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.
White lips, pale face
Breathing in the snowflakes
Burnt lungs, sour taste
Light's gone, days end
Struggling to pay rent
Long nights, strange men
And they say
She's in the Class A Team
Stuck in her daydream
Been this way since 18
But lately, her face seems
Slowly sinking, wasting
Crumbling like pastries
And they scream
The worst things in life come free to us
'Cause we're just under the upper hand
And go mad for a couple grams
And she don't wanna go outside tonight
And in a pipe she flies to the motherland
Or sells love to another man
It's too cold outside
For angels to fly
Angels to fly
Ripped gloves, raincoat
Tried to swim, stay afloat
Dry house, wet clothes
Loose change, bank notes
Weary-eyed, dry throat
Call girl, no phone
And they say
She's in the Class A Team
Stuck in her daydream
Been this way since 18
But lately, her face seems
Slowly sinking, wasting
Crumbling like pastries
And they scream
The worst things in life come free to us
'Cause we're just under the upper hand
And go mad for a couple grams
But she don't wanna go outside tonight
And in a pipe she flies to the motherland
Sells love to another man
It's too cold outside
For angels to fly
An angel will die
Covered in white
Closed eyes and hopin' for a better life
This time, we'll fade out tonight
Straight down the line
And they say
She's in the Class A Team
Stuck in her daydream
Been this way since 18
But lately, her face seems
Slowly sinking, wasting
Crumbling like pastries
They scream
The worst things in life come free to us
And we're all under the upper hand
And go mad for a couple grams
And we don't wanna go outside tonight
And in the pipe, fly to the motherland
Or sell love to another man
It's too cold outside
For angels to fly
Angels to fly
Fly, fly
For angels to fly, to fly, to fly
Angels to die
Breathing in the snowflakes
Burnt lungs, sour taste
Light's gone, days end
Struggling to pay rent
Long nights, strange men
And they say
She's in the Class A Team
Stuck in her daydream
Been this way since 18
But lately, her face seems
Slowly sinking, wasting
Crumbling like pastries
And they scream
The worst things in life come free to us
'Cause we're just under the upper hand
And go mad for a couple grams
And she don't wanna go outside tonight
And in a pipe she flies to the motherland
Or sells love to another man
It's too cold outside
For angels to fly
Angels to fly
Ripped gloves, raincoat
Tried to swim, stay afloat
Dry house, wet clothes
Loose change, bank notes
Weary-eyed, dry throat
Call girl, no phone
And they say
She's in the Class A Team
Stuck in her daydream
Been this way since 18
But lately, her face seems
Slowly sinking, wasting
Crumbling like pastries
And they scream
The worst things in life come free to us
'Cause we're just under the upper hand
And go mad for a couple grams
But she don't wanna go outside tonight
And in a pipe she flies to the motherland
Sells love to another man
It's too cold outside
For angels to fly
An angel will die
Covered in white
Closed eyes and hopin' for a better life
This time, we'll fade out tonight
Straight down the line
And they say
She's in the Class A Team
Stuck in her daydream
Been this way since 18
But lately, her face seems
Slowly sinking, wasting
Crumbling like pastries
They scream
The worst things in life come free to us
And we're all under the upper hand
And go mad for a couple grams
And we don't wanna go outside tonight
And in the pipe, fly to the motherland
Or sell love to another man
It's too cold outside
For angels to fly
Angels to fly
Fly, fly
For angels to fly, to fly, to fly
Angels to die
Lyrics submitted by emilypowers, edited by hc420, ZeNerd, MaddyPines, Carrie14
The A Team Lyrics as written by Edward Christopher Sheeran
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
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The way I see it, by "in the Class A Team", many people seem to think it means 'class a drugs'. I believe it means she's working with 'a class' people, like business men, layors, and other high ranking members of society. my reason; "Call Girl, No Phone". It doesnt mean she calls people. it means she is a call girl, or a "high class hooker". I love this song so, so much. The idea of it is so sad, but it's just so deep. "And in a pipe she flies to the motherland", is expanding on the idea of this girl smoking drugs. "or sell love to another man". We all know this means she is a prostitute. "the worst things in life come free to us". To me this is talking about this girl being bashed and abused by her pimp, which comes 'free', and yet, ironically, she gets paid for it. "we're all under the upper hand", then refers back to the 'high class' people of society. This girl is "under the command" of all these people. "go mad for a couple grams", then refers back to the last phrase (we're all under the upper hand); as in, even though she hates what she's doing, what she does gets her money for the drugs. "closed eye, and hoping for a better life". She doesn't like what she's doing. She wants it to be different. She wishes she chose a better way to live her life. She thinks of how her life could've been if she didnt try these drugs when she was 18. "for angels to fly, to fly fly, or angels to die". This girl, through her struggle, passes away. But the use of the term "angel", gives me the idea that she wasn't a nobody. Someone loved her. she was someones daughter, friend, sister, grandaughter, and maybe even, a true lover.
And to think I only first heard this song today.. I love it, so, so much.
ps. sorry for it being all over the place, i've been listening to bits and typing about it, then skipping around for something else to type up about. Hope it helps you all out, to understand the meaning, and i hope im right! Thanks, Ash.x
I aggree with others, im certain class A team is meaning shes taking class A drugs(which we see in the video). And the reason they say "call girl, no phone" is because shes a prostitute working on the street(which we see in the video) and she dosnt have to use a phone.and "in a pipe she flys to a motherland" means when shes on drugs she dreams of going back home and away from the situation shes in. you really need to know the backround of the story to get it. The whole song is about a girl/woman who got sent over to england by her mother to live with her uncle for a better life. but her uncle sells her to a pimp and gets her hooked on drugs.the mother has no idea of whats happening.the girl wants to go home to see her mother but shes too ashamed