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.
SHREDDED HUMANS
.
Early hours, open road, family of five-on their way home
Having enjoyed a day in the sun, their encounter with gore has just begun
A homicidal fool not knowing left from right, now has the family in his sight
Trying to perceive if he's blind or insane, he steers his car into the other lane
.
Both of them collide, expressions horrified
Head on at full speed, the vultures will soon feed
.
The father of three was impaled on the wheel, as his skull became part of the dash
His eyeballs ejected his sight uneffected, he saw his own organs collapse
His seatbelt was useless for holding him back, it simply cut him in two
Legs were crushed, out leaked puss as his spinal cord took off and flew
The mother took a flight through the glass, and ended up impaled on a sign
Her intestines stretched from the car down the road for a quarter of mile
.
Fourth child on the way, won't live another day
Fetus on the road, with mangled little bones
Little children fly, not a chance to wonder why
Smashed against the ceiling, all their skin burning and peeling
Schards of glass explode, chest and skull now implode
Corpses they've become, and graves will have to be dug
.
Underneath the wheels, burning rubber on your face
Bleeding from your eyes, the slaughtered victim lies
Knowing what he's done, he just backs up one more time
Laughing at the mess, a pile of meat on the street
.
One child left slowly dying now, arteries gushing blood
Now it's time to feed on flesh, the gore has just begun
.
Early hours, open road, family of five-on their way home
Having enjoyed a day in the sun, their encounter with gore has just begun
A homicidal fool not knowing left from right, now has the family in his sight
Trying to perceive if he's blind or insane, he steers his car into the other lane
.
The look of death in my eye
Surely no-one survive
Just a pile of mush
Left to dry in the sun
.
I see my fresh kill
Left in the road
Remains of your body
Mangled and torn
.
One child left slowly dying now, arteries gushing blood
Now it's time to feed on flesh, the gore has just begun
.
Copyright 1990
.
Early hours, open road, family of five-on their way home
Having enjoyed a day in the sun, their encounter with gore has just begun
A homicidal fool not knowing left from right, now has the family in his sight
Trying to perceive if he's blind or insane, he steers his car into the other lane
.
Both of them collide, expressions horrified
Head on at full speed, the vultures will soon feed
.
The father of three was impaled on the wheel, as his skull became part of the dash
His eyeballs ejected his sight uneffected, he saw his own organs collapse
His seatbelt was useless for holding him back, it simply cut him in two
Legs were crushed, out leaked puss as his spinal cord took off and flew
The mother took a flight through the glass, and ended up impaled on a sign
Her intestines stretched from the car down the road for a quarter of mile
.
Fourth child on the way, won't live another day
Fetus on the road, with mangled little bones
Little children fly, not a chance to wonder why
Smashed against the ceiling, all their skin burning and peeling
Schards of glass explode, chest and skull now implode
Corpses they've become, and graves will have to be dug
.
Underneath the wheels, burning rubber on your face
Bleeding from your eyes, the slaughtered victim lies
Knowing what he's done, he just backs up one more time
Laughing at the mess, a pile of meat on the street
.
One child left slowly dying now, arteries gushing blood
Now it's time to feed on flesh, the gore has just begun
.
Early hours, open road, family of five-on their way home
Having enjoyed a day in the sun, their encounter with gore has just begun
A homicidal fool not knowing left from right, now has the family in his sight
Trying to perceive if he's blind or insane, he steers his car into the other lane
.
The look of death in my eye
Surely no-one survive
Just a pile of mush
Left to dry in the sun
.
I see my fresh kill
Left in the road
Remains of your body
Mangled and torn
.
One child left slowly dying now, arteries gushing blood
Now it's time to feed on flesh, the gore has just begun
.
Copyright 1990
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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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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
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no