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 wonder if we'll smile in our coffins
While loved ones mourn the day
The absence of our faces
Living, laughing, eyes awake
Is this too much for them to take?
Too young for one's conclusion, the lifestyle won
Such values you taught your son
That's how
Look at me now
I'm broken
Inherit my life
I'm broken
One day we all will die, a cliched fact of life
Force-fed to make us heed
Inbred to sponge our bleed
Every warning, a leaking rubber
A poison apple for mingled blood
Too young for one's delusion, the lifestyle cost
Venereal Mother embrace the loss
That's how
Look at you now
You're broken
Inherit your life
You're broken
That's how
Look at us now
I'm broken
Inherit my life
I'm broken
That's how (that's how)
Look at me now
I'm broken (broken)
I'm broken (broken)
I'm broken (broken)
I'm broke, oh
While loved ones mourn the day
The absence of our faces
Living, laughing, eyes awake
Is this too much for them to take?
Too young for one's conclusion, the lifestyle won
Such values you taught your son
That's how
Look at me now
I'm broken
Inherit my life
I'm broken
One day we all will die, a cliched fact of life
Force-fed to make us heed
Inbred to sponge our bleed
Every warning, a leaking rubber
A poison apple for mingled blood
Too young for one's delusion, the lifestyle cost
Venereal Mother embrace the loss
That's how
Look at you now
You're broken
Inherit your life
You're broken
That's how
Look at us now
I'm broken
Inherit my life
I'm broken
That's how (that's how)
Look at me now
I'm broken (broken)
I'm broken (broken)
I'm broken (broken)
I'm broke, oh
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Light Up The Sky
Van Halen
Van Halen
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"
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Little Feat
Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
I think this song is about child abuse, in the sense of parents imposing their beliefs on their child, or indoctrinating them and other such things.
The first stanza is perhaps there to illustrate that parents who do this do not actually care for the child's welfare or something.
"Too young for ones conclusion, the lifestyle won. Such values you taught your son. That's how. "
Indoctrination and forcing a lifestyle on a child is exactly what being "too young for ones conclusion" is, for the child. They haven't decided yet what to do in life, but they've had it forced on them since being only small.
The "cliched fact of life" I think, alludes specifically to the way religion feeds on a persons fear of death (note how many religions focus on an afterlife). The rest of that bit, alluding to "warnings" being "leaking rubbers" and "poisoned apples" seems to allude to the way these kind of threats that keep a child following the parent's whim actually mess them up.
"Look at me now. I'm broken. Inherit my life. " and the "you" variant of that line show, from the perspective of the child, that living through ones children often happens when the parent's life has not turned out the way they liked, so the child "inherits" it. The "you" that is introduced perhaps shows it as a cycle, that it is the same speaker as the "i'm broken" line, but directed at a new victim--the child's own offspring.
Anyways, just my point of view, awesome riff anyways.
you pretty much nailed it. another importance in the message of <br /> 'broken" changes also. first chorus referring to broken spirit and the rest referring to breaking the chains.