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.
Gunman,
Bloodshot eyes.
Gunman,
Grain of sand.
Sisters,
Could not speak.
Father,
Is a holy ghost.
And there's lions
In a cage.
It don't matter, don't try to explain,
You're just another dog to be trained,
Choke chained.
You're gonna end up under tooth and nail.
If you catch a tiger by the tail,
Don't fail.
Brother,
Does not dream
Anymore.
Sisters,
Could not sleep.
Transformation incomplete,
Mercy killing, those counting sheep.
I'm a trigger, quick to fire,
Punctuate betwixt the eyes
And you're clever
It ain't gonna help you.
Violence is just an incomplete thought,
Coming to a complete stop,
Stop.
You're so clever you'll tear us apart,
Then masquerade it as art.
Not smart.
If you can help anyone, help yourself,
That's unless you hate yourself,
Then don't help.
Angry ants are crawling,
Makes you wanna scream.
Lions clawing,
Building up steam.
Flesh and bone have no persuasion,
This is the pathway to my destination.
Gunman,
Where you been?
You're my
Hero,
Savior,
Psycho,
Slayer.
Follow the leader yet lead 'em the same.
Slugs punctuate the refrain,
Come again?
It don't matter, don't try to explain.
You're just a dog to be trained,
Choke chained.
You gonna end up under tooth and nail.
If you catch a tiger by the tail,
Don't fail.
I wanna go blind, wanna stare at the sun.
De-evolution.
Bloodshot eyes.
Gunman,
Grain of sand.
Sisters,
Could not speak.
Father,
Is a holy ghost.
And there's lions
In a cage.
It don't matter, don't try to explain,
You're just another dog to be trained,
Choke chained.
You're gonna end up under tooth and nail.
If you catch a tiger by the tail,
Don't fail.
Brother,
Does not dream
Anymore.
Sisters,
Could not sleep.
Transformation incomplete,
Mercy killing, those counting sheep.
I'm a trigger, quick to fire,
Punctuate betwixt the eyes
And you're clever
It ain't gonna help you.
Violence is just an incomplete thought,
Coming to a complete stop,
Stop.
You're so clever you'll tear us apart,
Then masquerade it as art.
Not smart.
If you can help anyone, help yourself,
That's unless you hate yourself,
Then don't help.
Angry ants are crawling,
Makes you wanna scream.
Lions clawing,
Building up steam.
Flesh and bone have no persuasion,
This is the pathway to my destination.
Gunman,
Where you been?
You're my
Hero,
Savior,
Psycho,
Slayer.
Follow the leader yet lead 'em the same.
Slugs punctuate the refrain,
Come again?
It don't matter, don't try to explain.
You're just a dog to be trained,
Choke chained.
You gonna end up under tooth and nail.
If you catch a tiger by the tail,
Don't fail.
I wanna go blind, wanna stare at the sun.
De-evolution.
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
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Little Feat
Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
When We Were Young
Blink-182
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
To me , and this is just my opinion, The songs about someone , whos been walked all over , and has retaliated by becoming a gunman, going after the ones who have hurt him.
The official lyrics from the booklet are out, they can be found at the TCV forum, transcribed by the user Autoriot,
forum.themcrookedvultures.com/showthread.php
Gunman, bloodshot eyes. Gunman, grain of sand. Sisters, could not speak. Father, is a holy ghost. & there's lions in a cage.
It don't matter, don't try to explain, you're just another dog to be trained, choke chained. You're gonna end up under tooth & nail. If you catch a tiger by the tail, dont fail.
Brother, does not dream anymore. Sisters, COULD NOT SLEEP. Transformation incomplete, mercy killing, those counting sheep. I'm a trigger, quick to fire, punctuate betwixt the eyes & you're clever... it ain't gonna help you.
Violence is just an incomplete thought, coming to a complete stop, stop. You're so clever you'll tear us apart, then masquerade it as art. Not smart. If you can help anyone, help yourself, that's unless you hate yourself, then don't help.
