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.
There comes a day when we all find out for ourselves
That once we have the words to say there's no one left to tell
I know why you're running away
There's a place where nothing seems to be assembled quite cohesively
It's all your mind, all your mind
Something little shouldn't feel this way, we got a million thoughts we can't convey
It's all your life, all your life
It's four in the morning
You got one more chance to die
Like beautiful stories
The greatest chapters flew right by
There comes a day when we all find out for ourselves
That once we have the words to say there's no one left to tell
I know why you're running away
These things don't happen here, another fictional reality
It's all you'll find, all you'll find
It's just as good as any other day, I'm gonna teach you about mortality
No it's not right, it's not right
It's four in the morning
You got one more chance to die
Like beautiful stories
The greatest chapters flew right by
There comes a day when we all find out for ourselves
That once we have the words to say there's no one left to tell
I know why you're running away
In many ways I guess I'll never let you go
I'm close behind but I've got room here left to grow
Until our second chance
Just enjoy the dance and find out who we are (these dreams will never leave you)
Let's find out what we are (these dream will never leave you)
(Never leave you, don't ask me why)
It's four in the morning
You got one more chance to die
Like beautiful stories
The greatest chapters flew right by
There comes a day when we all find out for ourselves
That once we have the words to say there's no one left to tell
I know why you're running
I know why you're running away
That once we have the words to say there's no one left to tell
I know why you're running away
There's a place where nothing seems to be assembled quite cohesively
It's all your mind, all your mind
Something little shouldn't feel this way, we got a million thoughts we can't convey
It's all your life, all your life
It's four in the morning
You got one more chance to die
Like beautiful stories
The greatest chapters flew right by
There comes a day when we all find out for ourselves
That once we have the words to say there's no one left to tell
I know why you're running away
These things don't happen here, another fictional reality
It's all you'll find, all you'll find
It's just as good as any other day, I'm gonna teach you about mortality
No it's not right, it's not right
It's four in the morning
You got one more chance to die
Like beautiful stories
The greatest chapters flew right by
There comes a day when we all find out for ourselves
That once we have the words to say there's no one left to tell
I know why you're running away
In many ways I guess I'll never let you go
I'm close behind but I've got room here left to grow
Until our second chance
Just enjoy the dance and find out who we are (these dreams will never leave you)
Let's find out what we are (these dream will never leave you)
(Never leave you, don't ask me why)
It's four in the morning
You got one more chance to die
Like beautiful stories
The greatest chapters flew right by
There comes a day when we all find out for ourselves
That once we have the words to say there's no one left to tell
I know why you're running
I know why you're running away
Lyrics submitted by BulletFreak, edited by Rusman
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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.
Page
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There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
My guess, both from studying the lyrics and relating it to my own life, is that it's about the dangers of mental illnesses and how much they can control people's lives if sufferers aren't careful to monitoring the symptoms.
The first verse talks about overthinking the tiniest things and how it's probably nothing wrong at all yet an anxious person's mind will be racing a million miles an hour trying to understand what's going on.
The chorus focuses more as a make-or-break statement. It's basically a metaphor saying "if you don't break free of the shackles of anxiety/mental disorders, you'll simply permit them to control your life in the long run and miss out on so much in life".
Second verse focuses more on someone's realization that anxiety is taking over their life. Not really much more I can get from this verse to be honest.
The bridge talks about someone coming to the realization that their mental illness will cloud them forever, but they still have a life they can take control of and live to the best of their ability.
Not sure if this has any significance to the meaning of the song, but almost five years ago to the day, Zacky posted on the Avenged Sevenfold Twitter page: "Tracking is complete. There are no words that will ever describe the feeling of listening to this album while driving home alone at 4 am."