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.
A wooden cup and a crown of thorns
Will set up the stage for the cross
I rent a room next door
There is nothing more
No further voices to hear
I'll be free
It doesn't matter anymore that someone's knocking at my door
I've known it long before the Galilean's on the floor
Shame on me, shame on me
I'm a tool and nothing more
I can feel it's getting nearer
Images they'll turn out clearer
Creeps in and out of your mind
I'm destiny personified
I know there's something more behind
But is it really justified
To sacrifice, to crucify
The rescue of the human kind
Sadly sings destiny
Sadly sings destiny
"For ages I've been waiting
Now spring is in the air
Let it in"
Sadly sings destiny
Sadly sings destiny
"For ages I've been waiting
Now spring is in the air
Let it in"
I hear them howling hear them scream
The raging mob turns mad it seems
"The king's in town
We need a crown"
I think we all know how it ends
"So we're not going take it longer"
So all I know is I don't care
"So we're not going take it longer"
Now we are aware
I can feel it's getting nearer
Images they'll turn out clearer
Creeps in and out of your mind
I'm destiny personified
I know there's something more behind
But is it really justified
To sacrifice, to crucify
The rescue of the human kind
Sadly sings destiny
Sadly sings destiny
"For ages I've been waiting
Now spring is in the air
Let it in"
Sadly sings destiny
Sadly sings destiny
"For ages I've been waiting
Now spring is in the air
Let it in"
There I tie the ass
There I tie the colt
Begging for a last chance I hear the voices say
"We get him home tonight and that's all you need to know"
I'm alone
So I can't stand it any longer
And don't want to see it all
Nazarene, your vision will come true
Will come true
They'll get you
I can feel it's getting nearer
Images they'll turn out clearer
Creeps in and out of your mind
I'm destiny personified
I know there's something more behind
But is it really justified
To sacrifice, to crucify
The rescue of the human kind
Sadly sings destiny
Sadly sings destiny
"For ages I've been waiting
Now spring is in the air
Let it in"
Sadly sings destiny
Sadly sings destiny
"For ages I've been waiting
Now spring is in the air
Let it in"
Will set up the stage for the cross
I rent a room next door
There is nothing more
No further voices to hear
I'll be free
It doesn't matter anymore that someone's knocking at my door
I've known it long before the Galilean's on the floor
Shame on me, shame on me
I'm a tool and nothing more
I can feel it's getting nearer
Images they'll turn out clearer
Creeps in and out of your mind
I'm destiny personified
I know there's something more behind
But is it really justified
To sacrifice, to crucify
The rescue of the human kind
Sadly sings destiny
Sadly sings destiny
"For ages I've been waiting
Now spring is in the air
Let it in"
Sadly sings destiny
Sadly sings destiny
"For ages I've been waiting
Now spring is in the air
Let it in"
I hear them howling hear them scream
The raging mob turns mad it seems
"The king's in town
We need a crown"
I think we all know how it ends
"So we're not going take it longer"
So all I know is I don't care
"So we're not going take it longer"
Now we are aware
I can feel it's getting nearer
Images they'll turn out clearer
Creeps in and out of your mind
I'm destiny personified
I know there's something more behind
But is it really justified
To sacrifice, to crucify
The rescue of the human kind
Sadly sings destiny
Sadly sings destiny
"For ages I've been waiting
Now spring is in the air
Let it in"
Sadly sings destiny
Sadly sings destiny
"For ages I've been waiting
Now spring is in the air
Let it in"
There I tie the ass
There I tie the colt
Begging for a last chance I hear the voices say
"We get him home tonight and that's all you need to know"
I'm alone
So I can't stand it any longer
And don't want to see it all
Nazarene, your vision will come true
Will come true
They'll get you
I can feel it's getting nearer
Images they'll turn out clearer
Creeps in and out of your mind
I'm destiny personified
I know there's something more behind
But is it really justified
To sacrifice, to crucify
The rescue of the human kind
Sadly sings destiny
Sadly sings destiny
"For ages I've been waiting
Now spring is in the air
Let it in"
Sadly sings destiny
Sadly sings destiny
"For ages I've been waiting
Now spring is in the air
Let it in"
Lyrics submitted by Equilan
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"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"
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"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"
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This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
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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.
I personally think it's from Judas' point of view, as many of the lines fit that idea.
'It doesn't matter anymore that someone's knocking at my door I've known it long before the Galilean's on the floor Shame on me, shame on me I'm a tool and nothing more'
after his realization that what he did was just make him more of a pawn
'I can feel it's getting nearer Images they'll turn out clearer Creeps in and out of your mind I'm destiny personified I know there's something more behind But is it really justified To sacrifice, to crucify The rescue of the human kind'
him being 'destiny personified' relfects how Jesus told him he would betray him, and the second half is him asking himself and those around him, is it really worth it to kill Jesus to save humankind?
'Begging for a last chance I hear the voices say "We get him home tonight and that's all you need to know" I'm alone
So I can't stand it any longer And don't want to see it all Nazarene, your vision will come true Will come true They'll get you ' That is Judas pleading with the guards and the heads of the Jewish council, giving his money back and everything and being denied, and the second part is him giving up on life, getting ready to kill himself, and his last words to Jesus. And there, his part in the song ends and the chorus takes back up, which is what actually happens.