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.
Joviann, I have no use for histories
My mind catches only the loudest of
The brightest storms
It's no mystery
That the night begins as a roving wind that
Summons the earth
From under my feet
And I see the grains one after another
Go up in the drift
Encircling me
I used to love
The end of the night
When the sun would break through
The seam of the horizon
but now
Joviann
Things aren't the same
No day is complete
Because with the moon
Love fades away from me
I used to love
I used to love
Joviann, how can I sustain moments like these
Oh how the time crumbles out of existence
When something has changed
And become a need
My heart is weighted with a resistance
That deadens the pain
When you're not with me
And I feel the grains one after another
Are slipping away
I used to love
I used to love
My mind catches only the loudest of
The brightest storms
It's no mystery
That the night begins as a roving wind that
Summons the earth
From under my feet
And I see the grains one after another
Go up in the drift
Encircling me
I used to love
The end of the night
When the sun would break through
The seam of the horizon
but now
Joviann
Things aren't the same
No day is complete
Because with the moon
Love fades away from me
I used to love
I used to love
Joviann, how can I sustain moments like these
Oh how the time crumbles out of existence
When something has changed
And become a need
My heart is weighted with a resistance
That deadens the pain
When you're not with me
And I feel the grains one after another
Are slipping away
I used to love
I used to love
Lyrics submitted by [Music]Junkie09
Joviann Lyrics as written by Benjamin David Curtis Alejandra Deheza
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, SC PUBLISHING DBA SECRETLY CANADIAN PUB., Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I kind of think it's about a girl who for some reason doesn't believe in love. She builds a wall around herself when she's sleeping with someone - "And I see the grains one after another go up in the drift, encircling me." She has one night stands with this Joviann guy, and at first won't acknowledge her love for him after- "Because with the moon, love fades away from me." However soon she becomes attached. She starts to wish the nights with Joviann would never end- "how can I sustain moments like these." And suddenly everything's different between her and him- "When something has changed, and become a need." Her walls come down - "And I feel the grains one after another are slipping away." She needs him. But for whatever reason, she keeps her feelings to herself, signified by the "I used to love" lyric.
Eeew. I just became one of those horrible paragraph long commentors...blech.