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.
You held me up, held me down
Made me crazy then you brought me around
Were my darkness and my light
You were my blindness and my sight
Were my shelter and my storm
Made me cold then you made me warm
You were my fever and my cure
Made me doubt then you made me sure
One step forward and two steps back
Nobody gets too far like that
One step forward and two steps back
This kind of dance can never last
You were my hope and my fears
You were my laughter and my tears
Were my destiny and my fate
Kept me movin', you made me wait
Were my weakness and my power
You were the thorn and the flower
You were my sunshine and the rain
Made me feel so good, brought so much pain
Now one step forward and two steps back
Nobody gets too far like that
One step forward and two steps back
This kind of dance can never last
And we were never really meant for each other
We were never really meant to last
In the years that we danced together
Each step forward we took two steps back
Each step forward we took two steps back
Now one step forward and two steps back
Nobody gets too far like that
One step forward and two steps back
This kind of dance can never last
One step forward and two steps back
Nobody gets too far like that
One step forward and two steps back
This kind of dance can never last
Made me crazy then you brought me around
Were my darkness and my light
You were my blindness and my sight
Were my shelter and my storm
Made me cold then you made me warm
You were my fever and my cure
Made me doubt then you made me sure
One step forward and two steps back
Nobody gets too far like that
One step forward and two steps back
This kind of dance can never last
You were my hope and my fears
You were my laughter and my tears
Were my destiny and my fate
Kept me movin', you made me wait
Were my weakness and my power
You were the thorn and the flower
You were my sunshine and the rain
Made me feel so good, brought so much pain
Now one step forward and two steps back
Nobody gets too far like that
One step forward and two steps back
This kind of dance can never last
And we were never really meant for each other
We were never really meant to last
In the years that we danced together
Each step forward we took two steps back
Each step forward we took two steps back
Now one step forward and two steps back
Nobody gets too far like that
One step forward and two steps back
This kind of dance can never last
One step forward and two steps back
Nobody gets too far like that
One step forward and two steps back
This kind of dance can never last
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings
One Step Forward Lyrics as written by Christopher Hillman Bill Parker Wildes
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
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Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
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Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
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Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
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