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.
They're all still on their honeymoon
Just read the dialogue balloon
Everyone loves you--why should they not?
And I'm the only one who knows
That Disneyland's about to close
I don't suppose you'd give it a shot
Knowing all that you've got
Are cigarettes and Red Vines
Just close your eyes, 'cause, baby,
You never do know
And I'll be on the sidelines,
With my hands tied,
Watching the show
Well, it's always fun and games until
It's clear you haven't got the skill
In keeping the gag from going too far
So you're running 'round the parking lot
Til every lightning bug is caught
Punching some pinholes in the lid of a jar
While we wait in the car
With cigarettes and Red Vines
Just close your eyes, 'cause, baby,
You never do know
And I'll be on the sidelines,
With my hands tied,
Watching the show
And tell me, would it kill you
Would it really spoil everything
If you didn't blame yourself
Do you know what I mean?
Cigarettes and Red Vines
Just close your eyes, 'cause, baby,
You never do know
And I'll be on the sidelines,
With my hands tied,
Watching the show
Watching the show
Just read the dialogue balloon
Everyone loves you--why should they not?
And I'm the only one who knows
That Disneyland's about to close
I don't suppose you'd give it a shot
Knowing all that you've got
Are cigarettes and Red Vines
Just close your eyes, 'cause, baby,
You never do know
And I'll be on the sidelines,
With my hands tied,
Watching the show
Well, it's always fun and games until
It's clear you haven't got the skill
In keeping the gag from going too far
So you're running 'round the parking lot
Til every lightning bug is caught
Punching some pinholes in the lid of a jar
While we wait in the car
With cigarettes and Red Vines
Just close your eyes, 'cause, baby,
You never do know
And I'll be on the sidelines,
With my hands tied,
Watching the show
And tell me, would it kill you
Would it really spoil everything
If you didn't blame yourself
Do you know what I mean?
Cigarettes and Red Vines
Just close your eyes, 'cause, baby,
You never do know
And I'll be on the sidelines,
With my hands tied,
Watching the show
Watching the show
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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.
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
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"
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
"They're all still on their honeymoon" Refers to the happy start of a relationship
"But I'm the only one who knows, that Disneyland's about to close" Refers to the inevitable ending of the relationship, most likely do to self sabotage hinted at in much of her music- (Now that I've met you, would you object to, never seeing each other again)
"I don't suppose you'd give give it a shot, knowing all that you've got are cigarettes and red vines." Refers to there being no nutritional value in either cigarettes or red vines, so they can sustain a person. She is suggesting that she is not of value and can't sustain the relationship.
"I'll be on the sidelines, with my hands tied watching the show" Is comparing the relationship to a football game. The cheerleaders are on the side line cheering the players on to victory. In this case she lacks confidence in her partner's ability to save the relationship and she is doing nothing to help because she is jaded by the failure of past relationships.
This is echoed again in the line "so you're running round the parking lot, till every lighting bug is caught" He is grasping at straws trying to save a failing relationship while she "waits in the car" and that line hints at another song of hers where she is (driving sideways) getting nowhere in a relationship due to her failure to act and do her part to repair it.
By the end she is releiving him of any guilt or responsibility with the line "would it really spoil everything if you didn't blame yourself" The whole 'It's not you it's me' bit, because she finally acknowledges that she is the cause of the failed relationship.
Anyway, that was my interpretation. Let me know if you agree or if I helped bring a perspective that you hadn't considered.
@Inkwellington
Tonight I attended a concert featuring Aimee Mann and poet Billy Collins. After the show there was a question and answer period. I asked if she would discuss the meaning behind the song "Cigarettes and Red Vines". She stated the song was written about a composite of two people. They are nice people but they are each damaged in their own way and although you are rooting for them they can't get out of their own way or past their baggage.