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.
Living in a 3-D world,
where the clock is in control.
He sits on his throne on top of my wrist and tells me what I know.
The devil tries to plague my mind,
but he can't quite get inside.
I'll place my jar in a burial grounds that only I can find.
Winding up the back road hill,
looking for God's acre still.
And just when I gave up, a headstone was seen near the top of the military kill.
As I hear the horses drawing close,
over all the corpses we loved most.
But I never see them.
I never see them.
There's a figure watching from the knoll.
All the myths and stories we were told,
but I never listen,
I never listen.
where the clock is in control.
He sits on his throne on top of my wrist and tells me what I know.
The devil tries to plague my mind,
but he can't quite get inside.
I'll place my jar in a burial grounds that only I can find.
Winding up the back road hill,
looking for God's acre still.
And just when I gave up, a headstone was seen near the top of the military kill.
As I hear the horses drawing close,
over all the corpses we loved most.
But I never see them.
I never see them.
There's a figure watching from the knoll.
All the myths and stories we were told,
but I never listen,
I never listen.
Lyrics submitted by bauce
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One more set of observations as I was thinking about it:
I think the singer is expressing a sense of doubt. While he references what I interpret as the horse-drawn chariot ("soul") leaving from the corpses, he 'hears' the horses, but never sees them.
This suggests to me that he has the belief, experience, or some limited observation that the soul may in fact be liberated, but he does not know for sure. That he doesn't "see them" means that he is not certain ('seeing is believing' - an ironic axiom if we assume the physical world, including sight, is fake). So he thinks death may take us to God, but he can't be certain of it.
Also, he says he "never listens" to the myths and stories we are told- presumably of death reuniting us with God (aka "Heaven").
I think what's being said is that maybe we can't go by what people tell us. It may be true, it may not be. What counts is our own experience, our own pursuit of or journey for truth.