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.
Tonight will be
The night that we
Begin to ease
The plugs out of the dam.
And we will stand
Knee deep in the flow,
The undertow
Will grab our heels and won't let go.
And while we hold,
Our legs quivering,
The water rises now
To our teeth
When we just let go
And sail belly up to the clouds,
The rocks scraping our backs.
To breath in the air will be
The only thing that we have
And all the wasted nights
And empty moments
In our lives flushed away
As we sway with the rhythm
Of the waves bobbing us up.
Crests fall to troughs we feel our gills open up.
And sail belly up to the clouds,
The rocks scraping our backs.
To breath in the air will be
The only thing that we have
And if the hook sets in
The bottom of our lungs,
We'll rip it out and lick the blood off with our tongues.
The despair can ravage you
If you turn your head around to look down the path
That's led you here,
Because what can you change?
You're a vessel now
Floating down the waterways.
You can take your rudder
And aim your ship,
Just don't bother with the things left in your wake.
Just sail belly up to the clouds,
The rocks scraping your back.
To breathe in the air will be
The only thing that you have
And your love will be warm nights
With pockets of moonlight
Spotlighting you as you drift,
The actor in this play.
And you walk across the stage,
Take a bow, hear the applause,
And as the curtain falls,
Just know you did it all
The best that you knew how
And you can hear them cheering now.
So let a smile out and show your teeth
Because you know you lived it well.
The night that we
Begin to ease
The plugs out of the dam.
And we will stand
Knee deep in the flow,
The undertow
Will grab our heels and won't let go.
And while we hold,
Our legs quivering,
The water rises now
To our teeth
When we just let go
And sail belly up to the clouds,
The rocks scraping our backs.
To breath in the air will be
The only thing that we have
And all the wasted nights
And empty moments
In our lives flushed away
As we sway with the rhythm
Of the waves bobbing us up.
Crests fall to troughs we feel our gills open up.
And sail belly up to the clouds,
The rocks scraping our backs.
To breath in the air will be
The only thing that we have
And if the hook sets in
The bottom of our lungs,
We'll rip it out and lick the blood off with our tongues.
The despair can ravage you
If you turn your head around to look down the path
That's led you here,
Because what can you change?
You're a vessel now
Floating down the waterways.
You can take your rudder
And aim your ship,
Just don't bother with the things left in your wake.
Just sail belly up to the clouds,
The rocks scraping your back.
To breathe in the air will be
The only thing that you have
And your love will be warm nights
With pockets of moonlight
Spotlighting you as you drift,
The actor in this play.
And you walk across the stage,
Take a bow, hear the applause,
And as the curtain falls,
Just know you did it all
The best that you knew how
And you can hear them cheering now.
So let a smile out and show your teeth
Because you know you lived it well.
Lyrics submitted by wimplucy, edited by Mellow_Harsher
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