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 was the last days of summer, sun shinin' thrue the window/
Life movin' real slow, you know how things go/
His friends knew him by the name of Bingo/
as he turned up the volume on the hot new single/
from Looptroop his favourite rapgroup/
He loved how they represented him yo, the graffyouth/
from the grassroots. He came from Sweden too/
felt proud when he played his new friends the latest tunes/
(Check this shit out man!) That he had to download/
Cus his local recordstore was on the other side of the globe/
They didn't carry the stuff, but he felt it was ok to do/
He spread the Troop's message all the way to Australia, dude/
and man that couldn't be wrong/
when Long Arm and Freedom Fighters were his fuckin' theme songs/
in the headphones those nights he spent when he stayed up/
Adrenaline Rush,when he entered the lay up, singin...
Chorus: You know graffiti won't die/
Because these walls don't lie/
I'm dedicatin' this piece/
He said, to those DVSG's...
And stepped in with a grin and a boosted Kangol/
mimicking the king Rick the Ruler's manners/
fresh dressed in his newest shoes and flannels/
then began lettin' off with the loosest cannons/
figurin' this'll be my coolest panel/
but when they see it all they see is just a gruesome scandal/
erasin' all signs of life, callin the youth some vandals/
They can't handle the truth so that's how the truth is handled/
Deep into the music and his art man, his true love/
didn't even notice when the train pulled up/
and before the bloodstains faded or the engine cooled off/
that very same train hit another writer: Olaf/
on a different continent though: Europe/
but then they came to the same place that I'm sure of/
In this world people always looked upon them as a terror/
but now 50 000 chariots singin' the chorus, going...
Chorus:
Graffiti writers won't die/
Because these walls don't lie/
I'm dedicatin' this song/
to those gone, your memory live on/
Bridge:
I know a lot of people including myself get uncomfortable/
when people including myself get emotional/
but I gotta be true to myself and to most of y'all/
Man I still got love for graffiti culture though/
a lot of people including myself get uncomfortable/
when people including myself get emotional/
but I gotta be true to myself and to most of y'all/
Man I still got love for graffiti culture though/
A lot changed from the days of Spraycan stories/
See me in the yard today, lost like a freakin' tourist/
and I don't claim to know much, all I really know is/
we were 17 once actin' like we were immortals/
Fearin' no evil, people said we had no morals/
That's fine, their corrupt world it really wasn't for us/
We just laughed at the bullshit names that they called us/
hated us, we hated them and both sides found out what a war is/
We were winning in the beginning then found out ‘bout the horrors/
Don't get me wrong my love a hundred percent, no less/
and peace to my people, we grow with the knowledge/
I bite Tone Def same time I'm payin' homage/
to cats from South Africa, writers from New York/
Australia, Spain, France and Germany, up north/
Still the same rapper tellin' cops to fuck off/
and all my writers: Survive! This my love song to y'all...
Chorus
Life movin' real slow, you know how things go/
His friends knew him by the name of Bingo/
as he turned up the volume on the hot new single/
from Looptroop his favourite rapgroup/
He loved how they represented him yo, the graffyouth/
from the grassroots. He came from Sweden too/
felt proud when he played his new friends the latest tunes/
(Check this shit out man!) That he had to download/
Cus his local recordstore was on the other side of the globe/
They didn't carry the stuff, but he felt it was ok to do/
He spread the Troop's message all the way to Australia, dude/
and man that couldn't be wrong/
when Long Arm and Freedom Fighters were his fuckin' theme songs/
in the headphones those nights he spent when he stayed up/
Adrenaline Rush,when he entered the lay up, singin...
Chorus: You know graffiti won't die/
Because these walls don't lie/
I'm dedicatin' this piece/
He said, to those DVSG's...
And stepped in with a grin and a boosted Kangol/
mimicking the king Rick the Ruler's manners/
fresh dressed in his newest shoes and flannels/
then began lettin' off with the loosest cannons/
figurin' this'll be my coolest panel/
but when they see it all they see is just a gruesome scandal/
erasin' all signs of life, callin the youth some vandals/
They can't handle the truth so that's how the truth is handled/
Deep into the music and his art man, his true love/
didn't even notice when the train pulled up/
and before the bloodstains faded or the engine cooled off/
that very same train hit another writer: Olaf/
on a different continent though: Europe/
but then they came to the same place that I'm sure of/
In this world people always looked upon them as a terror/
but now 50 000 chariots singin' the chorus, going...
Chorus:
Graffiti writers won't die/
Because these walls don't lie/
I'm dedicatin' this song/
to those gone, your memory live on/
Bridge:
I know a lot of people including myself get uncomfortable/
when people including myself get emotional/
but I gotta be true to myself and to most of y'all/
Man I still got love for graffiti culture though/
a lot of people including myself get uncomfortable/
when people including myself get emotional/
but I gotta be true to myself and to most of y'all/
Man I still got love for graffiti culture though/
A lot changed from the days of Spraycan stories/
See me in the yard today, lost like a freakin' tourist/
and I don't claim to know much, all I really know is/
we were 17 once actin' like we were immortals/
Fearin' no evil, people said we had no morals/
That's fine, their corrupt world it really wasn't for us/
We just laughed at the bullshit names that they called us/
hated us, we hated them and both sides found out what a war is/
We were winning in the beginning then found out ‘bout the horrors/
Don't get me wrong my love a hundred percent, no less/
and peace to my people, we grow with the knowledge/
I bite Tone Def same time I'm payin' homage/
to cats from South Africa, writers from New York/
Australia, Spain, France and Germany, up north/
Still the same rapper tellin' cops to fuck off/
and all my writers: Survive! This my love song to y'all...
Chorus
Lyrics submitted by Skyboy
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