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 drag this ball and chain
Across the desert plain
You build a house of cards
Around a loveless heart
Wild country in your head
Gone dead, river bed
In the dust you cry, cry, cry
There's no water in the skies
Bone dry, built on sand
A house of cards that will never stand
The doors crash open and the flood comes in
And the flood takes everything
So speak the language slow
Beg some foreign money
You're growing up on dog food
In the land of milk and honey
Shoot for the moon
Live a life out of a window
In your room, all alone
You watch the sky, watch the storm
Coming down
On your house of cards
Drink another drink
And I spill my stories
But when I wake up
I forget my stories
Magnificent in failure
Resplendent in decay
Tall tales of the land and the sea
And the tides
That tore away my house of cards
It's so hot, so hot in here
I can't sleep with you so near
And the time goes by so slow
And the night peels away like gasoline
Shoot for the moon
Live a life out of a window
In your room, all alone
You watch the sky
Watch the storm
Coming down, coming down
On your house of cards
Across the desert plain
You build a house of cards
Around a loveless heart
Wild country in your head
Gone dead, river bed
In the dust you cry, cry, cry
There's no water in the skies
Bone dry, built on sand
A house of cards that will never stand
The doors crash open and the flood comes in
And the flood takes everything
So speak the language slow
Beg some foreign money
You're growing up on dog food
In the land of milk and honey
Shoot for the moon
Live a life out of a window
In your room, all alone
You watch the sky, watch the storm
Coming down
On your house of cards
Drink another drink
And I spill my stories
But when I wake up
I forget my stories
Magnificent in failure
Resplendent in decay
Tall tales of the land and the sea
And the tides
That tore away my house of cards
It's so hot, so hot in here
I can't sleep with you so near
And the time goes by so slow
And the night peels away like gasoline
Shoot for the moon
Live a life out of a window
In your room, all alone
You watch the sky
Watch the storm
Coming down, coming down
On your house of cards
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings
House of Cards Lyrics as written by Kevin Sean Mills James William Mitchell
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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