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.
This big daddy
I wanna see my boy, anybody seen my boy?
Big dad comin' out
Yo man, he cut out with that D and the chick, man
He cut out with the D and the chick, man
I was a teenage zombie
What's Johnny doin' out on a Tuesday night
Johnny can't read, Johnny can't write
Johnny just don't understand
Johnny don't care about this world
As long as he can fuck his girl
And prove that he's a man
Johnny wastes his days eatin' 'ludes
He's a teenage vegetable
Gettin' high proves that he's cool
Johnny hates to think, he's ignorant
He's a mindless brainwashed pig
Ring a bell, he starts to drool
Degenerated, degenerated
And your minds have vegetated
Degenerated, degenerated
And your thoughts are constipated
He's got PCP in his veins
He's got a void in his brain
He's addicted to the TV
And when he's old, he's gonna have a son
Both grow old, deaf and dumb
What's to become of young Johnny?
I wanna see my boy, anybody seen my boy?
Big dad comin' out
Yo man, he cut out with that D and the chick, man
He cut out with the D and the chick, man
I was a teenage zombie
What's Johnny doin' out on a Tuesday night
Johnny can't read, Johnny can't write
Johnny just don't understand
Johnny don't care about this world
As long as he can fuck his girl
And prove that he's a man
Johnny wastes his days eatin' 'ludes
He's a teenage vegetable
Gettin' high proves that he's cool
Johnny hates to think, he's ignorant
He's a mindless brainwashed pig
Ring a bell, he starts to drool
Degenerated, degenerated
And your minds have vegetated
Degenerated, degenerated
And your thoughts are constipated
He's got PCP in his veins
He's got a void in his brain
He's addicted to the TV
And when he's old, he's gonna have a son
Both grow old, deaf and dumb
What's to become of young Johnny?
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Light Up The Sky
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This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Holiday
Bee Gees
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@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday".
I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
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.
it is all satire and sarcasm. The song Reagan Youth is just pointing out somebody so damn conservative, like Reagan, is running our country. People just didn't get the sarcasm. Does anybody know any stores that carry any Reagan Youth CD's? I can't find them anywhere! :(
reagan youth are fucking awesome. my favorite song they ever did.
this is a really good song, and it is awesome that this song is in the movie Airheads
I don't get it Sometimes when I'm listening to them I got a feeling that they are racist Sometimes ... Not! And the name "Reagan Youth" Why Reagan? Do they like his filthy politic?
and on one cover they are dressed as KKK but they have a black producer (I've heard)
Can someone explain...please
there's 1 reagan youth cd i do believe. and you can get it in little record shops or huge corporate conglomerate stores, it's funny to me, considering their politics, which are by the way, totally non-conservative.
p.s. when they took the name reagan youth it was a parody of the hitler youth of germany before world war II. in case you didn't get the sarcasm in that name, that means they alikened reagan to hitler. thank you, thank you.
fyi, you can get all 3 of their cds on newredarchive.com
ooh yay. i was wondering the same thing... the cd issue that is.
yes... you can get Collection of Pop Classics, Live and Rare, Volume 1, and Volume 2 all at interpunk.com. or Collection of Pop Classics and Live and Rare from New Red Archives.
Wow.. nine posts and no one has made even the slightest attempt at figuring out what this song means. Well, I think Dave is describing a younger him and using 'johnny' as a sort of mask. I got that from the "I was a teen-age zombie". He talks about being ignorant, mindless, and brainwashed though which throws me off a bit.. But maybe Dave was an apathetic teen who just didn't give fuck about the things we wrote about later on. He talks about drugs too.. which he did up to the day he died. At least half the RY songs we know and love were recorded Dave fucked outta his head. Anyway, I'm pretty sure this is about Dave's teen-age lifestyle.