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.
The door broke when you slammed it shut,
And the cracks kept reaching long after you left.
Through the floorboards, branching towards the hall,
Like vines that never rest...
Climbing like fire through the walls.
A single spark that claims the whole forest -
I know, I know...it's all for the best.
But honestly, I would rather be
Safe from a distance than here...
When I fell to me knees
To sew the damage shut,
I couldn't believe...
A bright, staggering light
Came flooding into me
From out of the seams.
So I reached deeper in
And pulled my whole world wide open,
And for each broken mile, a billion
Miracles happen at once
In everything...in everything.
But I'm safe from a distance, right here.
Everything I love
Was made of porcelain,
Ready to break.
But the bright, staggering light,
It anxiously waits inside.
Like nesting dolls, the secret hides.
And like every birth,
It was a necessary pain...
I know, I know...
It's all worth the wait,
Worth the weight.
And the cracks kept reaching long after you left.
Through the floorboards, branching towards the hall,
Like vines that never rest...
Climbing like fire through the walls.
A single spark that claims the whole forest -
I know, I know...it's all for the best.
But honestly, I would rather be
Safe from a distance than here...
When I fell to me knees
To sew the damage shut,
I couldn't believe...
A bright, staggering light
Came flooding into me
From out of the seams.
So I reached deeper in
And pulled my whole world wide open,
And for each broken mile, a billion
Miracles happen at once
In everything...in everything.
But I'm safe from a distance, right here.
Everything I love
Was made of porcelain,
Ready to break.
But the bright, staggering light,
It anxiously waits inside.
Like nesting dolls, the secret hides.
And like every birth,
It was a necessary pain...
I know, I know...
It's all worth the wait,
Worth the weight.
Lyrics submitted by shirvs
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wow. this song is incredible.
it's saying how we need to allow ourselves to be broken, because in that brokeness comes the glory of God and all the hurt is totally worth it when you realize it's what you needed in order to give all things up to God.
i think "When I fell to me knees To sew the damage shut, I couldn't believe... A bright, staggering light Came flooding into me From out of the seams.' is about praying that the pain would go away, but in that prayer, he realized what God was doing through the pain and that it was necessary and even beautiful and worth it.