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.
You crawl in bed its 3 am you
Smell of wine and cigarettes
A butterfly under the glass; you are beautiful
But your not going anywhere
We do the same thing everynight I
Swear I've heard this song before
A swimmer who has seen a shark, I should
Really be more wary of the water
You came you saw you conquered everyone
And I'm left here guessing o what went wrong
Yeah I'm down but not out and far from dome
Hey all! beware! criminal
A prism with an intellect
You throw your light selectively
You stole my glow a seasoned thief, the blacks
Of my eyes are turning into opals
Today I walk there's nothing left here for me
But empty promises and the though of
All the things I'm never getting back
You came you saw you conquered everyone
Now I'm left here bleeding
Oh what went wrong
Ya I'm down but not out
And far from done
Hey all! beware! criminal
Did you think did you think I wouldn't notice
Did you think did you think did you really think I wouldn't care
Smell of wine and cigarettes
A butterfly under the glass; you are beautiful
But your not going anywhere
We do the same thing everynight I
Swear I've heard this song before
A swimmer who has seen a shark, I should
Really be more wary of the water
You came you saw you conquered everyone
And I'm left here guessing o what went wrong
Yeah I'm down but not out and far from dome
Hey all! beware! criminal
A prism with an intellect
You throw your light selectively
You stole my glow a seasoned thief, the blacks
Of my eyes are turning into opals
Today I walk there's nothing left here for me
But empty promises and the though of
All the things I'm never getting back
You came you saw you conquered everyone
Now I'm left here bleeding
Oh what went wrong
Ya I'm down but not out
And far from done
Hey all! beware! criminal
Did you think did you think I wouldn't notice
Did you think did you think did you really think I wouldn't care
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"
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.
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
I too believe it's about a guy who was in a relationship with a girl who promised him things all the time, leading him on but at the same time only was using him for money so he would always spend money on her. As he was spending money on her and hanging on her false promises she never fulfilled those promises and also even occasionally cheated on him. *She may even have gone as far as using sex for power, withholding it at times to get what she wanted from him.
ie - Did you think did you think I wouldn't notice Did you think did you think did you really think I wouldn't care and A swimmer who has seen a shark, I should Really be more wary of the water
those two lines speak to my last point there.
All in all this, in general, speaks to a betrayed guy who's been dragged through the mud by a girl who was never ever who she portrayed herself to be. She stole money from him (essentially, he lies kept the relationship going, so he'd spend money on her) and she stole his heart while cheating on him and giving more sex to others then to him. Lastly she never loved him and he was simply there to drive her places and be her robot boy she could manipulate and control at her whim.
I too believe it's about a guy who was in a relationship with a girl who promised him things all the time, leading him on but at the same time only was using him for money so he would always spend money on her. As he was spending money on her and hanging on her false promises she never fulfilled those promises and also even occasionally cheated on him. *She may even have gone as far as using sex for power, withholding it at times to get what she wanted from him.
ie - Did you think did you think I wouldn't notice Did you think did you think did you really think I wouldn't care and A swimmer who has seen a shark, I should Really be more wary of the water
those two lines speak to my last point there.
All in all this, in general, speaks to a betrayed guy who's been dragged through the mud by a girl who was never ever who she portrayed herself to be. She stole money from him (essentially, her lies kept the relationship going, so he'd spend money on her) and she stole his heart while cheating on him and giving more sex to others then to him. Lastly she never loved him and he was simply there to drive her places and be her robot boy she could manipulate and control at her whim.
this song is my favorite on the crow left of the murder...people need to post
This is about someone who is in a relationship and basically getting cheated on. And now they are standing up for themselves.
yeah i think pt mcb is right. maybe not directly being cheated on but being used in a way. i think the girl intranced him at first but now hes realizing that she not what he though... well thats just my take on it. and i love this song lol
"A swimmer who has seen a shark I should really be more wary of the water " GREAT!!! one of my favs of ACLOTM
amazing metaphors!
She's (assuming he is talking about a girl) a wild ride, entrancing, but not ever going anywhere in life; just floats around, and treats him bad because she knows she has the power to do so - but he's finally coming wise, and 'walking'.
"A swimmer who has seen a shark I should really be more wary of the water"
He knows what she's doing to him -- using him in some way for sure, but more specifically, it sounds to me like she's cheated in the past -- and he didn't have the heart to stand up for himself (possibly still doesn't?).
I specifically like the line where he says
We do the same thing every night I swear I've heard this song before A swimmer who has seen a shark I should really be more wary of the water
I too agree that he was being used in some way and he remembers how it felt to be used by someone/anyone and he feels that way now. He claims that he should really be more wary of how deep he gets into situations like these. It sounds like a lamentation to all of us to beware of the "criminal" ...whomever it may be.