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.
i will never remind you, it's time to leave
that would mean less time for me to breathe
i will never, try and touch you first
i don't want any chance that you could get my curse
so if you must go
and by that i mean if you must fly away
and if you must leave
and by that i mean if i must wake up from my sleep
how will i know, i wasn't dreaming of heaven
i know you can't hear me anymore
theres too many walls, too many doors
but as you walk away wont you think of me
remember us how we used to be
before we go down
the water fell from the sky
it rained all day and all night
and the rivers flooded our whole town
so i swam to your house so we could float around
and i said, before we go down
i have to tell ya that i love ya
before we go down
i hope you know that i care
cause i kept all these words
bottled up so tight
but tonight's the night ill tell ya
your the love of my life
our plane came tumbling from the sky
we fell so fast, we were up so high
and ya didnt even make a sound
but i held your hand, till we hit the ground
that would mean less time for me to breathe
i will never, try and touch you first
i don't want any chance that you could get my curse
so if you must go
and by that i mean if you must fly away
and if you must leave
and by that i mean if i must wake up from my sleep
how will i know, i wasn't dreaming of heaven
i know you can't hear me anymore
theres too many walls, too many doors
but as you walk away wont you think of me
remember us how we used to be
before we go down
the water fell from the sky
it rained all day and all night
and the rivers flooded our whole town
so i swam to your house so we could float around
and i said, before we go down
i have to tell ya that i love ya
before we go down
i hope you know that i care
cause i kept all these words
bottled up so tight
but tonight's the night ill tell ya
your the love of my life
our plane came tumbling from the sky
we fell so fast, we were up so high
and ya didnt even make a sound
but i held your hand, till we hit the ground
Lyrics submitted by rockettothemoon12
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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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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"
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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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.
Great song but incredibly confusing