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.
I smell women, smell 'em in the air
Think I'll drop my anchor in that harbor over there
Lovely ladies, smell 'em through the smoke
Seven days at sea can make you hungry for a poke
Even stokers need a little stoke!
Lovely ladies, waiting for a bite
Waiting for the customers who only come at night
Lovely ladies, waiting for the call
Standing up or lying down or any way at all
Bargain prices up against the wall
Come here, my dear, let's see this trinket you wear
This bagatelle
Madame, I'll sell it to you
I'll give you four that wouldn't pay for the chain
I'll give you five you're far too eager to sell
It's up to you (It's all I have)
That's not my fault (Please make it ten)
No more than five my dear, we all must stay alive
Lovely ladies, waiting in the dark
Ready for a thick one or a quick one in the park
Long time, short time, any time, my dear
Cost a little extra if you want to take all year!
Quick and cheap is underneath the pier!
What pretty hair, what pretty locks you got there
What luck you got, it's worth a centime my dear
I'll take the lot
Don't touch me, leave me alone
Let's make a price, I'll give you all of ten francs
Just think of that (It pays a debt)
Just think of that (What can I do? it pays a debt, ten francs may save my poor Cosette)
(Lovely ladies) Fastest on the street
(Lovely lady) Wasn't there three minutes she was back up on her feet
(Lovely little ladies) What you waiting for? (Lovely little girls)
Doesn't take a lot of savvy (we are lovely, lovely) just to be a whore
Lovely ladies what's a lady for?
Give me the dirt, who's that bit over there
A bit of skirt, she's the one sold her hair
She's got a kid, sends her all that she can
I might have known, there is always some man
Lovely lady, come along and join us
Lovely lady
Come on dearie, why all the fuss
You're no grander than the rest of us
Life has dropped you at the bottom of the heap
Join your sisters, make money in your sleep
That's right, dearie, let him have the lot
That's right, dearie, show him what you've got
Old men, young men, take 'em as they come
Harbor rats and alley cats and every type of scum
Poor men, rich men, leaders of the land
See them with their trousers off, they're never quite as grand
All it takes is money in your hand
Lovely ladies, going for a song
Got a lot of callers, but they never stay for long
Come on, Captain, you can wear your shoes
Don't it make a change to have a girl who can't refuse?
Easy money, lying on a bed
Just as well they never see the hate that's in your head
Don't they know they're making love to one already dead?
Think I'll drop my anchor in that harbor over there
Lovely ladies, smell 'em through the smoke
Seven days at sea can make you hungry for a poke
Even stokers need a little stoke!
Lovely ladies, waiting for a bite
Waiting for the customers who only come at night
Lovely ladies, waiting for the call
Standing up or lying down or any way at all
Bargain prices up against the wall
Come here, my dear, let's see this trinket you wear
This bagatelle
Madame, I'll sell it to you
I'll give you four that wouldn't pay for the chain
I'll give you five you're far too eager to sell
It's up to you (It's all I have)
That's not my fault (Please make it ten)
No more than five my dear, we all must stay alive
Lovely ladies, waiting in the dark
Ready for a thick one or a quick one in the park
Long time, short time, any time, my dear
Cost a little extra if you want to take all year!
Quick and cheap is underneath the pier!
What pretty hair, what pretty locks you got there
What luck you got, it's worth a centime my dear
I'll take the lot
Don't touch me, leave me alone
Let's make a price, I'll give you all of ten francs
Just think of that (It pays a debt)
Just think of that (What can I do? it pays a debt, ten francs may save my poor Cosette)
(Lovely ladies) Fastest on the street
(Lovely lady) Wasn't there three minutes she was back up on her feet
(Lovely little ladies) What you waiting for? (Lovely little girls)
Doesn't take a lot of savvy (we are lovely, lovely) just to be a whore
Lovely ladies what's a lady for?
Give me the dirt, who's that bit over there
A bit of skirt, she's the one sold her hair
She's got a kid, sends her all that she can
I might have known, there is always some man
Lovely lady, come along and join us
Lovely lady
Come on dearie, why all the fuss
You're no grander than the rest of us
Life has dropped you at the bottom of the heap
Join your sisters, make money in your sleep
That's right, dearie, let him have the lot
That's right, dearie, show him what you've got
Old men, young men, take 'em as they come
Harbor rats and alley cats and every type of scum
Poor men, rich men, leaders of the land
See them with their trousers off, they're never quite as grand
All it takes is money in your hand
Lovely ladies, going for a song
Got a lot of callers, but they never stay for long
Come on, Captain, you can wear your shoes
Don't it make a change to have a girl who can't refuse?
Easy money, lying on a bed
Just as well they never see the hate that's in your head
Don't they know they're making love to one already dead?
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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"
Mountain Song
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Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
No Surprises
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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.
American Town
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and also think about the fact all those other 'lovely ladies' didn't excatly choose that profession either!