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.
Well Heaven rode my back
And the angels dragged my throne.
Only yesterday.
Only yesterday
I carved out your name.
Only yesterday
I built you a shrine
On the side of the road.
And I shut my eyes
And laid my hands to rest.
In dreams
There's a way
To die.
Well I towed you from the wreck
Of dimming shadows in my head
Only yesterday.
Only yesterday
I laid you to rest.
Only yesterday
I wept for your shape
In it's endless decay.
And I raised your voice from a stone
With the song of the dead.
In dreams
There's a way
To die.
And the angels dragged my throne.
Only yesterday.
Only yesterday
I carved out your name.
Only yesterday
I built you a shrine
On the side of the road.
And I shut my eyes
And laid my hands to rest.
In dreams
There's a way
To die.
Well I towed you from the wreck
Of dimming shadows in my head
Only yesterday.
Only yesterday
I laid you to rest.
Only yesterday
I wept for your shape
In it's endless decay.
And I raised your voice from a stone
With the song of the dead.
In dreams
There's a way
To die.
Lyrics submitted by TheWrongGirl
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In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
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A man lays down in his bed for the night years after some tragedy. Silence over comes him and he begins to recount her last moments, blaming God/Heaven for destroying the life that had made him feel like a king. A flash of holding hands in the forest on a warm spring day that leads his mind toward carving her name on a cross to place in the spot of her passing. In his dreams it's him and not her. In his dreams he can save her. He imagines dragging her from the wreckage for the thousandth time, only to once more face the reality of her funeral. The rain hid his tears as he said his goodbyes. A later visit to her head stone and he can almost hear her voice in his mind. Laying there in the dark he knows he'll save her again tonight. In his dreams there is a way to save her, in dreams there is a way to die, in his dreams it's only yesterday.
Even though I love the above explanation, I have my own theory... Over and over, he relives this horrible tragedy, something that happened to the one he loved. He realizes that he had it so well with this beautiful, lovely woman; he knew how much he loved her, but he never knew the life he was living inside was as good as a dream. When she died, and he began to go through the heart-wrenching process of burying her, carving out her name on the cross... he finally began to realize that his previous life was (metaphorically) a dream, and all dreams must come to an end, just as his life with her had. "In dreams there's a way to die" - in his dream-like life, there was a way to die; a way for it all to come crashing down, a way for his soul to die as she did. He weeps for her and replays her death and the way he towed her lifeless body from the wreckage, and although he tries to remember her perfectly, she is already fading from the "dimming shadows" in his head. She has left him forever. In dreams like his, there's a way to die. And she found that way. She's gone.
There were days when i couldn't get out of bed, i couldn't eat, i couldn't stop reliving the past in my head. Everything was HER. It was like i was mourning her death. My thoughts were flooded with memories, but especially regrets. I kept telling myself she would return even though i knew she wouldn't. And as time went by i would live in the good memories in my head and just forget about life because i wanted to stay there....i didn't want to let go. So i stayed in those dreams with her until i couldn't anymore. I couldnt because i was dying...in dreams that would never come true. Because in dreams theres a way to die. So its time to wake up.
i love your explanation...
Longmire theme.