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.
As I sit alone and tired with time to spare,
temptation rears its ugly head
Born from a deceptive dream into a nightmare
It calls to me again
Testing me to see if I will break this time
or at least how far I'll bend
I can see its glowing eyes and hear its evil cries
"Come dance with me, my friend..."
So, the things that I want to do, I find myself not doing,
but the things that I don't want to do, I fall into
Why? Why do we struggle with the former things
and live in our own power below our means?
War! Don't you understand this is war?
War with the principalities and powers
Things unseen that would devour us all
The spirit battles the flesh
And now my wounds are deep and torn wide open
I'm tired and weary, hurt and broken down
(Lead us not) Into temptation
(But deliver us) From the evil one
(Darkness falls) On my spirit again
(Again temptation calls) I can hear it
As the battle rages on and on,
I face the things that put my faith to the test
When fallen angels won't leave me alone
Father, come and lay the demon to rest
When my sword has broken off in my hand,
I see the dark futility of the flesh
When I'm about to fall, please help me stand
Father, come and lay the demon to rest
They're on my back
I run, but I can feel their talons digging in my flesh
Blood trickles down upon the earth
and I grow weaker with each breath
Each time I shake one off,
another wraps its teeth around my neck
And every time, the one, the thorn is there
to tear me down again
The angels counterstrike
Their flaming swords slice through the fallen ones
The demons reunite, attack again
The cycle has begun
Caught in the middle of this present darkness
with nowhere to run
We're in a holy war
As it is written, so shall it be done
“Where there's a will, there's a way,” they say
But sometimes my will seems to get in the way
So You will have to fight for me today
You will have to fight for me today
You will have to fight for me today
As the battle rages on and on,
I face the things that put my faith to the test
When fallen angels won't leave me alone
Father, come and lay the demon to rest
When my sword has broken off in my hand,
I see the dark futility of the flesh
When I'm about to fall, please help me stand
Father, come and lay the demon to rest
To rest (x4)
temptation rears its ugly head
Born from a deceptive dream into a nightmare
It calls to me again
Testing me to see if I will break this time
or at least how far I'll bend
I can see its glowing eyes and hear its evil cries
"Come dance with me, my friend..."
So, the things that I want to do, I find myself not doing,
but the things that I don't want to do, I fall into
Why? Why do we struggle with the former things
and live in our own power below our means?
War! Don't you understand this is war?
War with the principalities and powers
Things unseen that would devour us all
The spirit battles the flesh
And now my wounds are deep and torn wide open
I'm tired and weary, hurt and broken down
(Lead us not) Into temptation
(But deliver us) From the evil one
(Darkness falls) On my spirit again
(Again temptation calls) I can hear it
As the battle rages on and on,
I face the things that put my faith to the test
When fallen angels won't leave me alone
Father, come and lay the demon to rest
When my sword has broken off in my hand,
I see the dark futility of the flesh
When I'm about to fall, please help me stand
Father, come and lay the demon to rest
They're on my back
I run, but I can feel their talons digging in my flesh
Blood trickles down upon the earth
and I grow weaker with each breath
Each time I shake one off,
another wraps its teeth around my neck
And every time, the one, the thorn is there
to tear me down again
The angels counterstrike
Their flaming swords slice through the fallen ones
The demons reunite, attack again
The cycle has begun
Caught in the middle of this present darkness
with nowhere to run
We're in a holy war
As it is written, so shall it be done
“Where there's a will, there's a way,” they say
But sometimes my will seems to get in the way
So You will have to fight for me today
You will have to fight for me today
You will have to fight for me today
As the battle rages on and on,
I face the things that put my faith to the test
When fallen angels won't leave me alone
Father, come and lay the demon to rest
When my sword has broken off in my hand,
I see the dark futility of the flesh
When I'm about to fall, please help me stand
Father, come and lay the demon to rest
To rest (x4)
Lyrics submitted by ledtheater9, edited by Octavarium64
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
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"
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.
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.