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.
from the depth of the pacific
to the height of everest
and still the world is smoother
than a shiny ball-bearing
so i take a few steps back
and put on a wider lens
and it changes your skin,
your sex, and what your wearing
distance shows your silloutte
to be a lot like mine
like a sphere is a sphere
and all of us here
have been here all the time
you brought me to church,
cinder blocks, flourescent light
you brought me to church
at 7o'clock on a sunday night
and the band was rocking
and the floors were scrubbed clean
and everybody had a tambourine
so i took a deep breath and became
the white girl with the hair
and you sat right beside me
while everybody stared
and through the open window
i think the singing went outside
and floated up to tell
all the stars not to hide
'cause by the time church let out
the sky was much clearer
and the moon was so beautiful,
that the ocean held up a mirror
as we walked home we spoke slowly
we spoke slow,
and we spoke lowly
like it was taking more time
than usual to choose
the words to go
with your squeaky sandle shoes
like time is not a thing
that's ours to lose
from the height of the pacific
to the depths of everest
to the height of everest
and still the world is smoother
than a shiny ball-bearing
so i take a few steps back
and put on a wider lens
and it changes your skin,
your sex, and what your wearing
distance shows your silloutte
to be a lot like mine
like a sphere is a sphere
and all of us here
have been here all the time
you brought me to church,
cinder blocks, flourescent light
you brought me to church
at 7o'clock on a sunday night
and the band was rocking
and the floors were scrubbed clean
and everybody had a tambourine
so i took a deep breath and became
the white girl with the hair
and you sat right beside me
while everybody stared
and through the open window
i think the singing went outside
and floated up to tell
all the stars not to hide
'cause by the time church let out
the sky was much clearer
and the moon was so beautiful,
that the ocean held up a mirror
as we walked home we spoke slowly
we spoke slow,
and we spoke lowly
like it was taking more time
than usual to choose
the words to go
with your squeaky sandle shoes
like time is not a thing
that's ours to lose
from the height of the pacific
to the depths of everest
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This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
the refreshed feeling spiritually you feel after a meditation, or when you begin to explore new opossibilities on why lif is what it is... philosophical mood i supose
this is one of my favorite examples of Ani DiFranco's poetic super-powers.
so i take a few steps back and put on a wider lens and it changes your skin, your sex, and what your wearing Wow, she captured the essence of solidarity perfectly. as someone who has devoted a large chunk of his adult life to furthuring human rights causes, this song reminds me why i care. as different as we think we are in the slurry of the day-to-day, "still the world is smoother/ than a shiny ball-bearing".
I have a live version of this song where she prefaces it by saying "This song comes from a place of, just a moment, when you're just okay with everything, just okay with everybody and everything, it's all worth it."
And I think that's pretty much spot on, from the goddess herself.
I adore that version, she just sets the scene so beautifully! I think it's the Atlanta concert? Awesome :)
i'm especially affected by the way she sings that little part at about 2:50, starting with "and through the open window" where her voice does this little crescendo thing and is just soaring at that level for the next few lines. more volume, more urgency, i guess i would describe it? anyway those 20 seconds are my little piece of paradise in this song.
btw IWantWindToBlow, thanks for the sharing the tidbit.
I've always seen the song as a change of perspective, as it starts out "from the depth of the pacific, to the height of everest" and then ends as "from the height of the pacific, to the depths of everest".
And it's cool to hear what she's said about the song, since when, in my experience, I'm content, I have better "eyes" to see things how they are, which is usually not how they're conventionally seen.
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