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.
Raise your hands now to testify
Your confession will be crucified
You're a sacrificial suicide
Like a dog that's been sodomized
Stand up! All the white boys
Sit down! And the black girls
You're the soldiers of the new world
Put your faith in a miracle
And it's non-denominational
Join the choir we will be singing
In the church of wishful thinking
A fire burns today
Of blasphemy and genocide
The sirens of decay
Will infiltrate the faith fanatics
Oh bless me Lord for I have sinned
It's been a lifetime since I last confessed
I threw my crutches in "the river of a shadow of doubt"
And I'll be dressed up in my Sunday best
Say a prayer for the family
Drop a coin for humanity
Ain't this uniform so flattering?
I never asked you a god damned thing
A fire burns today
Of blasphemy and genocide
The sirens of decay
Will infiltrate the faith fanatics
Don't test me
Second guess me
Protest me
You will disappear
I want to know who's allowed to breed
All the dogs who never learned to read
Missionary politicians
And the cops of a new religion
A fire burns today
Of blasphemy and genocide
The sirens of decay
Will infiltrate the inside
Yeah
Your confession will be crucified
You're a sacrificial suicide
Like a dog that's been sodomized
Stand up! All the white boys
Sit down! And the black girls
You're the soldiers of the new world
Put your faith in a miracle
And it's non-denominational
Join the choir we will be singing
In the church of wishful thinking
A fire burns today
Of blasphemy and genocide
The sirens of decay
Will infiltrate the faith fanatics
Oh bless me Lord for I have sinned
It's been a lifetime since I last confessed
I threw my crutches in "the river of a shadow of doubt"
And I'll be dressed up in my Sunday best
Say a prayer for the family
Drop a coin for humanity
Ain't this uniform so flattering?
I never asked you a god damned thing
A fire burns today
Of blasphemy and genocide
The sirens of decay
Will infiltrate the faith fanatics
Don't test me
Second guess me
Protest me
You will disappear
I want to know who's allowed to breed
All the dogs who never learned to read
Missionary politicians
And the cops of a new religion
A fire burns today
Of blasphemy and genocide
The sirens of decay
Will infiltrate the inside
Yeah
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More Featured Meanings
Light Up The Sky
Van Halen
Van Halen
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him.
There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
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"
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
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/
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
What an AMAZING song! Easily my favorite song on the album! I love how it pretty much mocks religious fanatics and "missionary politicians," I couldn't agree with it more.
and the verse...
I want to know who's allowed to breed All the dogs who never learned to read Missionary politicians And the cops of a new religion
...one of the best Billie Joe has ever written...in my opinion, at least :)
Oh how I hope they make a music video for this song!!! :D
An absolutely scathing take on organized religion in America.
To me, this is Christian mocking well, Christianity. This is a huge song on the album. The first act was introducing Christian and Gloria and establishing some background on the two. This is Christian's revolution finally coming to fruition - he fully believes that church and state are hopelessly intertwined and is determined to start there. They are in the middle of some kind of attack, but Christian can't help but utter the most smarmy, cruel comments while it's happening. It's actually a really funny song with some great lines.
Raise your hands now to testify Your confession will be crucified
that could be about, when at church, some people will "want" to hear your confessions, but when u do confess, they say, "no, thats not clean enough, go away, you can't be one of us anymore".
Stand up! All the white boys Sit down! And the black girls You're the soldiers of the new world
that could be a stab at racism and the 1970 separation of black and white peoples. the first line, stand up all the white boys, is like saying "you are white, and a man, you can fight in this war because you are fit enough", and sit down all the black girls could be like saying "your black and a girl, you practically can't do anything".
Put your faith in a miracle And it's non-denominational Join the choir we will be singing In the church of wishful thinking
this could be about church again. to put your faith in a miracle could be about putting your faith in the "wonders and flashes, and big lightning bolts" side of God. Its basically like expecting a miracle, but when you never get one, you get angry. Non-denominational is like when you don't obey the ruled of a certain religion, so when you put your faith in "that" side of God, its non-denominational. Join the choir we will be singing in the church of wishful thinking could be about the same context. wishful thinking, or wishing for a miracle and thinking like that all the time.
