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.
Easy come, easy go, that's just how you live, oh
Take, take, take it all, but you never give
Shoulda known you was trouble from the first kiss
Had your eyes wide open
Why were they open? (Ooh-ooh)
Gave you all I had and you tossed it in the trash (ooh-ooh)
You tossed it in the trash, you did (ooh-ooh)
To give me all your love is all I ever ask
'Cause what you don't understand is
I'd catch a grenade for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)
Throw my hand on a blade for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)
I'd jump in front of a train for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)
You know I'd do anything for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)
Oh, oh, I would go through all this pain
Take a bullet straight through my brain
Yes, I would die for ya, baby
But you won't do the same
No, no, no, no-oh
Uh
Black, black, black and blue
Beat me 'til I'm numb
Tell the devil I said "Hey" when you get back to where you're from
Mad woman, bad woman
That's just what you are
Yeah, you'll smile in my face then rip the brakes out my car (ooh-ooh)
Gave you all I had and you tossed it in the trash (ooh-ooh)
You tossed it in the trash, yes, you did (ooh-ooh)
To give me all your love is all I ever ask
'Cause what you don't understand is
I'd catch a grenade for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)
Throw my hand on a blade for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)
I'd jump in front of a train for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)
You know I'd do anything for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)
Oh oh, I would go through all this pain
Take a bullet straight through my brain
Yes, I would die for ya, baby
But you won't do the same
(No) if my body was on fire
(No) ooh, you'd watch me burn down in flames
(No) you said you loved me, you're a liar
'Cause you never, ever, ever did, baby
But darling, I'd still catch a grenade for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)
Throw my hand on a blade for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)
I'd jump in front of a train for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)
You know I'd do anything for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)
Ooh-ooh, I would go through all this pain
Take a bullet straight through my brain
Yes, I would die for ya, baby
But you won't do the same
No, you won't do the same
You wouldn't do the same
Ooh, you'd never do the same
No, no, no, no-oh
Take, take, take it all, but you never give
Shoulda known you was trouble from the first kiss
Had your eyes wide open
Why were they open? (Ooh-ooh)
Gave you all I had and you tossed it in the trash (ooh-ooh)
You tossed it in the trash, you did (ooh-ooh)
To give me all your love is all I ever ask
'Cause what you don't understand is
I'd catch a grenade for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)
Throw my hand on a blade for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)
I'd jump in front of a train for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)
You know I'd do anything for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)
Oh, oh, I would go through all this pain
Take a bullet straight through my brain
Yes, I would die for ya, baby
But you won't do the same
No, no, no, no-oh
Uh
Black, black, black and blue
Beat me 'til I'm numb
Tell the devil I said "Hey" when you get back to where you're from
Mad woman, bad woman
That's just what you are
Yeah, you'll smile in my face then rip the brakes out my car (ooh-ooh)
Gave you all I had and you tossed it in the trash (ooh-ooh)
You tossed it in the trash, yes, you did (ooh-ooh)
To give me all your love is all I ever ask
'Cause what you don't understand is
I'd catch a grenade for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)
Throw my hand on a blade for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)
I'd jump in front of a train for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)
You know I'd do anything for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)
Oh oh, I would go through all this pain
Take a bullet straight through my brain
Yes, I would die for ya, baby
But you won't do the same
(No) if my body was on fire
(No) ooh, you'd watch me burn down in flames
(No) you said you loved me, you're a liar
'Cause you never, ever, ever did, baby
But darling, I'd still catch a grenade for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)
Throw my hand on a blade for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)
I'd jump in front of a train for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)
You know I'd do anything for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)
Ooh-ooh, I would go through all this pain
Take a bullet straight through my brain
Yes, I would die for ya, baby
But you won't do the same
No, you won't do the same
You wouldn't do the same
Ooh, you'd never do the same
No, no, no, no-oh
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his most emotional song. best display of his vocal talents.
I saw this video of him dragging the piano uphill and singing about how he would "take a granade for ya". How his love was so great that he would sacrifice himself for ya. I wonder if Bruno Mars saw the Christian the symbolic nature of the video and if not, did anyone else see it.... I know saw it and immediately thought of Christ dragging the cross uphill to make the ultimate sacrifice for my sins and the world. At one point in the video, he is harrassed by a street gang and ridiculed and I thought of Christ, again. How He humbled Himself to ordinary men when He could have stopped it at any time. He went through it all and died for us so that we may live through Him. Most will definitely see it as a love song for a girl while I see IN it a love song for the world. Who would have thunk it? LOL
i LOVE the interpretation above...i never really noticed it before but @chuchathmar i think u r exactly rite in ur interpretation :) (if what ur going 4 is religious of course) especially the part relating the piano to the cross LOVE IT! :D
When I first listened to this song, I also took it to mean that he's singing about a girl he's in love with and she just takes him for granted and abuses him in so many ways, and yet he can't let her go.
