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.
Hey where'd everybody go
Everyone I know has blown the coast
Shiver in the wind it shows
All I have are summer clothes
Oh and it brings me down when it's winter time in a summer town
All we are are friends we keep or lose in time
Fade away, the precious ones we keep in mind
I wonder now it I'm the one that you'd leave behind
Cause after Halloween
Everything starts fading
I'm losing everyone
I go down like the sun
You know what I mean
I'm just someone in a summer town
Standing by the old beach house where we stood outside and sang out loud
Now I shiver like a ghost I remember the time that we drew a crowd and
I told you everything I knew in one manic rushing line
I wonder now if I'm the kind that you'd leave behind
Cause after Halloween
Everything starts fading
I'm losing everyone
I go down like the sun
You know What I mean
My whole life is a summer town
I get into the people you met
And the moment comes that you can't forget
Time flies in trajectory
Did you give me more than you took from me
I'm as empty now as a vacant sign
Tonight
After Halloween
Can we stay together
I'm losing everyone
And I come undone
Nothing lasts forever
Last summer's done
Can we find another one
Find another one
I wish I was a spray can, I'd write my name on the world
I wish I was a megaphone with my speaker blown,
To get myself known
In a summer town
Smell sun block on her hot skin in a bungalow before the day begins,
This is some dumb jam it doesn't mean a thing, ecstasy, rave is king,
Fake diamonds shining on her finger.
I'm as bad for you as anyone you ever know,
Still you stole my soul,
Or I gave it to you, get high and do the five five deal,
Rock a fanny pack now from the front,
She's generous with the bumps of fake cocaine,
It was funny once then,
Now it's funny again and I was never able to reach her,
No, maybe the next leap of the creature, maybe then,
Summer dis and then you go away,
Wanna be the hustler school
M-I-A make a paper plane and then you fly away, fly away,
Where's my super secret stupid fucking pocket where I left my bungalow keys,
How am I always waking up in places like these,
Who's been singing all my symphonies,
Rat bastards palliate my infamies,
You'll be burning begging please,
Back to the champ in the little sun dress,
She was reading Nabokov, Miller, and Tess,
Undressed so fine just as you are,
A stone cold rap superstar
And I was never able to reach her
Alright
Everyone I know has blown the coast
Shiver in the wind it shows
All I have are summer clothes
Oh and it brings me down when it's winter time in a summer town
All we are are friends we keep or lose in time
Fade away, the precious ones we keep in mind
I wonder now it I'm the one that you'd leave behind
Cause after Halloween
Everything starts fading
I'm losing everyone
I go down like the sun
You know what I mean
I'm just someone in a summer town
Standing by the old beach house where we stood outside and sang out loud
Now I shiver like a ghost I remember the time that we drew a crowd and
I told you everything I knew in one manic rushing line
I wonder now if I'm the kind that you'd leave behind
Cause after Halloween
Everything starts fading
I'm losing everyone
I go down like the sun
You know What I mean
My whole life is a summer town
I get into the people you met
And the moment comes that you can't forget
Time flies in trajectory
Did you give me more than you took from me
I'm as empty now as a vacant sign
Tonight
After Halloween
Can we stay together
I'm losing everyone
And I come undone
Nothing lasts forever
Last summer's done
Can we find another one
Find another one
I wish I was a spray can, I'd write my name on the world
I wish I was a megaphone with my speaker blown,
To get myself known
In a summer town
Smell sun block on her hot skin in a bungalow before the day begins,
This is some dumb jam it doesn't mean a thing, ecstasy, rave is king,
Fake diamonds shining on her finger.
I'm as bad for you as anyone you ever know,
Still you stole my soul,
Or I gave it to you, get high and do the five five deal,
Rock a fanny pack now from the front,
She's generous with the bumps of fake cocaine,
It was funny once then,
Now it's funny again and I was never able to reach her,
No, maybe the next leap of the creature, maybe then,
Summer dis and then you go away,
Wanna be the hustler school
M-I-A make a paper plane and then you fly away, fly away,
Where's my super secret stupid fucking pocket where I left my bungalow keys,
How am I always waking up in places like these,
Who's been singing all my symphonies,
Rat bastards palliate my infamies,
You'll be burning begging please,
Back to the champ in the little sun dress,
She was reading Nabokov, Miller, and Tess,
Undressed so fine just as you are,
A stone cold rap superstar
And I was never able to reach her
Alright
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No one has commented yet? This song is awesome... Other than it being "flown" the coast instead of blown the coast i think these lyrics are correct
This song is very California. I really like it. I like the lyric "I go down like the sun."
Stephan Jenkins seems to remember fondly the Summer times of someone he lost. The song could be a reference to the way someone would feel if their life were a Summer Town.
Lyrics: "Hey where'd everybody go? Everyone I know has flown the coast"
His friends have moved away and moved on from the summer towns of youth.
"Shiver in the wind it shows. All I have are summer clothes"
When he tries to move on, he can't. This line suggests that he can't move and even if he wanted to move (and i think he does) he can't because he'll just shiver in his summer clothes. He can only fit in one place.
"Oh and it brings me down when it's winter time in a summer town. All we are are friends we keep or lose in time. Fade away, the precious ones we keep in mind. I wonder now it I'm the one that you'd leave behind"
The winter time image shows what he's feeling. He has no element besides being a person in a summer town. At the same time he is subject to having his friends fade away because of their distance and time. But his friends go through the same thing, this is that realization.
"I told you everything I knew in one manic rushing line. I wonder now if I'm the kind that you'd leave behind" He took a chance. And now he questions his choice. This is my favorite line of the song.
"I go down like the sun. You know What I mean." He knows that even when the sun goes down, it comes back up. And we know that too, somehow he knows that either he is going to change, or she/his friends are going to come back.
"After Halloween. Can we stay together. I'm losing everyone. And I come undone. Nothing lasts forever. Last summer's done. Can we find another one. Find another one" After Halloween he referenced everything fading, now he wants to stay together so she won't fade in his mind. This will have to happen in another summer.
Outro rap: This song is played in such a way that it sounds like a summer song, but the lyrics seems to harrowing. This rap continues the direction of the song, but it provides closure and eventually a conclusion. He starts by mentioning the bungalow and a memory of her. He ends by forgetting his keys (maybe even forgetting how to get back to the good summer times in the bungalow with the girl).
"And I was never able to reach her"
I do wonder what the "alright" at the end means...
I think he is telling of a time that he will always remember, the summer, it's who he is and will always be. People keep telling him to move on from that fun summer aspect of his life and get back to reality but no matter what he will not give into that because he knows who he is and where he belongs.
This song is exactly how I felt after Halloween this past year, song is way too good
One of 3eb's best songs in my opinion, surprised there aren't more comments. The broadest theme I can get from this is change.