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.
Hush Yael, I hear them coming
We'll hide here until we're safe
Just hold tight to me,
Until they find what they need
Hush little Yael, I hear them leaving for the beach
Where on the stone and sand
Your sister finds her sleep
Wet your jaws for the world
We're going back to the darkest hours
Where our kind has confirmed
We are the masters of sin and slaughter
On the 22nd day of the 4th month, 1979
Warrants a judgment
Because he came and he saw
And this coward conquered a family asleep in their home
Rise
Rise
We must rise for the helpless and fight for their justice
So lift your voices high
Higher than the mountains of their spite
We are
We are the fearless, the ruthless,
The heralds of our time
So lift your voices high
Higher than the mountains of their spite
We are
We are the fearless, the ruthless,
The heroes of our time
She had to watch him pull the trigger in her daddy's back
Then put his face to the waves till he took his last
Then he took her life with the butt of a gun
Four years from when her life had begun
Rise (x4)
We are all weavers at the loom of the slaughter
But we will rise and make these victims our martyrs
So lift your voices high
Higher than the mountains of their spite
We are
We are the fearless, the ruthless,
The heralds of our time
So lift your voices high
Higher than the mountains of their spite
We are
We are the fearless, the ruthless,
The heroes of our time
Make him beg for his life
Make him beg for his life
He made me watch as my family died
He'll never know what it's like
So cut him slow until his soul takes flight
Hush Yael, they found him and they put him in chains
The one who broke our home is finally feeling pain
Hush little Yael, I'm sorry your lungs are empty
But in your new home, that man will not be seen
End him slow
End him slow
Make him feel the rocks that her temple rode
End him slow
End him slow
End him slow
We'll hide here until we're safe
Just hold tight to me,
Until they find what they need
Hush little Yael, I hear them leaving for the beach
Where on the stone and sand
Your sister finds her sleep
Wet your jaws for the world
We're going back to the darkest hours
Where our kind has confirmed
We are the masters of sin and slaughter
On the 22nd day of the 4th month, 1979
Warrants a judgment
Because he came and he saw
And this coward conquered a family asleep in their home
Rise
Rise
We must rise for the helpless and fight for their justice
So lift your voices high
Higher than the mountains of their spite
We are
We are the fearless, the ruthless,
The heralds of our time
So lift your voices high
Higher than the mountains of their spite
We are
We are the fearless, the ruthless,
The heroes of our time
She had to watch him pull the trigger in her daddy's back
Then put his face to the waves till he took his last
Then he took her life with the butt of a gun
Four years from when her life had begun
Rise (x4)
We are all weavers at the loom of the slaughter
But we will rise and make these victims our martyrs
So lift your voices high
Higher than the mountains of their spite
We are
We are the fearless, the ruthless,
The heralds of our time
So lift your voices high
Higher than the mountains of their spite
We are
We are the fearless, the ruthless,
The heroes of our time
Make him beg for his life
Make him beg for his life
He made me watch as my family died
He'll never know what it's like
So cut him slow until his soul takes flight
Hush Yael, they found him and they put him in chains
The one who broke our home is finally feeling pain
Hush little Yael, I'm sorry your lungs are empty
But in your new home, that man will not be seen
End him slow
End him slow
Make him feel the rocks that her temple rode
End him slow
End him slow
End him slow
Lyrics submitted by iamjackslameusername
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One of the biggest themes this album deals with is the fact that humans are inherently evil, and with no punishment from God, they can do what they want, with no hope for heaven or fear of hell.
This song is one of several that deal with this theme. It describes the Nahariya attack back in 1979 to support this idea.
Nahariya is in Israel. In April of 1979, four Palestinian terrorists arrived by boat in the town of Nahariya, to carry out a mission given to them by their leaders. This mission was to kill an Israeli police officer, and to kidnap some Israelis and take them back to Lebanon. They killed the police officer first, then went to an apartment building to search for their next victims. They broke into an apartment containing Danny Haran, his wife, and their two daughters, one was four and the other (Yael) was one. The mother was able to crawl into the crawl space with Yael and a neighbor that went to them for help. In order to prevent Yael from crying and causing them to be found, the mother held her hand over Yael's mouth in fear. This resulted in Yael being suffocated. The terrorists (at this point one of the four had been killed by another resident of the building) then took Danny and his four year old daughter as hostages to secure their escape and went back to their boat. By the time they reached it, however, Israeli police had surrounded them and disabled the boat. In an act of desperation, the leader of the terrorists, Samir Kuntar (who was only 16 at the time) shot Danny in the back, then drowned him to ensure that he was dead. He then beat the four year old girl to death against the rocks on the beach with the butt of his rifle. One more terrorist was killed by the Israeli police, and Kuntar and the remaining one were captured. They have both been released since then.
Phew, sorry for that long explanation, now on to how it fits into the album.
There are two relevant sets of lines that are important to the overall meaning of the album. First, it reiterates that humans are capable of despicable things, and second, The lines such as "cut him slow til his soul takes flight," and "End him slow," again brings up the cruelty of this world where they believe God is dead. They relish and take pleasure in punishing others.
Also (on a personal note), as I think others have said, the bastard that led the group, Samir Kuntar, has been honored as a hero in Lebanon, and the idea that he lives free just sickens me.