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.
Verdigris Patina was a peaceful little town
The home of Wilbur Redpot, finest coppersmith around
He was famous for his products, as they sold extremely well
Competitors were livid as their business income fell
Now, Alexander Copperplate, a man from out of town,
Declared his gang was coming soon to shoot poor Wilbur down
The town was in a panic, they knew something should be done
And they had till morning sun!
So saddle up your steam-bike and put your goggles on
We've got to be prepared or else we'll all be dead by dawn
Copperplate is coming, and his eyes are seeing red,
And he's after Wilbur's head!
The townsfolk got together and they figured out a plan
They knew they'd have to do their best to save their fellow man
And, though they had no weapons, they all had a lot of brains:
They'd build machines to leave their villain in a world of pain!
So Wilbur brought the copper, old Frank supplied the steel;
Bob and Sue had extra chains, and Tommy brought the wheels;
They knew they'd have a chance with these, they knew they'd win the fight,
And they worked all through the night!
So saddle up your steam-bike and put your goggles on
We've got to be prepared or else we'll all be dead by dawn
Copperplate is coming and his eyes are seeing red,
And he's after Wilbur's head!
Well Copperplate arrived at dawn, he stayed true to his word
But the town was deathly silent, not a soul was to be heard
He yelled out, "Redpot! Come on out, and fight me like a man!"
And that was when the churning and the chugging sounds began
An army of the townsfolk soon poured out into the street
Each of them on steam-bikes, and they all were packing heat
They had his men surrounded, there was fear on every face
And they put them in their place!
Power up your steam-bike, let's show 'em who's in charge
We've got our ropes and grappling hooks and weapons to discharge
Copperplate is panicked and his face is turning white
And we're gonna win this fight!
That's right! Let's go!
Now power down your steam-bike, we finally took 'em down
We strung 'em up and licked 'em good and ran them out of town
Verdigris Patina is a peaceful town once more
And we won the Copper War!
Hyah!
The home of Wilbur Redpot, finest coppersmith around
He was famous for his products, as they sold extremely well
Competitors were livid as their business income fell
Now, Alexander Copperplate, a man from out of town,
Declared his gang was coming soon to shoot poor Wilbur down
The town was in a panic, they knew something should be done
And they had till morning sun!
So saddle up your steam-bike and put your goggles on
We've got to be prepared or else we'll all be dead by dawn
Copperplate is coming, and his eyes are seeing red,
And he's after Wilbur's head!
The townsfolk got together and they figured out a plan
They knew they'd have to do their best to save their fellow man
And, though they had no weapons, they all had a lot of brains:
They'd build machines to leave their villain in a world of pain!
So Wilbur brought the copper, old Frank supplied the steel;
Bob and Sue had extra chains, and Tommy brought the wheels;
They knew they'd have a chance with these, they knew they'd win the fight,
And they worked all through the night!
So saddle up your steam-bike and put your goggles on
We've got to be prepared or else we'll all be dead by dawn
Copperplate is coming and his eyes are seeing red,
And he's after Wilbur's head!
Well Copperplate arrived at dawn, he stayed true to his word
But the town was deathly silent, not a soul was to be heard
He yelled out, "Redpot! Come on out, and fight me like a man!"
And that was when the churning and the chugging sounds began
An army of the townsfolk soon poured out into the street
Each of them on steam-bikes, and they all were packing heat
They had his men surrounded, there was fear on every face
And they put them in their place!
Power up your steam-bike, let's show 'em who's in charge
We've got our ropes and grappling hooks and weapons to discharge
Copperplate is panicked and his face is turning white
And we're gonna win this fight!
That's right! Let's go!
Now power down your steam-bike, we finally took 'em down
We strung 'em up and licked 'em good and ran them out of town
Verdigris Patina is a peaceful town once more
And we won the Copper War!
Hyah!
Lyrics submitted by Onimarus
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