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 get all numb
When she sings, then it's over
Such a strange numb
And it brings my knees to the earth
And God bless you all
For the song you sang us
You're the same numb
When you sing, it's over
Such a strange numb
It could bring back peace to the earth
So God bless you all
For the song you sang us all
For the hearts you break
Every time you moan
I get all numb
We're the same numb
And it brings our knees to the earth
So God bless you all
For the song you sang us all
For the hearts you break
Every time you moan
And God bless you all on the earth
When she sings, then it's over
Such a strange numb
And it brings my knees to the earth
And God bless you all
For the song you sang us
You're the same numb
When you sing, it's over
Such a strange numb
It could bring back peace to the earth
So God bless you all
For the song you sang us all
For the hearts you break
Every time you moan
I get all numb
We're the same numb
And it brings our knees to the earth
So God bless you all
For the song you sang us all
For the hearts you break
Every time you moan
And God bless you all on the earth
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Light Up The Sky
Van Halen
Van Halen
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him.
There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
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”
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
I think it's written from a fan's point of view, who's been through a break-up and has an easier time dealing with it because of the band's music.
"I get all, numb When she sings it's over Such a strange numb And it brings my knees to the earth"
His significant other breaks up with him, and his world seems to fall apart.
"And God bless you all For the song you saved us
You're the same, numb When you sing it's over Such a strange numb It could bring back peace to the earth
So God bless you all For the song you saved us, oh For the hearts you break, every time you moan"
He relates to the lament expressed in Deftones' music. He understands that pain perfectly, and if everyone could experience that feeling, of being united in the darkest circumstances, perhaps we could find peace.
"I get all, numb We're the same numb And it brings our knees to the earth
So God bless you all For the song you saved us, oh For the hearts you break, every time you moan And God bless you all on the earth"
Could be another thank you to, or from the band. Chino may be saying that fans confirming their shared experiences does as much for him as the band's music does for them, or an entire audience could be echoing the initial speaker's sentiments ('our knees to the earth', rather than 'my knees'). That's up in the air.