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.
Then he looks to her with bloodshot eyes
Says, "This is the day of which I've fantasized."
The streets have become too dark now to go to work
Guess the only one left is the soda jerk
The blue sky bruises to green as we fade to dusk
Below us churns the pool of her eternal lust
The killer wakes up scapegoated and hungover
Catches the midnight bus and rolls to work
Knowing their end has been long prophesized
He looks into the sulfurous hailstorm of her eyes
Sees the giant looking back deep in her brain
Leaves her bleeding and confused in acid rain
Motor oil stains her lips
Her candied eye lures him in
Oh Indie God, oh let me in
The sweet-tooth spider reels him in
Kills them by a river, dumps them in a lake
Tried to bite his tongue but she was just too fake
The bark of wild dogs or just mark of the beast
It puts his car in neutral and he heads back east
Oh my God, it's come again
That feeling's back in this damn town
I can't sit up - I can't stand down
Can't tell color from the sound
Of Hipster Angel's metal strings
Oh Indie God, oh let me in
I can't take what the summer brings
I can't take the California king
Nobody's worth their shit in this town by the lake
They walk deserted streets just waiting to be saved
By the cardboard angels sitting in the tree
The jagged smiles of the preachers on TV
There lives a man named Lester in the sewer pipe
He roosts there because he's never been the working type
A mile north a girl named Jessie takes the stage
She sparkles in the spotlight while she wastes away
Old Randal shoots his fix while lying in the sand
Thinks the time has come to get back with the band
Try to reconcile again with his old man
If only for a second, make him understand
The mindset of the officer who goes berserk
The hollows in the eyes of the soda jerk
The allure of dark-lit topless bars to married men
The hate that courses through the mind of your best friend
Time is running up as this night winds on down
The killer's boot slams on the gas and it leaves town
The girl he let live sits upright in the front seat
For the first time he and the cops will both be beat
The sky's too dark to
Go to work
Oh, face the eyes of
The soda jerk
Oh, let this go and
Reel your line back in
Oh, what's the use of fishing
When you can swim...?
Says, "This is the day of which I've fantasized."
The streets have become too dark now to go to work
Guess the only one left is the soda jerk
The blue sky bruises to green as we fade to dusk
Below us churns the pool of her eternal lust
The killer wakes up scapegoated and hungover
Catches the midnight bus and rolls to work
Knowing their end has been long prophesized
He looks into the sulfurous hailstorm of her eyes
Sees the giant looking back deep in her brain
Leaves her bleeding and confused in acid rain
Motor oil stains her lips
Her candied eye lures him in
Oh Indie God, oh let me in
The sweet-tooth spider reels him in
Kills them by a river, dumps them in a lake
Tried to bite his tongue but she was just too fake
The bark of wild dogs or just mark of the beast
It puts his car in neutral and he heads back east
Oh my God, it's come again
That feeling's back in this damn town
I can't sit up - I can't stand down
Can't tell color from the sound
Of Hipster Angel's metal strings
Oh Indie God, oh let me in
I can't take what the summer brings
I can't take the California king
Nobody's worth their shit in this town by the lake
They walk deserted streets just waiting to be saved
By the cardboard angels sitting in the tree
The jagged smiles of the preachers on TV
There lives a man named Lester in the sewer pipe
He roosts there because he's never been the working type
A mile north a girl named Jessie takes the stage
She sparkles in the spotlight while she wastes away
Old Randal shoots his fix while lying in the sand
Thinks the time has come to get back with the band
Try to reconcile again with his old man
If only for a second, make him understand
The mindset of the officer who goes berserk
The hollows in the eyes of the soda jerk
The allure of dark-lit topless bars to married men
The hate that courses through the mind of your best friend
Time is running up as this night winds on down
The killer's boot slams on the gas and it leaves town
The girl he let live sits upright in the front seat
For the first time he and the cops will both be beat
The sky's too dark to
Go to work
Oh, face the eyes of
The soda jerk
Oh, let this go and
Reel your line back in
Oh, what's the use of fishing
When you can swim...?
Lyrics submitted by SludgeGarden13
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