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.
Boss said, "Mac, I need to see you
Its Friday afternoon about five
We had to make some cuts around here
Sorry, Mac, you won't survive"
He sat there stunned in silence
The hard word's ringing in his ears
Couldn't believe all the years he'd given
Suddenly had disappeared
His first thought was, "How do I tell her
That I lost my job today?"
As he left he felt so wounded
And his boss just slipped away
He wondered where's the justice
When I gave it everything I got?
And driving home the fire kicked in
And the feeling sorry for himself just stopped
[Chorus]
He said, "I ain't gonna go the way of the buffalo"
I will not go quietly the way that they want us to be
Driven from the only life we've known
I ain't gonna go the way of the buffalo
He held her close as he told her the news
Prepared for her to cry
As the afternoon sun was going down
He saw a different look in her eyes
She said, "Baby you've always been my hero
So hold your head up tall and proud
Let them take away everything we own
But we ain't going down
[Chorus]
We ain't gonna go the way of the buffalo
No, we will not go quietly the way that they want us to be
Driven from the only life we've known
We ain't gonna go the way of the buffalo
As they stood there in the darkness
She reached out and took his hand
She whispered, "Remember, baby, you have the blood of everyone
Who's ever had to make a stand,
Who's ever had to find a brand new land"
[Chorus]
And We ain't gonna go the way of the buffalo
No, we will not go quietly the way that they want us to be
Driven from the only life we've known
We ain't gonna go the way of the buffalo
And, baby, who knows what's waiting out there?
As long as we got each other, baby, I don't care
Its Friday afternoon about five
We had to make some cuts around here
Sorry, Mac, you won't survive"
He sat there stunned in silence
The hard word's ringing in his ears
Couldn't believe all the years he'd given
Suddenly had disappeared
His first thought was, "How do I tell her
That I lost my job today?"
As he left he felt so wounded
And his boss just slipped away
He wondered where's the justice
When I gave it everything I got?
And driving home the fire kicked in
And the feeling sorry for himself just stopped
[Chorus]
He said, "I ain't gonna go the way of the buffalo"
I will not go quietly the way that they want us to be
Driven from the only life we've known
I ain't gonna go the way of the buffalo
He held her close as he told her the news
Prepared for her to cry
As the afternoon sun was going down
He saw a different look in her eyes
She said, "Baby you've always been my hero
So hold your head up tall and proud
Let them take away everything we own
But we ain't going down
[Chorus]
We ain't gonna go the way of the buffalo
No, we will not go quietly the way that they want us to be
Driven from the only life we've known
We ain't gonna go the way of the buffalo
As they stood there in the darkness
She reached out and took his hand
She whispered, "Remember, baby, you have the blood of everyone
Who's ever had to make a stand,
Who's ever had to find a brand new land"
[Chorus]
And We ain't gonna go the way of the buffalo
No, we will not go quietly the way that they want us to be
Driven from the only life we've known
We ain't gonna go the way of the buffalo
And, baby, who knows what's waiting out there?
As long as we got each other, baby, I don't care
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