However, after listening to it a few times and really thinking about what the lyrics could actually mean, I believe it's not so much about a man who loves, in his words, a "bad woman," but instead about a man who is completely obsessed with this woman.
You can see this right in the very beginning when he says he should have known she was this way because she had her eyes open during their first kiss. He asks why were her eyes open, but the only way he would know hers were open is if his were also open. Him saying that should have been the signal she was bad seems a little obsessive and almost threatening. I can almost hear the persona from the song cornering this woman and aggressively asking "why were your eyes open?? why didn't you close your eyes??"
Next he says that all he ever wanted was for her to give him ALL of her love, and that's it. "I just wanted you to love me unconditionally. Why couldn't you do that for me??"
The chorus goes on to say he would do all of these things for this woman (intercepting a grenade, jumping in front of a train, getting shot in the head) and it's a little too obsessive. Imagine if you were to just start seeing someone and after two weeks s/he was already saying they would die for you and they don't want to live unless it's with you. Granted, we don't know exactly how long the characters have been together, but it's still a very unhealthy way to look at a relationship.
So really, to me, it sounds like this man came on too strong to this girl in the early part of the relationship and she felt uneasy and maybe that she was in danger, so she decided to stop seeing him. As a result, we hear the story of an extremely sick and obsessive man wondering why she couldn't feel the same way about him as he did about her.
@wonderlust_ You took the words out of my mouth.
First I love this song and this video is soooo awesome. I wish they didn't give him that haircut though!
The song means the obvious but the video has lots of metaphors that I can't bypass because they put the lyrics' meaning on display. There is this guy who is very heart broken (suicidal) and the pain inside is the weight (piano) he drags around. This pain is weighing him down. As he is passing through this forsaken (poor neighborhood) road of heart ache he is alone. He encounters threats to his life- his own thoughts seem deadly, they are the tattooed thugs you see. They look dangerous and deadly and this being a metaphor for how his own thinking is trying to kill himself-threatening his life. His mind is telling him, die, kill oneself. He passes the thugs unharmed but frightened because his own thinking frightens him. Then when those thoughts subside the pity thoughts for the self starts this being the old man/hobo that runs at him and pointing at him mocks and laughs. You are an idiot how could you love her, she hates you and you want to kill yourself for that?" Some times when you are in that kind of pain ( I have) you'll tell yourself "ah you are fucking stupid, why do you feel this way?" Or you'll say things like " I cant believe you feel this numb, you are wasting away gosh you are an idiot!" Next point cars and people ( a woman dressed in all black) pass him aware but uncaring or oblivious to him and his pain/weight. Then comes up to the house where the stupid bitch has her man whore. Here is all the things he is singing about, he would do anything for her, even look for her carrying the piano, thus, this and what follows sets the entire lyrics into place. He looks up and sees them-realizing there is no going back, he then lowers his eyes then his head. Right then deciding to end it. He drags away that piano, as the pain deepens and the weight (life) becomes unbearable-he can barely push the piano on such steep uphill climb- the weight is going to crush him if he doesn't hold it. And the moment of death appears when the nun and the Priest slowly pass looking. Religion and God seem significant when crossing that road. Flashing red lights means extreme danger, train crossing means crossing over to the other side, him and his pain/piano/weight are right on the tracks and faces the end. The reason why he has the piano on the tracks is that this whole time the piano wasn't a material thing outside of him, it was the pain inside him which can not be separated ( cannot be left outside the tracks) and it must die with him.
Wow. Thank you so much for not bypassing the "metaphors" in this video. If you are over 15, I pity you.
Wow thanks for writing a book for us .
Well, i thoroughly enjoyed it :)
Litgirl, deep thinking. I've interpreted it differently but never like this, your interpretation of the video makes soo much sense.<br /> <br /> I agree, I love this song but I hate his hair-cut.
Are you (expletive) kidding me? People are impressed with these lyrics? LOL
"The chorus is fantastic." ROFL you are kidding me right?
THIS is what the our dumbed down current/future generations find to be lyrically/emotionally poetic? May god have mercy on us all. Anybody who actually thinks these lyrics are emotional is even worse than those who can't even understand what the song means. The fact that you understand the line "I'd catch a grenade for you" means literally what it says, and associate "fantastic" with it, means you are a culturally bereft and intellectually stymied moron.
The future sucks.
The current/future generations are going to like what they want regardless of how you feel about it. Pop music isn't usually deep. It's just fun music. Not everything has to have a message. But yeah, the people on here thinking he's talking about Jesus or something are most likely wrong.
