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.
Gently as we go, gently as we go
Steady as we go, steady as we go
I can sense in opening the front door as we came in
You were burning a hole in my back
Can we turn this around from where we lost you in the evening
Before things get out of hand
One by one eyes go optic, we're becoming the beast
Shear power and the heat of hate brings our army of two to its knees
Steel lungs are shouting the house down, going for the kill from the kiss
Battle stations are now navigation, have we driven love to this
Gently as we go, gently as we go
Steady as we go, steady as we go
All fired up, you're a hot mess getting messier
I'd do anything for sleep
But I can think of far better ways to waste your energy
If you can bare to still touch me
One by one skin hardens, we're becoming the beast
Shear power in the heat of hate brings our army of two to its knees
Steel lungs are screaming the house down, going for the kill from the kiss
Battle stations are now navigation, have we driven love to this?
Have we left, have we left the building?
Did we die a little death?
Is this the end of the road for us, no more bridges for us to burn left?
Do we finally find ourselves at the point of no return?
One by one, we're becoming the beast
Sheer power in the heat of hate brings our army to its knees
Steel lungs are shouting the house down, going for the kill from the kiss
Battle stations are now navigation, have we driven love to this?
Gently as we go, gently as we go
Steady as we go, steady as we go
Steady as we go, steady as we go
I can sense in opening the front door as we came in
You were burning a hole in my back
Can we turn this around from where we lost you in the evening
Before things get out of hand
One by one eyes go optic, we're becoming the beast
Shear power and the heat of hate brings our army of two to its knees
Steel lungs are shouting the house down, going for the kill from the kiss
Battle stations are now navigation, have we driven love to this
Gently as we go, gently as we go
Steady as we go, steady as we go
All fired up, you're a hot mess getting messier
I'd do anything for sleep
But I can think of far better ways to waste your energy
If you can bare to still touch me
One by one skin hardens, we're becoming the beast
Shear power in the heat of hate brings our army of two to its knees
Steel lungs are screaming the house down, going for the kill from the kiss
Battle stations are now navigation, have we driven love to this?
Have we left, have we left the building?
Did we die a little death?
Is this the end of the road for us, no more bridges for us to burn left?
Do we finally find ourselves at the point of no return?
One by one, we're becoming the beast
Sheer power in the heat of hate brings our army to its knees
Steel lungs are shouting the house down, going for the kill from the kiss
Battle stations are now navigation, have we driven love to this?
Gently as we go, gently as we go
Steady as we go, steady as we go
Lyrics submitted by Maenberlin
The Beast Lyrics as written by Bobby Simmons Clarence Montgomery Iii
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Downtown Music Publishing
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Light Up The Sky
Van Halen
Van Halen
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.