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 have a dream of a scene between the green hills
Clouds pull away and the sunlight's revealed
People don't talk about keeping it real
It's understood that they actually will
And intoxicated and stimulated MCs
Staring in the trees, paranoid, are gone in the breeze
Watch them flee, hip-hop heads
Take a walk with me and what you'll see
Is a land where the sand's made of crushed up wax
And the sky beyond you is Krylon blue
And everybody speaks in a dialect of rhyme
And MCs have left materialism behind them
Meanwhile, I just grip my mic
And hope me and my team make it through alright
Because say what you will, and say what you might
But don't ignore who it's for at the end of the night
Because this is dedicated to the kids
Dedicated to wherever music lives
Dedicated to those tired of the same old same
And dedicated to the people advancin' the game
What's real, is the kids who know that something's wrong
What's real, is the kids who think they don't belong
What's real, is the kids who have nowhere to run
Who are hiding in the shadows, waiting for the sun
I've seen a lot of sh-, I've talked to a bum
Out on Sunset Strip, he asked me, "How would you feel
If everybody acted like you didn't exist?
You'd lose your grip, probably eventually flip"
So let it be known, the only reason that we do this
So you can pick it up and just bang your head to it
While MCs fight to see who can be the commonest
We float overhead like a space odyssey monolith
Over seeing the game, over being part of the same old thing
It's all gonna change in a hurricane of darkness and pain
And acidic rain and promises you won't do it again
Meanwhile, I just grip my mic
And hope me and my team make it through alright
Because say what you will, and say what you might
But don't ignore who it's for at the end of the night
Because this is dedicated to the kids
Dedicated to wherever music lives
Dedicated to those tired of the same old same
And dedicated to the people advancin' the game
What's real, is the kids who know that something's wrong
What's real, is the kids who think they don't belong
What's real, is the kids who have nowhere to run
Who are hiding in the shadows waiting for the sun
Pulling me close, the shadow is warm inside
This is where I feel at home, this is my place to hide
Pulling me close, the shadow is warm inside
This is where I feel at home, this is my place to hide
Because this is dedicated to the kids
Dedicated to wherever music lives
Dedicated to those tired of the same old same
And dedicated to the people advancin' the game
What's real, is the kids who know that something's wrong
What's real, is the kids who think they don't belong
What's real, is the kids who have nowhere to run
Who are hiding in the shadows waiting for the sun
This is dedicated to the kids
Dedicated to wherever music lives
Dedicated to those tired of the same old same
And dedicated to the people advancin' the game
What's real, everybody who doesn't feel safe
What's real, everybody who knows they're out of place
What's real, anybody with nowhere to run
Who hides in the shadows waiting for the sun
Clouds pull away and the sunlight's revealed
People don't talk about keeping it real
It's understood that they actually will
And intoxicated and stimulated MCs
Staring in the trees, paranoid, are gone in the breeze
Watch them flee, hip-hop heads
Take a walk with me and what you'll see
Is a land where the sand's made of crushed up wax
And the sky beyond you is Krylon blue
And everybody speaks in a dialect of rhyme
And MCs have left materialism behind them
Meanwhile, I just grip my mic
And hope me and my team make it through alright
Because say what you will, and say what you might
But don't ignore who it's for at the end of the night
Because this is dedicated to the kids
Dedicated to wherever music lives
Dedicated to those tired of the same old same
And dedicated to the people advancin' the game
What's real, is the kids who know that something's wrong
What's real, is the kids who think they don't belong
What's real, is the kids who have nowhere to run
Who are hiding in the shadows, waiting for the sun
I've seen a lot of sh-, I've talked to a bum
Out on Sunset Strip, he asked me, "How would you feel
If everybody acted like you didn't exist?
You'd lose your grip, probably eventually flip"
So let it be known, the only reason that we do this
So you can pick it up and just bang your head to it
While MCs fight to see who can be the commonest
We float overhead like a space odyssey monolith
Over seeing the game, over being part of the same old thing
It's all gonna change in a hurricane of darkness and pain
And acidic rain and promises you won't do it again
Meanwhile, I just grip my mic
And hope me and my team make it through alright
Because say what you will, and say what you might
But don't ignore who it's for at the end of the night
Because this is dedicated to the kids
Dedicated to wherever music lives
Dedicated to those tired of the same old same
And dedicated to the people advancin' the game
What's real, is the kids who know that something's wrong
What's real, is the kids who think they don't belong
What's real, is the kids who have nowhere to run
Who are hiding in the shadows waiting for the sun
Pulling me close, the shadow is warm inside
This is where I feel at home, this is my place to hide
Pulling me close, the shadow is warm inside
This is where I feel at home, this is my place to hide
Because this is dedicated to the kids
Dedicated to wherever music lives
Dedicated to those tired of the same old same
And dedicated to the people advancin' the game
What's real, is the kids who know that something's wrong
What's real, is the kids who think they don't belong
What's real, is the kids who have nowhere to run
Who are hiding in the shadows waiting for the sun
This is dedicated to the kids
Dedicated to wherever music lives
Dedicated to those tired of the same old same
And dedicated to the people advancin' the game
What's real, everybody who doesn't feel safe
What's real, everybody who knows they're out of place
What's real, anybody with nowhere to run
Who hides in the shadows waiting for the sun
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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.”
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whatt? how can the song be recorded before chester joined the band when he is one of the writers of that song. eh im confused. anyway, i first listened to dedicated when i got the lpu cd. rad song. thats probably not the best word to describe a song like that but eh whatever.