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.
Baby's ball all blood red of flayed pigs
And silk soft little things
Fill a house hung from strings
And I fly out on my silver, scissoring wings
(with the other sardines)
Over cities of things mommies need
Light as gas, and half-assedly free,
Like I was in nineteen ninety three.
Over the ruins like we're staggering apes.
What we get is what we take
In a split open place where a man can get kinged
In a palace of panic and flames
Where nobody gets blamed
By the tired, and broke down, and beat.
In sunken gardens where there was a street.
West over water I rambled and paced,
And the blood river raced like the sweat down my face.
And the stadium roared.
And the warriors embraced.
And the golden shore groaned
Beneath the weight of my tastes.
And I blazed
In the last orange hours of the day,
Until the dust hazed and hid us away.
So, little baby, be brave.
I see your dad riding over the rise,
Crashing his whole cavalcade through the crowd.
Watch them run on all sides.
And the neon white branches,
And the carrion fly
On a congressman's eye
I have wrapped up for you in some old autumn leaves,
And left under a rock out on Rock-Rockaway Beach,
Beneath the trees.
I have laughed my best hiss to the whistling breeze.
There's a hole in my throat.
You can note my last wheeze if you need.
And then take hold of the rope
Down we scream.
And silk soft little things
Fill a house hung from strings
And I fly out on my silver, scissoring wings
(with the other sardines)
Over cities of things mommies need
Light as gas, and half-assedly free,
Like I was in nineteen ninety three.
Over the ruins like we're staggering apes.
What we get is what we take
In a split open place where a man can get kinged
In a palace of panic and flames
Where nobody gets blamed
By the tired, and broke down, and beat.
In sunken gardens where there was a street.
West over water I rambled and paced,
And the blood river raced like the sweat down my face.
And the stadium roared.
And the warriors embraced.
And the golden shore groaned
Beneath the weight of my tastes.
And I blazed
In the last orange hours of the day,
Until the dust hazed and hid us away.
So, little baby, be brave.
I see your dad riding over the rise,
Crashing his whole cavalcade through the crowd.
Watch them run on all sides.
And the neon white branches,
And the carrion fly
On a congressman's eye
I have wrapped up for you in some old autumn leaves,
And left under a rock out on Rock-Rockaway Beach,
Beneath the trees.
I have laughed my best hiss to the whistling breeze.
There's a hole in my throat.
You can note my last wheeze if you need.
And then take hold of the rope
Down we scream.
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Light Up The Sky
Van Halen
Van Halen
When We Were Young
Blink-182
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
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.
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
i think this is about a woman he is with. and he asks what her husband is like. I feel like the husband might either be dead, or she has a husband who belittles her and she doesnt really have a life because of him.