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.
Ricky was a young boy
He had a heart of stone
Lived nine to five and worked his fingers to the bone
Just barely out of school
Came from the edge of town
Fought like a switchblade so no one could take him down
He had no money, oh
No good at home
He walked the streets a soldier
And he fought the world alone and now it's
Eighteen and life you got it
Eighteen and life you know
Your crime is time and it's
Eighteen and life to go
Eighteen and life you got it
Eighteen and life you know
Your crime is time and it's
Eighteen and life to go
Tequila in his heartbeat
His veins burned gasoline
It kept his motor runnin'
But he never kept it clean
They say he loved adventure
Ricky's the wild one
He married trouble
Had a courtship with a gun
Bang, bang, shoot 'em up
The party never ends
You can't think of dying when the bottle's your best friend
And now it's
Eighteen and life you got it
Eighteen and life you know
Your crime is time and it's
Eighteen and life to go
Eighteen and life you got it
Eighteen and life you know
Your crime is time and it's
Eighteen and life to go
Accidents will happen
They all heard Ricky say
He fired his six-shot to the wind
That child blew a child away
Eighteen and life you got it
Eighteen and life you know
Your crime is time and it's
Eighteen and life to go
Eighteen and life you got it
Eighteen and life you know
Your crime is time and it's
Eighteen and life to go, yeah
Oh, oh
He had a heart of stone
Lived nine to five and worked his fingers to the bone
Just barely out of school
Came from the edge of town
Fought like a switchblade so no one could take him down
He had no money, oh
No good at home
He walked the streets a soldier
And he fought the world alone and now it's
Eighteen and life you got it
Eighteen and life you know
Your crime is time and it's
Eighteen and life to go
Eighteen and life you got it
Eighteen and life you know
Your crime is time and it's
Eighteen and life to go
Tequila in his heartbeat
His veins burned gasoline
It kept his motor runnin'
But he never kept it clean
They say he loved adventure
Ricky's the wild one
He married trouble
Had a courtship with a gun
Bang, bang, shoot 'em up
The party never ends
You can't think of dying when the bottle's your best friend
And now it's
Eighteen and life you got it
Eighteen and life you know
Your crime is time and it's
Eighteen and life to go
Eighteen and life you got it
Eighteen and life you know
Your crime is time and it's
Eighteen and life to go
Accidents will happen
They all heard Ricky say
He fired his six-shot to the wind
That child blew a child away
Eighteen and life you got it
Eighteen and life you know
Your crime is time and it's
Eighteen and life to go
Eighteen and life you got it
Eighteen and life you know
Your crime is time and it's
Eighteen and life to go, yeah
Oh, oh
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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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"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"
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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My uncle gave me a record of these guys like 10 yrs ago and gave me there tapes like 4 and i heard this song, it reminded me of my buddy, he just got out of school hardcore fucker, drank everynight, shot up alot, smoked crack dope, he was all into that shit, and tequila was his #1 drink, and one night we were sitting around a fire, and we all had a bottle of Jack Danniels and a beer can comes flying over the fence and we go and look to see who it was, and it was some fucking wiggers, so the dumb ass my buddy was starts chasing after them and he was gone for an hr so my other buddy wa slike where the fuck is he lets go check on him, we drove around for like 1 hr and we found him in a park fucking crying, he killed a fucking 14 yr old, he was 20 and yeah hes in jail till hes 90 and i dont think hes gonna make it, learn from a fools mistakes not your own
Hi OldSkool,<br /> I'm sorry to hear about your friend. The sad reality of alcohol and drugs is it can make the smartest man choose stupid and illogical choices. I'm 44 now,there was a time when I almost made a bad choice. I was in a bad situation, I decided I could take on three people. I fought my best and lost, horribly.<br /> I came back later that night(5:45AM with the full intent to do great bodily harm to anyone that was still there. Two of the guys were still there, passed out. Instead of commiting a crime, I simply left a sticky note where each person was passed out, It simply said: Bam! You could have woke up dead!<br /> Everyone should try to think before they make a bad life choice...cuz it really could be 18 and life to go!
Great story