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 took a worn out strand of your cellophane hair and stretched it
Sideways
And though my mind slipped though between the sea with me
My brain stopped working from the cold
I sort of strayed from what we know
So I'll be like you and I'll do what's right
I'll win a love I don't deserve out on the ice tonight
Teach me the bluest song you know
The moon ain't comin' up
And I swear to God tonight it feels like snow
Glad we got your hands warm so my arms can feel like trust again
I can promise true waves when the summer comes
The world still fits the same form we engraved when it all began
Maybe catch a new wave
Feels right
So we ride whales and drag race time
And knock the fires from the traces of trilobite hives
You sleep like God inside her womb
And you see clearly too
The silicon wasteland they left inside my mind
Glad we got your hands warm
So my arms can feel like trust again
I can promise true waves when the summer comes
The world still fits the same form we engraved when it all began
Maybe catch a new wave
We've lost the road now
Inject the charms
And we care for all of ours, we stand in rows now
Transfer alarms
Just like the Inuit with the promise song
Come down and see
Your solvents frozen here on the petal rung
Is all we have to see
Enlarged inside as we espy
The warming sea.
Your breath diffused and never realized
Aside from where the panicked hide
And I
Just a subtle lift
Provider on the other side
Sideways
And though my mind slipped though between the sea with me
My brain stopped working from the cold
I sort of strayed from what we know
So I'll be like you and I'll do what's right
I'll win a love I don't deserve out on the ice tonight
Teach me the bluest song you know
The moon ain't comin' up
And I swear to God tonight it feels like snow
Glad we got your hands warm so my arms can feel like trust again
I can promise true waves when the summer comes
The world still fits the same form we engraved when it all began
Maybe catch a new wave
Feels right
So we ride whales and drag race time
And knock the fires from the traces of trilobite hives
You sleep like God inside her womb
And you see clearly too
The silicon wasteland they left inside my mind
Glad we got your hands warm
So my arms can feel like trust again
I can promise true waves when the summer comes
The world still fits the same form we engraved when it all began
Maybe catch a new wave
We've lost the road now
Inject the charms
And we care for all of ours, we stand in rows now
Transfer alarms
Just like the Inuit with the promise song
Come down and see
Your solvents frozen here on the petal rung
Is all we have to see
Enlarged inside as we espy
The warming sea.
Your breath diffused and never realized
Aside from where the panicked hide
And I
Just a subtle lift
Provider on the other side
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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.
Fast Car
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"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him.
There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
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."
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
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."
The rest of the song is missing. At the end when "come down and see" is repeated, the following is what is being sung in the background:
Your solvents frozen here on the petal rung is all we have to see enlarged inside as we espy the warming sea. Your breath diffused and never realized aside from where the panicked hide and I just a subtle lift provider on the other side
First of all, Inuit is defined as people living in an Artic Region. I see this as relating the everyday life to the lifestyle of someone living extended periods in the dark. He is seeing the world as a dark place the the momentary laps of warmth/light of a person that he cares for.