Crazy on You

A love song for the despair of the seventies, when the hot and cold wars raged (the bombs), big business was blamed for everything (the devils), and the ecologists thought overpopulation was going to consume the globe (the kids keep coming). If you believed the rhetoric, you'd surely believe the end was near, it's a "wild man's world ... crying in pain," and "everyone's going insane."

But the song is about romantic love, and particularly romantic passion, which survives all of this, which makes a life worth living despite all the tragedy.

And it holds up beautifully over time - it's a song for any time you really feel like the world is in a disastrous state - but you're still not ready to sacrifice your spirit - or your passion for those who share your love.

(This is missing the verse: "Wild man's world is cryin' in pain What you gonna do when everybody's insane So afraid of one who's so afraid of you What you gonna do...ohhh...")

I think it's about the war.

"Every time I think about it I want to cry With the bombs and the devils And the kids keep coming Nowhere to breathe easy...no time to be young"

All the teenagers are sent to war. There they basically go through hell. They can't breath easy anywhere while in the war, and they have to grow up right now.

"My love is the evening breeze touching your skin The gentle sweet singing of leaves in the wind The whisper that calls, after you in the night And kisses your ear in the early light You don't need to wonder, you're doing fine And my love, the pleasure's mine Let me go crazy on you"

It's the last night with her lover until he gets shipped off to fight. "The whisper that calls, after you in the night" is the draft.

"Wild man's world is cryin' in pain What you gonna do when everybody's insane So afraid of one who's so afraid of you"

The world cries in pain during wars. People accusing others of everything, death, and people saying this will be the end of the world. Wars drive people crazy -- look at the vets. And the craziest thing: You are terrified of the people you are fighting... and they are terrified of you.

"And you keep me alive with your sweet, flowing love"

The only thing that keeps her from dying from the pain of losing her lover is the fact that he loves her...

Anyway, that's what I think. The song kicks ass, as does the ladies. :)

It could mean that their romance ran out of time (circumstances) and they got older and stressed out so through their bittersweet memories and maybe through e.s.p. and nature they can encourage each other to keep an open heart and learn to love again. Go crazy in a positive way in a world gone crazy in a negative way. Hear a song from above and believe in the power of love. "Love is the master plan." Guess which master musician and lyricist wrote that line? Hint.... Mr. Minnesotan.

Maybe in this song they are trying to say that no matter what happens they'll be together because of their love. And when they are together she can't kept her hands off him

I always thought she sang "While your up the pleasures mine" Great song and fantastic guitar work

This song means a lot to me - I listen to it every day and I really do love it. It gives me inspiration to skate. and thats what I do after I hear this song.

I love the music in this song! its from the virgin suicides, and fits the scene perfectly.

I always get 2 different possible meanings out of this song, and now I see that I have even found a third from watching their Behind the Music episode on VH-1. When I was younger and really into my feminist days, I always thought this was a bored housewife crying out against the monotony she lived all day long and then going crazy on her husband when he got home from work at night. And there WAS true love involved in spite of all the obstacles and the state of the world, etc. However, generally men are thought to not be all that responsive when their wives want to go "crazy" on them and do something like ... uh... talk about their relationship. Plus maybe they she feels trapped by having a lot of young children too fast and now she has to take care of them and there is no time for her youth any longer. But she does love him and sexually they relate to each other.

Another thing I read into this is that Anne Wilson is talking to her audience about the down side of the music business and touring, etc. is and how it is robbing her of her youth and fun -- "the kids keep coming", "no time to be young". So, at concerts, at night there is nothing left to do but go crazy on them. Then she speaks to the audience as though they were a collective lover, their love keeping her going in spite of the monotony:

I sang you the song that I heard up above And you kept me alive with your sweet, flowing love

I also think the reference to "bombs and the devil" was about her relationship with the guy "Magic Man" was about who had run off to Canada to avoid the nightmare of the Viet Nam War. She joined him there and they had an idyllic existence until he fell in love with someone else. So, perhaps this whole song is really just dedicated to him personally about their relationship.

There are some lyrics missing up there. The part that starts out

"Wild man's world's crying in pain Whatcha gonna do when everybody's insane So afraid of __, so afraid of you Whatcha gonna do-oooooh?"

I'm not sure exactly what the lyric to fill in the blank is. I always used to think it was the work woman -- so afraid of woman and that's why men can't talk to their wives - out of fear. Since then I have seen it on plenty of lyric sites as "to wonder" as in "so afraid to wonder whatcha gonna do?" Which I am not sure exactly what that would mean but possibly it is a tie in to the previous lyric:

You don't need to wonder, you're doing fine

Which I take to mean he's not (or if it's the audience they're not) pondering life, or relationships, or the world, he is/they are just being and doing fine.

But anyway, my main interpretation no matter what the motif is that she wants more and it's got to come out somehow! She has to go crazy or else!

this song is AWESOME!!

this song is AWESOME!!