I haven't seen the video, but when I hear a song as unambiguous as this, I like to think of it in the situation of an "unreliable narrator" so they say. I'm reluctant to hate this woman he's singing about until I know the singer's trustworthy. The listener doesn't actually have any proof that this singer isn't a crazy stalker who pursues the woman desperately against her wishes. Certain lyrics, like "why were they open"...I can imagine that he forced a kiss on her and she's afraid to refuse him. Same with "You said you loved me, you're a liar", as she felt scared of him so said she loved him to appease him. The fact that she wouldn't catch a grenade or jump in front of a train for the singer (as he would for her) becomes a lot more justifiable if this is some psychotic stranger who she just wants to leave her alone. When he says lines like how she'd watch him burn or smile and pull out the brakes of his car, that is a "would scenario" that he is telling us; we have nothing to go on that she did do this, and this is purely his speculation that she would be so cruel. So I just think its interesting that, however plain and simple this song seems (while being amazing and emotional at the same time), it could represent something totally different if you look at it another way.
It sounds just plain unhealthy to me. As soon as I heard the lyrics I was thinking the same thing as you. Also, I don't think it's right to demand that kind of devotion from someone. He's acting as if her (reported) lack of a natural inclination to endure physical harm for him is a conscious choice, and she's essentially somehow "unfaithful" because of it. Also, you say she might have kissed him or said she "loved" him to appease him, but maybe she wasn't even trying to appease. Maybe she was cornered by the guy? Also, there are all sorts of ways someone can mean "I love you," and in addition, feelings can change or wane. I might say I "love" someone if s/he makes me laugh a lot or something. That certainly doesn't mean I'm in love with him/her. Alternatively, what if she loved him once but no longer does and Mr. Creepy Stalker can't get that through his head? I think that's the reading more cool-headed listeners are getting out of it...<br /> <br /> I don't care how charming he might be-- if a guy started saying stuff like that to me (and seriously meant it), my first inclination would be to run far, far away.
The meaning behind this song is rather straight forward. he threw his heart on his sleeve and she took it for granted. she is thought of as hellish at one point in the song "Tell the devil I said hey when you get back to where you're from." basically he wants her love and would do anything for her but she doesn't care.
This woman sounds horrible and truthfully he sounds a bit obsessed. They sound like they're perfect for each other: they're both crazy in a way.
I saw this video of him dragging the piano uphill and singing about how he would "take a granade for ya". How his love was so great that he would sacrifice himself for this girl. I wonder if Bruno Mars saw the Christian the symbolic nature of the video and if not, did anyone else see it.... I know saw it and immediately thought of Christ dragging the cross uphill to make the ultimate sacrifice for my sins and the world. At one point in the video, he is harrassed by a street gang and ridiculed and I thought of Christ, again. How He humbled Himself to ordinary men when He could have stopped it at any time. He went through it all and died for us so that we may live through Him. Most will definitely see it as a love song for a girl while I see IN it a love song for the world. Who would have thunk it? LOL
Gave you all I had You tossed it in the trash but, to give Me all your love is all I ever asked. Cause what you don't understand is that I took a beating for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah) Wore a crown of thorns for ya (yeah, yeah , yeah) Was nailed to the cross for ya (yeah, yeah , yeah) Took a spear to my side for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah) You know I'd do anything for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah) And I’d go through it all over again for ya, Yes, I would die for ya, baby; But, would you do the same?
mad mad mad wumiinnn
@chuchathmar While I can see where you could get the thought that this is a song about how christ was willing to give his life for ours, there are many lyrics in this song that do not match up to that theory. For instance the way he is constantly calling this person "baby", or the lyrics "Should have known you was trouble from the first kiss Had your eyes wide open, Why were they open?", which show it was about a woman who was never actually in love with this man. I don't mean to sound like an sshle, but not everything is directly related to christ, christianity, or god. Christians just need to realize that, and accept that not everything they are going to like will be considered "christlike" like they so desperately want it to be.
I would go through all this pain Take a bullet straight through my brain Yes, I would die for you, baby But you won’t do the same
No shit man… I wouldn’t be too thrilled with a guy so willing to inflict self harm in the name of obsession either
this song is soooo great. i have alot of respect from bruno mars. he sings from love not like other people who only talk about having sex. he cares 'just the way you are'. but anyway this song he is saying that he gave this girl all he had, he loved her, he'd die for her but she wont love him back. he would do anything for her, he cared for her and "she threw it in the trash". very sad but many can relate to it. i can and have
I love this song. I think it's quite beautiful and sweet. In the video, when he saw his dream girl with the other guy, people said that Bruno should have 'whooped his ass'. I think differently, he would rather kill himself then ever interfere with her happiness.