A fire burns today Of blasphemy and genocide The sirens of decay Will infiltrate the faith fanatics
basically about how todays society is all about blasphemy. like "oh my god", thats an example of blasphemy. not sure about the genocide bit. The sirens of decay... well, that could be about one of two things. a "siren" is a mythical greek creature that, when it sings, it makes you want to run towards them, and therefore, you would het eaten by them. so the sirens or decay might be about sirens calling you towards a horrible part of life, like drugs and sex and booze. the second thing it could be about is a siren warning us bout the "decay". And the sirens of decay will infiltrate the faith fanatics could be talking about how the faith fanatics are hearing the sirens and hearing the warning, but not listening to it, b because they are convinced that Jesus will come to save them.
Oh bless me Lord for I have sinned It's been a lifetime since I last confessed I threw my crutches in "the river of a shadow of doubt" And I'll be dressed up in my Sunday best
Its basically asking for God to bless him, because its been a lifetime since i last confessed. this is taking another stab at christianity. not christianity in general, just particular type of christian thoughts. its saying that they think that to be saved from the pits of hell, all they have to do is confess everyday, and you'll be ok. but to get out of hell, you need to believe in jesus, because he died for us. I threw my crutches in the shadow of doubt could be about him throwing all the help he has away, and relying on god to make everything ok. but god doesn't work like that. and ill be dressed in my Sunday best is probably about him dressing up in church to make him look good, not going there for gods glory, but just to make himself look good in the eyes of humans.
Don't test me Second guess me Protest me You will disappear
this could be his take on what God is saying to him through the bible. Its basically him believing about the "i am the all powerful God, and if you break one of my commandments, ill turn you into a cheeseburger".
Say a prayer for the family Drop a coin for humanity Ain't this uniform so flattering? I never asked you a god damned thing
This could be about the preacher or the head paster saying "say a prayer for this poor, poor family here, they need all the help they can get", when they could just ask God themselves for help. drop a coin for humanity, i think (as in THINK) this is about him trying to look good by putting some money in the offering box at church, or giving to charity. Ain't this uniform so flattering is definitely about him trying to impress others by dressing up for church. I never asked you a god-damned thing might be about him asking for, again, a miracle, but never getting one, so he's questioning him and saying "what the hell, man! I ask you to do one little thing for me, and all i get is this?"
I want to know who's allowed to breed All the dogs who never learned to read Missionary politicians And the cops of a new religion
no freaking idea what this means.........
thats my take on this song..... so yeah....
that could be a stab at racism and the 1970 separation of black and white peoples. the first line, stand up all the white boys, is like saying "you are white, and a man, you can fight in this war because you are fit enough", and sit down all the black girls could be like saying "your black and a girl, you practically can't do anything".<br /> ~ That's what I came here to find out. Have we made enough progress? We know it can be fixed very easily but 'the powers that be' seem to have something to gain from keeping racial conflict a constant issue.
According to a somewhat recent interview with the band, Christian is the "Silence" of the generation, as mentioned in the song "Know Your Enemy", and this song is about what Christian wants to say, while Gloria is actually out saying it. The two are actually enemies, not lover's, because of their differences in their ideals.
This song is clearly about the hypocrisy of American protestant Christianity which wants to control U.S. government and politics.
this song reminds me a bit of foxboro hot tubs..
I agree! Also Horshoes and Handgrenades a little bit too. It almost seems like they might've been writing (or at least getting ideas for) this song while working on Stop Drop and Roll!!!...but maybe not...
Anti-religion. I always wanted to write a song like this one! How religion and politics inevitably intertwine, and sometimes lead to war and genocide.
I don't think it's neccersarily Anti-Religion as such. I think it's more mocking the ways in which the churches are run as opossed to the relgion iteself; "Ain't this uniform so flattering?" <br /> <br /> "You're the soldiers of the new world"; could this suggest that there is a hope for the church in the modern world? <br /> <br /> Could "Put your faith in a miracle<br /> And it's non-denominational<br /> Join the choir we will be singing<br /> In the church of wishful thinking"<br /> <br /> ...suggest that we will be wishiing for the church to be controlled correctly? Possibly by the 'soldiers of the new world?'<br /> <br /> This is just my view on the song though, obviously I could be totally incorrect, or, as a Christian myself, be attempting not to like a song that disrespects my relgiion, I'm not sure. Either way, I love the song! (whether I should do or not)
Agreed<br /> <br /> I hate when people categorize anti-stupid as anti-religion >_<<br /> <br /> Believe it or not they aren't the same thing!
it pretty much about organized religion how he feels they force their beliefs onto people who choose not to be apart of it
The 'Don't test me' part sounds a bit like Rage against the Machine. Anway, awesome song.
It's every conspiracy theory I'm addicted to all wrapped up in a song with a pretty bow. Magnifique.