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.
They had a bad case of nostalgic blues
And started a group just to cop the tunes
(Bad boys whatcha gonna)
And all the kids went crazy when the singer screamed
They set their cymbals on fire it's a punk rock scene
And if we could break the rules that were already broken before we were born
Then we could hold them to their guns cause we'd be a punk rock band too
They had the town getting real tattoos
And wrote advice columns for the weekly review
What could they possibly do next to shock the crowd
"We're gonna rock rock rock you make you scream out loud"
And started a group just to cop the tunes
(Bad boys whatcha gonna)
And all the kids went crazy when the singer screamed
They set their cymbals on fire it's a punk rock scene
And if we could break the rules that were already broken before we were born
Then we could hold them to their guns cause we'd be a punk rock band too
They had the town getting real tattoos
And wrote advice columns for the weekly review
What could they possibly do next to shock the crowd
"We're gonna rock rock rock you make you scream out loud"
Lyrics submitted by patgas
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i think it's about how bands seem to just be something to do, rather than a passion for music.
"They had a bad case of nostalgic blues And started a group just to cop the tunes"
this is like, they thought of something that happened to them in the past, and just thought "hey let's write a song about it", just to "cop the tunes".
"And all the kids went crazy when the singer screamed They set their cymbals on fire it's a punk rock scene"
this is showing how even though they're fake, they still get kids screaming after them and admiring them. the fact that he refers to it as a "punk rock scene", seems to suggest that he thinks that fake bands just resort to punk rock rather their own genre or anything.
"And if we could break the rules that were already broken before we were born Then we could hold them to their guns cause we'd be a punk rock band too"
i love this part of the song. he's talking about fate, and that fate made him go into music "before he was born", and he's kept to that because it's what was meant for him. then he said if he broke these rules, and defied fate, then they could rival them ("hold them to their guns") as they'd be fake too ("they'd be a punk rock band too").
the last part is about them gaining in popularity, and acting as if they're not fake ("wrote advice columns"), but then behind the scenes, they're wondering how they will sustain their fans' interest in them ("what could they possibly do next to shock the crowd?") -- they need a scandal or big event just to keep them hooked. and instead of that, he talks about how in their shows they just say ""we're gonna rock rock rock, make you scream out loud"", which means nothing.
sorry, very badly explained, but hopefully i've got something across. this seems to relate to factory direct too.
This is Ben just mocking the punk scene. "They had a bad case of nostalgic blues / And started a group just to cop the tunes" is talking about how they listen to punk music (likely getting 'nostalgic' for the days of the Sex Pistols, the Ramones, and the Clash) and start writing the same exact songs that've already been written -- punk songs tend to follow the ol' I-IV-V format.
"And if we could break the rules that were already broken before we were born Then we could hold them to their guns cause we'd be a punk rock band too"
The original punk bands did it all -- any and all rules they could break have been done. There's no room to do anything further -- so you'll just be breaking the same rules to be the same punk band. Right in line with the question he asks: "What could they possibly do next to shock the crowd?" Not much -- it's all been done.
Ben's not really a fan of punk music; there's a radio interview he did in either '96 or '98, I believe where he quite directly rips on the punk scene a bit. I had to laugh, even though I enjoy a little punk now and then.