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.
A is for action
P is for paranoid
A is for anger
Out here in the void
C is for countdown
O is for over
LYPSE are for your lips smashed on mine when the world blows up
Hang hang hang on
Where do they go?
Save your souls now
Got to stay strong
Hang hang hang on
Hanging on hanging on
Til the old man bangs a gong
G is for greed
O is for order
V is for villains in the three-piece suits defining the borders
E is for empire
R is for revenue
N is for not for me but was
MENT was meant for you and me
Hang hang hang on
Where do they go?
Save your soul now
That's a place to start
Hang hang hang on
Hanging on hanging on
Til the old man bangs the gong
We don't care if we're all right
All we want to do is fight
Who cares if we're all right?
Who cares when we can just fight?
D is for disease
E is for entropy
A is for acceptance so drop your funeral weapons
T is for time [tick tock tick tock...] and you ain't got much left
H is for heaven or hell now let's hear it for
DEATH
Beggars, poets, hustlers
Wall Street, rich boy suckers
Why, friends, you know that no side's
better in the end
We're all gonna fry together
Hang hang hang on
Where should they go?
Save your souls now
That's a place to start
Hang hang hang on
Hanging on hanging on
Til the old man bangs
Hang hang hang on
Where do they go?
Save your souls now
That's a place to start
Hang hang hang on
Hanging on hanging on
Til the old man bangs a gong
P is for paranoid
A is for anger
Out here in the void
C is for countdown
O is for over
LYPSE are for your lips smashed on mine when the world blows up
Hang hang hang on
Where do they go?
Save your souls now
Got to stay strong
Hang hang hang on
Hanging on hanging on
Til the old man bangs a gong
G is for greed
O is for order
V is for villains in the three-piece suits defining the borders
E is for empire
R is for revenue
N is for not for me but was
MENT was meant for you and me
Hang hang hang on
Where do they go?
Save your soul now
That's a place to start
Hang hang hang on
Hanging on hanging on
Til the old man bangs the gong
We don't care if we're all right
All we want to do is fight
Who cares if we're all right?
Who cares when we can just fight?
D is for disease
E is for entropy
A is for acceptance so drop your funeral weapons
T is for time [tick tock tick tock...] and you ain't got much left
H is for heaven or hell now let's hear it for
DEATH
Beggars, poets, hustlers
Wall Street, rich boy suckers
Why, friends, you know that no side's
better in the end
We're all gonna fry together
Hang hang hang on
Where should they go?
Save your souls now
That's a place to start
Hang hang hang on
Hanging on hanging on
Til the old man bangs
Hang hang hang on
Where do they go?
Save your souls now
That's a place to start
Hang hang hang on
Hanging on hanging on
Til the old man bangs a gong
Lyrics submitted by soXfarXtoXgo
A Is for Action Lyrics as written by Joey Waronker Alex Ebert
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
Okay, it took my friend to point this out to me, so I'll show tell everyone here too incase they don't see it, lol.
A is for action P is for paranoid, a is for anger Out here in the void C is for countdown O is for over LYPSE are for your lips smashed on mine when the world blows up
Spells 'APOCOLYPSE'
G is for greed O is for order V is for villains in the 3-piece suits defining the borders E is for empire R is for revenue N is for not for me but none was MENT was meant for you and me
Spells "GOVERNMENT'
D is for disease E is for entropy A is for acceptance so drop your futile weapons T is for time [tick tock tick tock...] and you ain't got much left H is for heaven or hell now let's hear it for DEATH
And, "DEATH" obviously.
I never saw that until I saw the lyrics for this song, haha. Anyways, great song.