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.
Every time you shake someone's hand and it feels like your best friend,
Could it be that it's only superficiality?,
Without regard to well-being, without an inkling of compromise,
Handshakes are nothing but a subtle "fuck you",
Contracts determine the best friendships
This is the way of the modern world, everyone's vying for patronage,
This is the way of the modern world, and something has gotta give
Every time you shake someone's hand,
And you share neither color or creed,
You gotta overcome the obstacles of history,
There is restrained passion, mistrust, and bigotry
And these have created the new foundations of society,
There's no harmony just class and race
This is the way of the modern world,
Everyone's fighting for dominance,
This is the way of the modern world,
And something has gotta give
Now I believe in unity, and I am willing to compromise,
But I'm not gonna lie or sell my soul
Every time you shake someone's hand,
It determines where you stand,
And if you won't uphold your side then it's better to
Fend for yourself, and shun the handshake,
Someone's gotta give
Could it be that it's only superficiality?,
Without regard to well-being, without an inkling of compromise,
Handshakes are nothing but a subtle "fuck you",
Contracts determine the best friendships
This is the way of the modern world, everyone's vying for patronage,
This is the way of the modern world, and something has gotta give
Every time you shake someone's hand,
And you share neither color or creed,
You gotta overcome the obstacles of history,
There is restrained passion, mistrust, and bigotry
And these have created the new foundations of society,
There's no harmony just class and race
This is the way of the modern world,
Everyone's fighting for dominance,
This is the way of the modern world,
And something has gotta give
Now I believe in unity, and I am willing to compromise,
But I'm not gonna lie or sell my soul
Every time you shake someone's hand,
It determines where you stand,
And if you won't uphold your side then it's better to
Fend for yourself, and shun the handshake,
Someone's gotta give
Lyrics submitted by punk_in_drublic99
The Handshake Lyrics as written by Greg Graffin
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I disagree, really, that the lyrics are sub pair. There is a lot of truth in these lyrics, I like them a lot. But there is not much to say about interpretation, it is pretty clear what it is about.