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.
I'm drowning in the bottom of a bottle.
Running from a man I swore I'd never be.
No one ever has to face tomorrow.
But I'm the one that has to face me.
It's the demons I've created for myself.
The tragic truth.
It's hard for me to understand myself.
So it has to be hard as hell for you! (For you! You!)
Are we born to be broken, sinners, and thieves?
Someone tell the heavens I'm ready to escape! (You!)
This is not what I wanted not what I need!
Take it all, tear it all, rip it all away!
I can't say the Devil made me do it.
I chose to be the one I am, the way I am today.
I wish there was but there's no way around it.
In the end I made the choice and will not die ashamed.
It's the voices screaming in my head.
The tragic truth.
It's hard for me to understand myself.
So it has to be hard as hell for you! (You! You!)
Are we born to be broken, sinners, and thieves?
Someone tell the heavens I'm ready to escape! (You!)
This is not what I wanted not what I need!
Take it all, tear it all, rip it all away!
Take it all, tear it all, take it all, tear it all away!
Are we born to be broken, sinners, and thieves?
Someone tell the heavens I'm ready to escape! (You!)
This is not what I wanted not what I need!
Take it all, tear it all, rip it all away! (Away!)
Are we born to be broken, sinners, and thieves?
Someone tell the heavens I'm ready to escape! (You!)
This is not what I wanted not what I need!
Take it all, tear it all, rip it all away!
Take it all, tear it all, rip it all, tear it all! (It all away)
Someone tell the heavens to take it all, tear it all away!
Running from a man I swore I'd never be.
No one ever has to face tomorrow.
But I'm the one that has to face me.
It's the demons I've created for myself.
The tragic truth.
It's hard for me to understand myself.
So it has to be hard as hell for you! (For you! You!)
Are we born to be broken, sinners, and thieves?
Someone tell the heavens I'm ready to escape! (You!)
This is not what I wanted not what I need!
Take it all, tear it all, rip it all away!
I can't say the Devil made me do it.
I chose to be the one I am, the way I am today.
I wish there was but there's no way around it.
In the end I made the choice and will not die ashamed.
It's the voices screaming in my head.
The tragic truth.
It's hard for me to understand myself.
So it has to be hard as hell for you! (You! You!)
Are we born to be broken, sinners, and thieves?
Someone tell the heavens I'm ready to escape! (You!)
This is not what I wanted not what I need!
Take it all, tear it all, rip it all away!
Take it all, tear it all, take it all, tear it all away!
Are we born to be broken, sinners, and thieves?
Someone tell the heavens I'm ready to escape! (You!)
This is not what I wanted not what I need!
Take it all, tear it all, rip it all away! (Away!)
Are we born to be broken, sinners, and thieves?
Someone tell the heavens I'm ready to escape! (You!)
This is not what I wanted not what I need!
Take it all, tear it all, rip it all away!
Take it all, tear it all, rip it all, tear it all! (It all away)
Someone tell the heavens to take it all, tear it all away!
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I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
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Punchline
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American Town
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Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
“I'm drowning in the bottom of a bottle Running from a man I swore I'd never be No one ever has to face tomorrow But I'm the one who has to face me”
Seems like he is stressing out over trying not to live a double standard life that comes with fame and fortune, and that people have a choice about what they go through in life, but that he has to live with the decisions he has made.
“Are we born to be broken, sinners, and thieves Someone tell the heavens I'm ready to escape (YOUUU) This is not what I wanted not what I need Take it all, Tear it all Rip it all away”
Seems like he is asking god if we are all born for evil; that he is ready for all the pain to go away and to finally be at ease, that this is not the life he had dreamt about leading and for god to take it all away.
“I can't say the Devil made me do it I chose to be the one I am, the way I am today I wish there was but there's no way around it In the end I made the choice and will not die ashamed It’s the voices screaming in my head The tragic truth”
He is saying that there is no one else to blame but himself for the way his life turned out, (I can't say the Devil made me do it, I chose to be the one I am, the way I am today); that he will not regret the decisions that he has made in the past just because the outcome from them was shitty, the only thing that bothers him is the memory of the fact, or (The Tragic Truth).
“It’s hard for me to understand myself So it has to be hard as hell for you You (YOUUU)”
Sort of self-explanatory, seems like the song is an epiphany coming to the singer as he is singing it. He describes the problem, that he is not satisfied with the way his life has turned out and that is dragging him down, he realizes that no one is perfect and he should not lead a life of regrets, so he decides to rise above his problem and accept his life as it is.
It seems to me he is singing about having a drinking problem and the how it effects his life but it also appears to suggest suicidal tendencies because of how much he has messed up his life due to drink