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.
I gave up on you.
And your exercise
And the world that I knew
Then, I fell back on you.
Cause I need more time
And I need an excuse
I'm a thief, a liar
An angel in the fire
I'm a king, a drug
The push that comes to shove
I'm a freak, a star
I'm everything you are
I'm your Jesus, I'm your pride
We're made to heal
I depend on you
For the wings of life
And the air that you move
And I defended you
For this one last time
For the nerves you abuse.
I'm a thief, a liar
An angel in the fire
I'm a king, a drug
The push that comes to shove
I'm a freak, a star
I'm everything you are
I'm your Jesus, I'm your pride
We're made to heal
And your exercise
And the world that I knew
Then, I fell back on you.
Cause I need more time
And I need an excuse
I'm a thief, a liar
An angel in the fire
I'm a king, a drug
The push that comes to shove
I'm a freak, a star
I'm everything you are
I'm your Jesus, I'm your pride
We're made to heal
I depend on you
For the wings of life
And the air that you move
And I defended you
For this one last time
For the nerves you abuse.
I'm a thief, a liar
An angel in the fire
I'm a king, a drug
The push that comes to shove
I'm a freak, a star
I'm everything you are
I'm your Jesus, I'm your pride
We're made to heal
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Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
Blue
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“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
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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.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
It is my opinion that this song is about a guy that fell in love with someone who got used. He is obviously pained by it, yet still wishes to be with the girl. This is evident in the lines "I fell back on you, cause I needed more time, and I needed excuse". What he tried to do was act like he was her friend, and he tried to gain her sympathy using some problem in his life to earn her comforting, because he "needed more time" and he "needed excuse" to just be close to her in any way he could.
The next verse exemplifies how he feels about her having led him on/used him. You're a thief - you stole my time and willpower and never returned what I gave. A liar - obvious. An angel caught on fire - he only allowed her to use him because she had the appearance of an angel, angels are symbolic of help and happiness, yet this one is on fire. It has burnt him. A king, A drug - she ordered him around and was addictive. The push that comes to shove - unclear, yet seems to refer to the one push that can make him do all he can for her. A freak, A star - someone who caught his attention. I am everything you are - in rebuttal as we will recall, he lied and fell back on her to be in turn a thief and a liar.
But, we're made to heal. This potential relationship gone bad could never seed a true friendship, and so the two of them will have to heal.
But despite this, the second last verse is a relapse in the singers willpower. I depend on you. For the wings of life, and the air that you move - Without her influence in his life, he sees little to live for.
The last verse is the final statement though. The singer realizes that ultimately he must heal. I defended you - I tried to be your friend. For this one last time - The singer has finally had enough of the crap this girl has put him through. And the nerves you abuse - While he still feels for her, he sees that what she does to him is having a negative effect on his life... and thus, we're made to heal. He will heal. The last verse is a sort of promise in that sense.
I see this meaning in the lyrics, because it is something that is happening to me in my life right now. I may be formulating my evidence to a hypothesis instead of the other way - as is proper - but the caption over this comment box says "What does this song mean to you?"
Anyways, I figured my perspective is at least a little fresh in comparison to the others I've seen as yet. OLP rules. I've loved these guys for almost 10 years now. They have always been "my band".