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.
Playgirl, why are you sleeping in tomorrow's world?
Hey, playgirl
Playgirl, why are you dancing when you could be alone?
Hey, playgirl
Playgirl, why are you sleeping in tomorrow's world?
Hey, playgirl
Playgirl, choking on cigarettes won't get you along
Hey, playgirl
Hey playgirl, hey playgirl
Northern lights catch you coming down
Sleep your way out of your hometown
Playgirl, why are you sleeping in tomorrow's world?
Hey, playgirl
Playgirl, why are you dancing when you could be alone?
Hey, playgirl
Playgirl, why are you sleeping in tomorrow's world?
Hey, playgirl
Playgirl, choking on cigarettes won't get you along
Hey, playgirl
Hey playgirl, hey playgirl
Northern lights catch you coming down
Sleep your way out of your hometown
Hey playgirl, hey playgirl
Northern lights catch you coming down
Sleep your way out of your hometown
Hey playgirl, hey playgirl
Northern lights catch you coming down
Sleep your way out of your hometown
Hey playgirl, hey playgirl
Hey playgirl, hey playgirl
Foreign coin on a telephone box
A question mark on a calendar
An empty seat on the alpha line
A sorting code, an account number
Hey playgirl, hey playgirl
Northern lights catch you coming down
Sleep your way out of your hometown
Hey, playgirl
Playgirl, why are you dancing when you could be alone?
Hey, playgirl
Playgirl, why are you sleeping in tomorrow's world?
Hey, playgirl
Playgirl, choking on cigarettes won't get you along
Hey, playgirl
Hey playgirl, hey playgirl
Northern lights catch you coming down
Sleep your way out of your hometown
Playgirl, why are you sleeping in tomorrow's world?
Hey, playgirl
Playgirl, why are you dancing when you could be alone?
Hey, playgirl
Playgirl, why are you sleeping in tomorrow's world?
Hey, playgirl
Playgirl, choking on cigarettes won't get you along
Hey, playgirl
Hey playgirl, hey playgirl
Northern lights catch you coming down
Sleep your way out of your hometown
Hey playgirl, hey playgirl
Northern lights catch you coming down
Sleep your way out of your hometown
Hey playgirl, hey playgirl
Northern lights catch you coming down
Sleep your way out of your hometown
Hey playgirl, hey playgirl
Hey playgirl, hey playgirl
Foreign coin on a telephone box
A question mark on a calendar
An empty seat on the alpha line
A sorting code, an account number
Hey playgirl, hey playgirl
Northern lights catch you coming down
Sleep your way out of your hometown
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In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
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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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How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
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“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
"Playgirl" is a stripper who plays men for money. She's a small town girl who wants to get out of it by dancing. She doesn't like what she's doing but fakes it by snorting coke. She dances for men when she could "be alone". And she's young but lives a hard lifestyle that most young girls don't ("why are you sleeping in Tomorrow's world")
The "northern lights catch you coming down" refers her coming down off of cocaine and she smokes ciggarettes to keep her buzz up ("choking on cigarettes to get you along").
She is like a "foreign coin on a telephone box" because she is trying to fit an image that isn't her (like using a foreign quarter in a payphone---you think it'll work but it doesn't)
Her life is "a question mark on a calendar" because she's fallen into the lifestyle and will never get out of her small town. It also symbolizes that she's no longer planning her future and instead lives day-by-day to feed her drug addiction.
"An empty seat on the alpha line" refers to her place in "civilian" society that she left behind to become a working girl.
"A sorting code, an account number" is what drives her through life in order to fuel her chemical needs.
The song suggests that money is never easy and that you'll always fall into the stripper lifestyle, no matter how "good" you are or how many dreams you have...you'll throw them away in the end.