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 want my money back! I want my money back!
It's all or nothing, and nothing's all I ever get
Everytime I turn it on, I burn it up and burn it out
It's always something, there's always something going wrong
That's the only guarantee, that's what this is all about
It's a never ending attack, everything's a lie and that's a fact
Life is a lemon and I want my money back
And all the morons and all the stooges with their coins
They're the ones who make the rules,
It's not a game, it's just a rout
There's desperation, there's desperation in the air
It leaves a stain on all your clothes
And no detergent gets it out
And we're always slipping thru the cracks
Slippin'
Then the movie's over, fade to black
Life is a lemon and I want my money back
I want my money back, I want my money back
What about love?
It's defective - it's always breaking in half
What about sex?
It's defective - it's never built to really last
What about your family?
It's defective - all the batteries are shot
What about your friends?
They're defective - all the parts are out of stock
What about hope?
It's defective - it's corroded and decayed
What about faith?
It's defective - it's tattered and it's frayed
What about your Gods?
They're defective - They forgot the warranty
What about your town?
It's defective - it's a dead end street to me
What about your school?
It's defective - it's a pack of useless lies
What about your work?
It's defective - it's a crock and then you die
What about your childhood?
It's defective - it's dead and buried in the past
What about your future?
It's defective - and you can shove it up your ass!
I want my money back - life is a lemon
I want my money back - life is a lemon, life is a lemon
It's all or nothing, and nothing's all I ever get
Everytime I turn it on, I burn it up and burn it out
It's a never ending attack,
Everything's a lie and that's a fact
Life is a lemon and I want my money back
And we're always slipping thru the cracks
Slippin'
Then the movie's over, fade to black
Life is a lemon and I want my money back
Back, back, back, back!
I want my money back, I want my money back
Life is a lemon
It's all or nothing, and nothing's all I ever get
Everytime I turn it on, I burn it up and burn it out
It's always something, there's always something going wrong
That's the only guarantee, that's what this is all about
It's a never ending attack, everything's a lie and that's a fact
Life is a lemon and I want my money back
And all the morons and all the stooges with their coins
They're the ones who make the rules,
It's not a game, it's just a rout
There's desperation, there's desperation in the air
It leaves a stain on all your clothes
And no detergent gets it out
And we're always slipping thru the cracks
Slippin'
Then the movie's over, fade to black
Life is a lemon and I want my money back
I want my money back, I want my money back
What about love?
It's defective - it's always breaking in half
What about sex?
It's defective - it's never built to really last
What about your family?
It's defective - all the batteries are shot
What about your friends?
They're defective - all the parts are out of stock
What about hope?
It's defective - it's corroded and decayed
What about faith?
It's defective - it's tattered and it's frayed
What about your Gods?
They're defective - They forgot the warranty
What about your town?
It's defective - it's a dead end street to me
What about your school?
It's defective - it's a pack of useless lies
What about your work?
It's defective - it's a crock and then you die
What about your childhood?
It's defective - it's dead and buried in the past
What about your future?
It's defective - and you can shove it up your ass!
I want my money back - life is a lemon
I want my money back - life is a lemon, life is a lemon
It's all or nothing, and nothing's all I ever get
Everytime I turn it on, I burn it up and burn it out
It's a never ending attack,
Everything's a lie and that's a fact
Life is a lemon and I want my money back
And we're always slipping thru the cracks
Slippin'
Then the movie's over, fade to black
Life is a lemon and I want my money back
Back, back, back, back!
I want my money back, I want my money back
Life is a lemon
Lyrics submitted by spliphstar
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