Because the listener appreciates the speaker's past pain, they will likely have a stronger relationship (still we got nothin' but time). "The skyline looks brighter tonight, Let's go smash out every light, Your left foot in front of right" comes to describe how they eventually begin to share the same experiences. It's the listener "picking up" and pushing the speaker to be who they are, regardless of their past.
Agree/Disagree? Absolutely love the song.
This song is Sooooooooooo Good.<br /> <br /> To me it's about getting to know somebody more personally, deeper than what most people know about them, and being closer to them for that.
i like the interpretation. i definitely see the sidestreet and sidewalk aspects. <br /> <br /> One thing worth noting in the beginning of the second verse, it seems the extra beats after the first and second line reinforce to the listener the importance of spending a lot of time with someone to understand them. Riding to the end of lines and STILL having nothin' but time. When it comes to really knowing someone, you really have to take the time to do it right.<br /> <br /> the song is great.
Totally agree, i couldn't have said it better myself
Totally agree, i couldn't have said it better myself