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.
Roll up, roll up to the jamboree
Roll up, roll up to the jamboree
Roll up, roll up, troupers jamboree
Old friends attend, long time no see
Roll up, roll up, troupers come on down
Big top, non stop, annual reunion
I know what you're thinking, I know what you'll say
But I gotta getta be, at the troupers jamboree
There's safety in numbers, I'll never forget
40 years ago, on with the show
Distant voices calling, calling me
Entertaining me
Memories of the heydays
With the better company
I know what you're thinking, I know what you'll say
But I gotta getta be, at the troupers jamboree
There's safety in numbers, I'll never forget
40 years ago, on with the show
Roll up, roll up, troupers jamboree
Old friends attend, long time no see
Roll up, roll up, troupers come on down
Big top, non stop, annual reunion
Keeping a lonely vigil while the girls all have a ball
The stories come out thick and fast, long, short and tall
There's Frank do Preze on the flying trapeze
Finally come down to earth
Good ol' Chris the contortionist, is bent if not worse
Dear ol' Merle the strip-tease girl, do anything for kicks
And the ol' magician has disappeared, still up to his old tricks
Well the gag man's been gagged
And the straight man's gone straight
The mime artiste too clever for words
And the MC's still late
Oh Jamboree, oh Jamboree!
Oh Jamboree, oh Jamboree!
Oh Jamboree, oh Jamboree!
Oh Jamboree, oh Jamboree!
Roll up, roll up to the jamboree
Roll up, roll up, troupers jamboree
Old friends attend, long time no see
Roll up, roll up, troupers come on down
Big top, non stop, annual reunion
I know what you're thinking, I know what you'll say
But I gotta getta be, at the troupers jamboree
There's safety in numbers, I'll never forget
40 years ago, on with the show
Distant voices calling, calling me
Entertaining me
Memories of the heydays
With the better company
I know what you're thinking, I know what you'll say
But I gotta getta be, at the troupers jamboree
There's safety in numbers, I'll never forget
40 years ago, on with the show
Roll up, roll up, troupers jamboree
Old friends attend, long time no see
Roll up, roll up, troupers come on down
Big top, non stop, annual reunion
Keeping a lonely vigil while the girls all have a ball
The stories come out thick and fast, long, short and tall
There's Frank do Preze on the flying trapeze
Finally come down to earth
Good ol' Chris the contortionist, is bent if not worse
Dear ol' Merle the strip-tease girl, do anything for kicks
And the ol' magician has disappeared, still up to his old tricks
Well the gag man's been gagged
And the straight man's gone straight
The mime artiste too clever for words
And the MC's still late
Oh Jamboree, oh Jamboree!
Oh Jamboree, oh Jamboree!
Oh Jamboree, oh Jamboree!
Oh Jamboree, oh Jamboree!
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings
Jamboree Lyrics as written by Brian Timothy Finn Anthony Edward Charles Rayner
Lyrics © Royalty Network, PFIVE Entertainment Mexico, Hipgnosis Songs Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
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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
"Some and now none of you"
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.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
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I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
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