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.
It's such a clever innocence with which you do your sorcery
As if somehow the years just bow and let that young girl go free
I thought I was a child until you turned and smiled
I thought I knew where I was going until I heard your laughter flowing
And came upon the wisdom in your eyes
Surprise--
I've spent my whole life running 'round
Chasing songs from town to town
Thinking I'd be free so long as I never let love slow me down
So lonely and so wild until you turned and smiled
By now I should have long been gone
But here I am still looking on
As if I didn't know which way to run
It's such a clever innocence with which you show myself to me
As if you know how it feels to never be who you wanted to be
I thought I was a child until you turned and smiled
I thought that I was free but I'm just one more prisoner of time
Alone within the boundaries of my mind
I thought I was a child
As if somehow the years just bow and let that young girl go free
I thought I was a child until you turned and smiled
I thought I knew where I was going until I heard your laughter flowing
And came upon the wisdom in your eyes
Surprise--
I've spent my whole life running 'round
Chasing songs from town to town
Thinking I'd be free so long as I never let love slow me down
So lonely and so wild until you turned and smiled
By now I should have long been gone
But here I am still looking on
As if I didn't know which way to run
It's such a clever innocence with which you show myself to me
As if you know how it feels to never be who you wanted to be
I thought I was a child until you turned and smiled
I thought that I was free but I'm just one more prisoner of time
Alone within the boundaries of my mind
I thought I was a child
Lyrics submitted by Howard55
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This song is about ME! Every time i hear it, I feel it. At this stage of life... it's as if somehow the years just bow and let that young girl go free... the young me emerges innocently to certain people... ah... can't explain it...
This song is one of my favorites off the album For Everyman. This guy, kid really, meets this woman who is just perfectly in tune with him. He has always been, maybe, afraid of love or perhaps more accurately afraid of being burned in love and has chased down dream after dream in an attempt to keep moving and stay out of reach of love. But one glance from this woman and he realizes that with the right woman he could see himself and find out where he truly belongs.
I always thought it was interesting that on his first album he has a song that says "I am a child in these hills" and on his second album puts one saying "I thought I was a child", like he's grown a bit since then and re-appraised his previous situation.
this song is about his time spent with Bonnie Raitt, and has that type of feel where he's never sure about love, etc - a lot of his songs cover that territory, as do a lot of Neil Young's tunes - with both of them one of their main themes, and favorite themes, is the inability to keep a lover - also, Bonnie Raitt covers this song on one of her albums