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.
An ill wind comes arising
Across the cities of the plain
There's no swimming in the heavy water
No singing in the acid rain
Red alert (red alert)
Red alert (red alert)
It's so hard to stay together
Passing through revolving doors
We need someone to talk to
And someone to sweep the floors
Incomplete (incomplete)
Incomplete (incomplete)
The world weighs on my shoulders
But what am I to do?
You sometimes drive me crazy
But I worry about you
I know it makes no difference
To what you're going through
But I see the tip of the iceberg
And I worry about you
Cruising under your radar
Watching from the satellites
Take a page from the red book
And keep them in your sights
Red alert (red alert)
Red alert (red alert)
Left and rights of passage
Black and whites of youth
Who can face the knowledge
That the truth is not the truth
Obsolete (obsolete)
Absolute, yeah
Oh
The world weighs on my shoulders
But what am I to do?
You sometimes drive me crazy
But I worry about you
I know it makes no difference
To what you're going through
But I see the tip of the iceberg
And I worry about you
The world weighs on my shoulders
But what am I to do?
You sometimes drive me crazy
But I worry about you
I know it makes no difference
To what you're going through
But I see the tip of the iceberg
And I worry about you
Not to love, not to love, not to love
Across the cities of the plain
There's no swimming in the heavy water
No singing in the acid rain
Red alert (red alert)
Red alert (red alert)
It's so hard to stay together
Passing through revolving doors
We need someone to talk to
And someone to sweep the floors
Incomplete (incomplete)
Incomplete (incomplete)
The world weighs on my shoulders
But what am I to do?
You sometimes drive me crazy
But I worry about you
I know it makes no difference
To what you're going through
But I see the tip of the iceberg
And I worry about you
Cruising under your radar
Watching from the satellites
Take a page from the red book
And keep them in your sights
Red alert (red alert)
Red alert (red alert)
Left and rights of passage
Black and whites of youth
Who can face the knowledge
That the truth is not the truth
Obsolete (obsolete)
Absolute, yeah
Oh
The world weighs on my shoulders
But what am I to do?
You sometimes drive me crazy
But I worry about you
I know it makes no difference
To what you're going through
But I see the tip of the iceberg
And I worry about you
The world weighs on my shoulders
But what am I to do?
You sometimes drive me crazy
But I worry about you
I know it makes no difference
To what you're going through
But I see the tip of the iceberg
And I worry about you
Not to love, not to love, not to love
Lyrics submitted by MasterDuncan03
Distant Early Warning Lyrics as written by Gary Lee Weinrib Neil Elwood Peart
Lyrics © Anthem Entertainment
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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NOTES
"no swimming in the heavy water" -a pun on heavy water, an altered form of H2O used in plutonium production. Nuclear fallout is thus hinted at.
"no singing in the acid rain" -an ironic pun on the classic hollywood musical "singin' in the rain." The insertion of "acid" into the phrase turns the happy-go-lucky tone of the film on its head, since acid rain is a dangerous result of pollution.
"take a page from the red book" -I'm betting this is a rather obscure allusion to Tolkien. We know from "Rivendell" that Peart is a fan, so I think it's fair to assume he is familiar with the appendices to The Lord of the Rings, in which it is claimed that both The Hobbit and LOTR were translated from The Red Book discovered by Tolkien. Many readers of Tolkien noticed parallels between the events in Middle Earth and political events in the '30s and '40s, including the policy of appeasement taken by Britain towards Hitler. Sauron's unchecked rise to power after his defeat by the men and elves mirrors Germany's rise after her defeat in WWI. Since this song addresses the Cold War, to "take a page from the Red Book and keep them in your sights" in this context means to remain vigilant and attempt when possible to check the power of the Soviets.
"Absalom, Absalom, Absalom!" -Absalom in the Hebrew Bible is one of King David's sons, who incites and leads a rebellion against his father, splitting the Kingdom of Israel and ultimately precipitating his own death in battle. After David's victory, David mourned his son's death against the wishes of his general, who feared demoralizing the troops. This line is likely an indirect allusion to this biblical story, routed as it were through Faulkner's novel "Absalom, Absalom!" which also deals with conflict between father and son. As for how this allusion fits in with the themes in the rest of the song, I'm kind of at a loss.
Here is a link with interview quotes with Pert talking about the Absalom reference:<br /> <br /> songfacts.com/detail.php
@tommythecat42 Neil Peart stated that for a father (King David) mourning, CRYING over his son's death (Absalom), THEN saying he wished he had died instead of his son, even son who rebelled against him. Neil said in an interview David saying that last part-that it IS the ultimate expression of compassion.<br /> ............I wish I were dead instead of my son who rebelled against me! :(......