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.
The other night
I had a dream
It was a world full of kings and queens
But it was cold
Dark as the night
We were the fire on the moonlit skies
We weren't divided
We were the same
And we were free
But we all wore chains
We couldn't see it
But we created
A place between truth and overrated
If I could just see it all
Just like a fly on the wall
Would I be able to accept what I can't control?
And would I share what I saw?
Or just sit back and ignore
Like nothing never happened
Haven't seen you before?
I'm on the run from a thief
I let into my head
I know, I hold the keys, so don't be scared
When I turn and shout
I don't think I need you anymore
Take your words, and your lies and just beat it
I don't think I need you anymore
Take the hurt and the pain, I don't need it
I wanna live, I wanna be the change
We can all be kings and queens
If we can just learn to believe
If we can just learn to believe
We had a plan to build a wall
A great divide that would never fall
To separate us
From all the pain
And keep our skeletons locked away
And brick by brick
We built it so thick
That it blacked out the sky and all the sunlight
And one by one
We all became numb
We were making the bullets to a broken gun
If I could just see it all
Just like a fly on the wall
Would I be able to accept what I can't control?
And would I share what I saw?
Or just sit back and ignore
Like nothing never happened
And I haven't seen you before?
I'm on the run from a thief
I let into my head
I know, I hold the keys, so don't be scared
When I turn and shout
I don't think I need you anymore
Take your words, and your lies and just beat it
I don't think I need you anymore
Take the hurt and the pain, I don't need it
I wanna live, I wanna be the change
We can all be kings and queens
If we can just learn to believe
If we can just learn to believe
I don't think I need you anymore
Take your words, and your lies and just beat it
I don't think I need you anymore
Take the hurt and the pain, I don't need it
I wanna live, I wanna be the change
We can all be kings and queens
If we can just learn to believe
If we can just learn to believe
I had a dream
It was a world full of kings and queens
But it was cold
Dark as the night
We were the fire on the moonlit skies
We weren't divided
We were the same
And we were free
But we all wore chains
We couldn't see it
But we created
A place between truth and overrated
If I could just see it all
Just like a fly on the wall
Would I be able to accept what I can't control?
And would I share what I saw?
Or just sit back and ignore
Like nothing never happened
Haven't seen you before?
I'm on the run from a thief
I let into my head
I know, I hold the keys, so don't be scared
When I turn and shout
I don't think I need you anymore
Take your words, and your lies and just beat it
I don't think I need you anymore
Take the hurt and the pain, I don't need it
I wanna live, I wanna be the change
We can all be kings and queens
If we can just learn to believe
If we can just learn to believe
We had a plan to build a wall
A great divide that would never fall
To separate us
From all the pain
And keep our skeletons locked away
And brick by brick
We built it so thick
That it blacked out the sky and all the sunlight
And one by one
We all became numb
We were making the bullets to a broken gun
If I could just see it all
Just like a fly on the wall
Would I be able to accept what I can't control?
And would I share what I saw?
Or just sit back and ignore
Like nothing never happened
And I haven't seen you before?
I'm on the run from a thief
I let into my head
I know, I hold the keys, so don't be scared
When I turn and shout
I don't think I need you anymore
Take your words, and your lies and just beat it
I don't think I need you anymore
Take the hurt and the pain, I don't need it
I wanna live, I wanna be the change
We can all be kings and queens
If we can just learn to believe
If we can just learn to believe
I don't think I need you anymore
Take your words, and your lies and just beat it
I don't think I need you anymore
Take the hurt and the pain, I don't need it
I wanna live, I wanna be the change
We can all be kings and queens
If we can just learn to believe
If we can just learn to believe
Lyrics submitted by MusicFREAK20, edited by kyler9437, radlyrix
Fly On The Wall Lyrics as written by Joel Bruyere Steve Augustine
Lyrics © AMPLIFIED ADMINISTRATION
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"I had all and then most of you"
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"Some and now none of you"
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This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
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I love TWPotts interpretation and it's not invalidated by what Pezable reports about Trevor. While I enjoy the music (and the passion within) of Christian rock bands (TFK, Skillet, Red, etc.), personally I'm a secular humanist (agnostic). I can see the religious themes in this song, but I also see it as potentially an anthem AGAINST religious belief!
Hearing the first verse the first time really took me down that path (even though I knew TFK is a Christian band).
The other night, I had a dream It was a world full of kings and queens [we all have the potential to realize our dreams and potential, but something blocks us] But it was cold, dark as the night We were the fire on a moonlit sky [our intelligence is the candle in the darkness] We were divided, we were the same And we were free, but we all wore chains [though we are all people, everyone coming up with our own faiths and religions just divides and imprisons us instead of bringing us together] We couldn't see it, but we created A place between truth and overrated [by putting our faith in the unseen, we blinded ourselves to the reality surrounding us, and more importantly, to our fellow humans]
My ideas on this are echoed in this verse:
We had a plan to build a wall A great divide that would never fall To separate us from all the pain And keep our skeletons locked away And brick by brick we built it so thick That it blacked out the sky and all the sunlight [this shows how religion separates us, instead of bringing us together] And one by one we all became numb We were, making the bullets to a broken gun [we are fighting the wrong war (against a mythical Devil) instead of breaking down the barriers that keep us from cooperating to fix our real problems]
Sure, this is just my re-interpretation but sometimes Christian songs, looked at from a different angle, can actually highlight the dangers and problems with religion.
"If we can just learn to un-believe" :-)