House Of Pain

This is about a love-hate relationship. The guy hates being with her, but he also hates that she wants to leave.

Great.

Best song on 1984.

it's about trying to love a woman that hates you, I think.

Early recording of Van Halen's sci fi-horror epic 'House of Pain', recorded at the Starwood, Los Angeles. This is the original version of the song which was inspired by the 1932 film "Island of Lost Souls" starring Bela Lugosi, and showcases a progressive, radio-unfriendly side of Van Halen that would be abandoned shortly after they signed with Warner Bros, just a few weeks after this recording. The song was then shelved for seven years and when it finally resurfaced on the '1984' album it was extensively rewritten with the sci-fi theme eliminated. Van Halen performed this version of the song in their live sets from about mid-1976 through early 1977, and the intro featured an extended solo by Eddie which eventually became known as 'Eruption'. On this gig Eddie was using a pale mint-green Gibson ES 335 and his white Ibanez Destroyer, neither of which had a whammy bar. For the record, I was at this gig, and no 'strat'' of any kind was used. This recording is a digital transer from the Starwood soundboard master. Apologies--the 'Eruption' intro has not been included in order to accomodate YouTube's time limit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAr4Q6fZFYk

I think it's obviously about a girl who's into bondage, but he's not.