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.
Take a ride around your city
Tell me what do you see
Empty houses?
Burning cars?
Naked bodies hanging from the trees?
Don't say what your thinking
Just think before you say
'Cos if you say the wrong think
The man is gonna come ? take you away
Oh oh oh oh
You've got a beautiful future
Oh oh oh oh
You've got a beautiful future
You tell me baby it's good to be free
Can't you see you've never been free
You live by the sword
You die by the sword
you're only free to buy the things you can't afford
The flash car
The house in the country
The sexy wife
The beautiful children
Congratulations!You've living the dream
In the dead heart of the control machine
Oh oh oh oh
You've got a beautiful future
Oh oh oh oh
You've got a beautiful future
Are you headed for the gas chamber?
D'ya wanna seat in the electric chair?
We got a noose if ya wanna hang around?
Or maybe a little torture to tousle up your hair?
You've got a beautiful future
Take a ride around your city
Tell me what do you see
Pretty houses?
Expensive cars?
Goldenapples hanging from the trees?
Oh oh oh
You've got a beautiful future
Oh oh oh oh
You've got a beautiful future
Oh oh you're living the dream
In the dead heart of the control machine
Oh oh you're living the dream
In the dead heart of the control machine
repeat to fade
Tell me what do you see
Empty houses?
Burning cars?
Naked bodies hanging from the trees?
Don't say what your thinking
Just think before you say
'Cos if you say the wrong think
The man is gonna come ? take you away
Oh oh oh oh
You've got a beautiful future
Oh oh oh oh
You've got a beautiful future
You tell me baby it's good to be free
Can't you see you've never been free
You live by the sword
You die by the sword
you're only free to buy the things you can't afford
The flash car
The house in the country
The sexy wife
The beautiful children
Congratulations!You've living the dream
In the dead heart of the control machine
Oh oh oh oh
You've got a beautiful future
Oh oh oh oh
You've got a beautiful future
Are you headed for the gas chamber?
D'ya wanna seat in the electric chair?
We got a noose if ya wanna hang around?
Or maybe a little torture to tousle up your hair?
You've got a beautiful future
Take a ride around your city
Tell me what do you see
Pretty houses?
Expensive cars?
Goldenapples hanging from the trees?
Oh oh oh
You've got a beautiful future
Oh oh oh oh
You've got a beautiful future
Oh oh you're living the dream
In the dead heart of the control machine
Oh oh you're living the dream
In the dead heart of the control machine
repeat to fade
Lyrics submitted by micky_ratt
Beautiful Future Lyrics as written by Bobby Gillespie Martin Duffy
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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These lyrics are metaphoric. I see this song as saying that the dream life is something invented by the man [the control machine] in that having the flash car, the house in the country, the sexy wife, the beautiful children is just what is expected of you. That what we regard as a beautiful future is really just a conformist expectation and a burden. You are not free. You are being controlled by being expected to strive to live a high end lifestyle as your goal. You're only free to buy the things you can't afford means that people get trapped into trying to maintain a certain standard of consumption whether they can afford it or not. The references to the gas chamber, electric chair and noose means that you are trapped in your dream life and for many it is a prison where they struggle to keep up but all that shows on the outside is the Norman Rockwell scene of suburban perfection. This band regards the dream life as being superficial, similar to the backlash against yuppies in the 80s who were seen as being vain and materialistic.
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It took me a while to really figure out what this song means to me, but after thinking about it for a while, I can say that it's a bit sarcastic in its effect. A 'dream life' is actually something that isn't completely free and is composed of restrictions just like the life that is full of problems. It's an artificial take on society, especially a perfect one, and could be used to define how humans are never going to be perfected by any means. The world isn't completely dystopian when pared against the events that could be happening but aren't, but it will never be perfect. Humans will always be flawed, and naturally, life itself will always be flawed. The dream house, perfect children, wife / husband etc do not make life more meaningful. They are add-ons for better, but they do not make life perfect. I see this song as also branching out towards the artificial 'voice' of fame and fortune. Celebrities with all of their expensive cars etc, but then again, that is a part of the artificial feelings stemmed from a so-called 'perfect life.'
The bells in the song remind me of operant conditioning-which takes away freedom. In particular, it sounds like they're church bells-which controls people's minds. Religion is supposed to be a salvation from the reality of how ugly life is, but instead the church works to suppress you. Government is no worse than the church.