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.
Give me back my legs
I want to walk like I did
You stole away my breath
Floating over my head
Do you lead me on
With your fingers across my back, well
When I drag you down, you will sink like an anchor
You will, like an anchor, yeah
You'll come down on my side
You'll come down in good time
You'll come down on my side
You'll come down
And as I'm falling out of the sun
Back to where I feel safe again
How did I come undone
Trying to save my own skin
I want to be your hero
I want to show you the good life, the good life, yeah
I want to touch your face before you sink like an anchor
You will, like an anchor, and you
You'll come down on my side
You'll come down in good time
You'll come down on my side
You'll come down
You'll come down
You'll come down
You'll come down
You'll come down on my side
You'll come down in good time
You'll come down on my side
On my side, on my side
You'll come down
I want to walk like I did
You stole away my breath
Floating over my head
Do you lead me on
With your fingers across my back, well
When I drag you down, you will sink like an anchor
You will, like an anchor, yeah
You'll come down on my side
You'll come down in good time
You'll come down on my side
You'll come down
And as I'm falling out of the sun
Back to where I feel safe again
How did I come undone
Trying to save my own skin
I want to be your hero
I want to show you the good life, the good life, yeah
I want to touch your face before you sink like an anchor
You will, like an anchor, and you
You'll come down on my side
You'll come down in good time
You'll come down on my side
You'll come down
You'll come down
You'll come down
You'll come down
You'll come down on my side
You'll come down in good time
You'll come down on my side
On my side, on my side
You'll come down
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
When We Were Young
Blink-182
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
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.
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
This is such a great song. Sounds like Lewis has a pattern of loving his women to death,literally.
This is just a thought that came across me, but this could be about this guy who has an arch rival, whom he wants to destroy although he kinda has feelings for her. But it could just be about some guy who's gonna kill his girlfriend. I love this song, though, whichever meaning it has.
Heh, another thought just came across me... it could be that he planned to kill this girl, and she found out about this plan.
"And as I'm falling out of the sun, Back to where I feel safe again. How did I come undone... Trying to save my own skin?"
Now he must retreat and re-plan while she is trying to ruin him with this.
I believe this is an extremely well written analogy about about a woman mixed up with a man who brings her down. It's written from the man's POV and seems to imply it was his plan all along.