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.
You say I only hear what I want to
You say I talk so all the time so.
And I thought what I felt was simple,
And I thought that I don't belong,
And now that I am leaving,
Now I know that I did something wrong 'cause I missed you.
Yeah, I missed you.
And you say I only hear what I want to:
I don't listen hard,
I don't pay attention to the distance that you're running
Or to anyone, anywhere,
I don't understand if you really care,
I'm only hearing negative: no, no, no (bad)
And so I, I turned the radio on, I turned the radio up
And this woman was singin' my song:
The lover's in love and the other's run away,
The lover is cryin' 'cause the other won't stay.
Some of us hover when we weep for the other who was
Dying since the day they were born.
Well, this is not that:
I think that I'm throwing, but I'm thrown.
And I thought I'd live forever, but now I'm not so sure.
You try to tell me that I'm clever,
But that won't take my anyhow, or anywhere with you.
You said that I was naive,
And I thought that I was strong.
I thought, "hey, I can leave, I can leave."
Oh but now I know that I was wrong, 'cause I missed you.
You said, "I caught you 'cause I want you and one day I'll let you go."
You try to give away a keeper, or keep me 'cause you know you're just so scared to lose.
And you say, "Stay."
You say I only hear what I want to.
You say I talk so all the time so.
And I thought what I felt was simple,
And I thought that I don't belong,
And now that I am leaving,
Now I know that I did something wrong 'cause I missed you.
Yeah, I missed you.
And you say I only hear what I want to:
I don't listen hard,
I don't pay attention to the distance that you're running
Or to anyone, anywhere,
I don't understand if you really care,
I'm only hearing negative: no, no, no (bad)
And so I, I turned the radio on, I turned the radio up
And this woman was singin' my song:
The lover's in love and the other's run away,
The lover is cryin' 'cause the other won't stay.
Some of us hover when we weep for the other who was
Dying since the day they were born.
Well, this is not that:
I think that I'm throwing, but I'm thrown.
And I thought I'd live forever, but now I'm not so sure.
You try to tell me that I'm clever,
But that won't take my anyhow, or anywhere with you.
You said that I was naive,
And I thought that I was strong.
I thought, "hey, I can leave, I can leave."
Oh but now I know that I was wrong, 'cause I missed you.
You said, "I caught you 'cause I want you and one day I'll let you go."
You try to give away a keeper, or keep me 'cause you know you're just so scared to lose.
And you say, "Stay."
You say I only hear what I want to.
Lyrics submitted by lorienmarene, edited by ShadeBlade
Stay Lyrics as written by Lisa A. Loeb
Lyrics © REACH MUSIC PUBLISHING
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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She only hears what she wants to. They point is she hear's him say, "stay". It's something she wanted to hear.
so true. :D