Angry ants are crawling, makes you wanna scream.
Lions clawing, building up steam. Flesh & bone have no persuasion, this is the path to my destination. Gunman, where you been? You're my hero, saviour, psycho, slayer.
Follow the leader yet lead 'em the same. Slugs punctuate the refrain, come again? It don't matter, don't try to explain. You're just a dog to be trained, choke chained. You gonna end up under tooth & nail. If you catch a tiger by THE TALE, DON'T FAIL. I wanna go blind, wanna stare at the sun. De-evolution.
it almost sounds like the story of a man killing his family using animals as a simile for his inner emotions and brutality of his actions. thats wat i interpret this 2 mean. "Brother, does not dream anymore. Sisters, COULD NOT SLEEP. Transformation incomplete, mercy killing, those counting sheep."
I agree with AKAnathan, I also think the lions in the cage stand for him having rage built up in him and the line "if you catch a tiger by the tail, don't fail," means if you're going to try and kill someone who will fight back don't fail in doing so, otherwise they might kill you.
If you watch the video carefully, when you hear the lyrics "you're just another dog to be trained, choke chained" you see an image of a female, one of only two quick images of her in the entire video and she looks completely emotionless and evil, which makes me think this is about the whole 'women being narcissistic emotionless robots' conspiring with each other to completely control men and look out for their own needs and Tyler Durden describes in his Secret Society blog entry...
to me this could be about those smart ass wise guys who use words to provoke others, and uses words as fists (if you get what i mean) "You're so clever you tear us apart Then masquerade it as art, not smart. "
'gunman' sees right through this guy, and compares himself to a rabid animal (lion in a cage, angry ats etc), if this wise-guy even thinks about provoking gun man, he's gonna die by the tooth and nail.
"It don't' matter don't try to explain You're just another dog to be trained/choke chain You're gonna die by the tooth and nail If you catch a tiger by the tail/Don't fail"
it might be deeper than that, but there's i get the sense of bitterness and references to mindless violence
so far, this is my favorite song by Them Crooked Vultures; love the chorus! Crooked Vultures rocks
To me, the song seems to be about nihilism
who the fuck approved these empty lyrics?
Bloated, blood shot eyes Gunman, prey no sin Sisters could not speak Father is a holy ghost Rambling liar, little cliché
It doesn’t matter, don't try to explain You're just a dog that we trained, choke chain You're getting up on your tooth and nail If you catch a tiger by the tail, don't fail
Brother does not dream, anymore Sisters could not sleep Transformation incomplete Mercy killing is counting sheep I'm the trigger quick to fire Punctuate betwixt the eye Oh clever it ain't gonna help you
Violence is just an incomplete thought Thrown in to a complete start You're so clever, you tear us apart The masquerade of the heart, not smart If you could help then you won't help yourself That’s unless you hate yourself and don't know
Make the ants come crawling Makes you wanna scream Violence clawing Building up steam Flesh and bone is no persuasion This is the pathway to my destination Gunman, where you been? You're my hero, savior, psycho, and slayer.
Following a lead, you're leading the same That’s why you went for refrain, come again It don't matter don't try to explain You’re just a dog to be trained, choke chain You're gonna end up on the tooth and nail If you catch a tiger by the tail, don’t fail
I wanna go back while imp still at the start Devolution
Yes, well, now that we have three damned comments devoted entirely to determining what the actual lyrics are (Servilonus' are correct), can we please move on to what the song actually means?
I love this band,but the meanings of their songs escape me completely, save for No One Loves Me, which I think I am taking entirely too much at face value.
Any thoughts at all?
I can't help but notice so many animals named in this song, but I can't figure out the significance. Lions, ants, dog, tiger, sheep, slugs (but maybe slugs as in bullets?). Also interesting that the gunman is his "hero" and "savior" while being a "psycho" and "slayer."
I'd like to hear a more detailed explanation of what SpunkySkunk was getting at, because to be honest, I'm lost. I don't understand this song.