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.
Who's the one that makes you happy?
Or maybe, who's the one always on your mind?
And who is the reason you're livin' for?
Who's the reason for your smile?
I feel so lonely, yet I know I'm not the only one
To ever feel this way
I love ya so much that I think I'm goin' insane
I'm goin' crazy, outta my head, I'm goin' crazy, outta my head
I can't think about nothin' but your good, good love,
And what you give
Everyone needs somebody
And you know, everybody needs someone
Well, and a-yes it's true, everybody needs a special kind of love
And you're the only one I'm thinkin' of
You mean the world to me, you are my only
I feel so lonely, yet I know I'm not the only one
To carry on this way
I love ya so much I lose track of time, lose track of the days
I'm goin' outta my head, I'm goin' crazy, outta my head
I can't think about a-nothin' but your good, good love
And what you give
It's not whatcha got, it's what you give
It ain't the life you choose, it's the life you live
It's only what you give, only what you give, only what you give
It's not whatcha got, but the life you live
It's the life you live
Play it pretty for the world
And you're the one that makes me happy, oh yeah baby
And you're the one always on my mind
Oh and a-yes it's true
You are my reason, my one and only that I've been livin' for
Why can't forever be forever and nothin' more
I feel so lonely, yet I know I'm not the only one
To ever feel this way
I love ya so much I lose track of time, I lose track of the days
I'm goin' outta my head, I'm goin' crazy, outta my head
I can't think about a-nothin' but your good, sweet love
And what you give
It's not whatcha got, it's what you give
It ain't the life you choose, it's the life you live
No, no, no, no, no, no
It's not whatcha got, it's what you give
And it ain't what it's not, but a-what it is
It's only what you give, only what you give, it's only what you give
It's not whatcha got, oh but what you give
It's not whatcha got, it's what you give
It ain't the life you choose, it's the life you live
It's only what you give, only what you give, it's only what you give
It's not whatcha got, but what you give
It's only what you give, only what you give
Yeah, it's only what you give, it's only what you give, it's only what you give
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
Is that good enough for the girls that we run around with?
Well, I do believe so,
It's only what you give, what you give, what you give
It's only what you give, it's only what you give
Or maybe, who's the one always on your mind?
And who is the reason you're livin' for?
Who's the reason for your smile?
I feel so lonely, yet I know I'm not the only one
To ever feel this way
I love ya so much that I think I'm goin' insane
I'm goin' crazy, outta my head, I'm goin' crazy, outta my head
I can't think about nothin' but your good, good love,
And what you give
Everyone needs somebody
And you know, everybody needs someone
Well, and a-yes it's true, everybody needs a special kind of love
And you're the only one I'm thinkin' of
You mean the world to me, you are my only
I feel so lonely, yet I know I'm not the only one
To carry on this way
I love ya so much I lose track of time, lose track of the days
I'm goin' outta my head, I'm goin' crazy, outta my head
I can't think about a-nothin' but your good, good love
And what you give
It's not whatcha got, it's what you give
It ain't the life you choose, it's the life you live
It's only what you give, only what you give, only what you give
It's not whatcha got, but the life you live
It's the life you live
Play it pretty for the world
And you're the one that makes me happy, oh yeah baby
And you're the one always on my mind
Oh and a-yes it's true
You are my reason, my one and only that I've been livin' for
Why can't forever be forever and nothin' more
I feel so lonely, yet I know I'm not the only one
To ever feel this way
I love ya so much I lose track of time, I lose track of the days
I'm goin' outta my head, I'm goin' crazy, outta my head
I can't think about a-nothin' but your good, sweet love
And what you give
It's not whatcha got, it's what you give
It ain't the life you choose, it's the life you live
No, no, no, no, no, no
It's not whatcha got, it's what you give
And it ain't what it's not, but a-what it is
It's only what you give, only what you give, it's only what you give
It's not whatcha got, oh but what you give
It's not whatcha got, it's what you give
It ain't the life you choose, it's the life you live
It's only what you give, only what you give, it's only what you give
It's not whatcha got, but what you give
It's only what you give, only what you give
Yeah, it's only what you give, it's only what you give, it's only what you give
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
Is that good enough for the girls that we run around with?
Well, I do believe so,
It's only what you give, what you give, what you give
It's only what you give, it's only what you give
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Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
American Town
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Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
Ha! Tesla. Hmm...like innovative theories, I think this song really makes the mark. I wanted to find a song where "you give what you need" and although this one nearly gets there, it falls a bit short,p like all songs do when you want to give what you need to the person you love yet can't bacause everything is shrouded in comlexities. Hmm. Tesla. I am from Europe, however and fully expect that I will no longer have to do this...one day.