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.
This goes out the rich and poor
I stand as a broken man
Before we shake I shoulda let you know
My hand it's a dirty hand
The place I live ain't called easy street
Our houses are weak and cheap
So this goes out to my struggling peeps
I have a dream we get out this week
New york, can they say a prayer for me?
Orange county, Queensbridge say a prayer for me
NCL Southeast say a prayer for me
Manhattan, Hollywood say a prayer for me
? say a prayer for me
Queens City, Longdale say a prayer for me
Jamesville NC say a prayer for me
Longdale, Jamesville say a prayer for me
I want to give my peace away to the man that drives the Escalade
Cause he knows that money dont buy a home
It's takes a wife and kids where love is grown
I think Im really tired of these washed up plans
To be the king of thug and all the wall street fam
It takes alot of guts to hold onto your green
When there are dead banks plus political swing
I think its bout time we get some people in the house
Who wanna run game on the naysayers mouth
If you got the money you understand me partly
And if you blame brooklyn then welcome to the party
This goes out the rich and poor
I stand as a broken man
Before we shake I shoulda let you know
My hand it's a dirty hand
The place I live aint called easy street
Our houses are weak and cheap
So this goes out to my struggling peeps
I have a dream we get out this week
New York, can they say a prayer for me
NCL southeast say a prayer for me
Manhattan, Hollywood, say a prayer for me
Longdale, Hong kong say a prayer for me
Singapore, Japanese say a prayer for me
Mexico, Bejing say a prayer for me
Columbia, Sydney say a prayer for me
Brazil, Russia say a prayer for me
I want to give 500 cups of karma to the homeless on the block
Next week lets make it half a mil, but they say my daydreams aren't for real
Can you tell a man a better way to make dreams
I know we got a world full of overrated schemes
I watched alot of people get bit and break
Stuck up in the system with locks on their gate
I know alot of people who can sing this song
Cause I wrote this for all those who dont belong
I say we form a choir and take it to the streets
And let the world know we gettin out this week
Dream dream
Dream boy dream
Dream dream
Dream girl dream
If I get down I'll sing
If I get scared I'll yell
Make no mistake about this, I'm coming out of hell
This goes out the rich and poor
I stand as a broken man
Before we shake I shoulda let you know
My hand it's a dirty hand
The place I live aint called easy street
Our houses are weak and cheap
So this goes out to my struggling peeps
I have a dream we get out this week
New york, can they say a prayer for me?
Orange county, Queensbridge say a prayer for me
NCL Southeast say a prayer for me
Manhattan, Hollywood say a prayer for me
? say a prayer for me
Queens City, Longdale say a prayer for me
Jamesville NC say a prayer for me
Longdale, Jamesville say a prayer for me
I stand as a broken man
Before we shake I shoulda let you know
My hand it's a dirty hand
The place I live ain't called easy street
Our houses are weak and cheap
So this goes out to my struggling peeps
I have a dream we get out this week
New york, can they say a prayer for me?
Orange county, Queensbridge say a prayer for me
NCL Southeast say a prayer for me
Manhattan, Hollywood say a prayer for me
? say a prayer for me
Queens City, Longdale say a prayer for me
Jamesville NC say a prayer for me
Longdale, Jamesville say a prayer for me
I want to give my peace away to the man that drives the Escalade
Cause he knows that money dont buy a home
It's takes a wife and kids where love is grown
I think Im really tired of these washed up plans
To be the king of thug and all the wall street fam
It takes alot of guts to hold onto your green
When there are dead banks plus political swing
I think its bout time we get some people in the house
Who wanna run game on the naysayers mouth
If you got the money you understand me partly
And if you blame brooklyn then welcome to the party
This goes out the rich and poor
I stand as a broken man
Before we shake I shoulda let you know
My hand it's a dirty hand
The place I live aint called easy street
Our houses are weak and cheap
So this goes out to my struggling peeps
I have a dream we get out this week
New York, can they say a prayer for me
NCL southeast say a prayer for me
Manhattan, Hollywood, say a prayer for me
Longdale, Hong kong say a prayer for me
Singapore, Japanese say a prayer for me
Mexico, Bejing say a prayer for me
Columbia, Sydney say a prayer for me
Brazil, Russia say a prayer for me
I want to give 500 cups of karma to the homeless on the block
Next week lets make it half a mil, but they say my daydreams aren't for real
Can you tell a man a better way to make dreams
I know we got a world full of overrated schemes
I watched alot of people get bit and break
Stuck up in the system with locks on their gate
I know alot of people who can sing this song
Cause I wrote this for all those who dont belong
I say we form a choir and take it to the streets
And let the world know we gettin out this week
Dream dream
Dream boy dream
Dream dream
Dream girl dream
If I get down I'll sing
If I get scared I'll yell
Make no mistake about this, I'm coming out of hell
This goes out the rich and poor
I stand as a broken man
Before we shake I shoulda let you know
My hand it's a dirty hand
The place I live aint called easy street
Our houses are weak and cheap
So this goes out to my struggling peeps
I have a dream we get out this week
New york, can they say a prayer for me?
Orange county, Queensbridge say a prayer for me
NCL Southeast say a prayer for me
Manhattan, Hollywood say a prayer for me
? say a prayer for me
Queens City, Longdale say a prayer for me
Jamesville NC say a prayer for me
Longdale, Jamesville say a prayer for me
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Light Up The Sky
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This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
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"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
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I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
No Surprises
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Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
American Town
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It isn't Queen's City it is Queen City. It is a Charlotte NC reference. I also think it is J-Ville not Jay Ville. That would be a reference to Jacksonville NC.