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.
Where are the heroes
In my time of need?
Is my cry not loud enough
Or have they gone all numb?
They just tend to stand
Out of the rain
Thinking but not acting
That they're not to blame
Falling and crawling
A fight to stand up
Memory still haunts me
In the dead of night
Over and over, I felt so small
But one day I'll be stronger
And you better watch out
I will overcome, your violence their silence
Although it can't be undone
I will overcome, knowing that I'm not the only one
I will overcome, it's the only way to carry on
Where are the saviors?
Afraid of the toll
Sorry, do my nine inch nails
Slash your soul
Such heroes
Throwing stones
Straight at the one
Who is standing alone
Twisting and turning
It's always the same
Truth is never honest
When you're to blame
Pushing and pulling
Never give in, one day I wish
You'll see you're not so beautiful within
I will overcome, our violence your silence
Although it can't be undone
I will overcome, knowing that I'm not the only one
I will overcome, it's the only way to carry on
Run and run
Run and run
I will overcome, their violence your silence
Although it can't be undone
I will overcome, knowing that I'm not the only one
I will overcome, it's the only way to carry on
I will overcome
In my time of need?
Is my cry not loud enough
Or have they gone all numb?
They just tend to stand
Out of the rain
Thinking but not acting
That they're not to blame
Falling and crawling
A fight to stand up
Memory still haunts me
In the dead of night
Over and over, I felt so small
But one day I'll be stronger
And you better watch out
I will overcome, your violence their silence
Although it can't be undone
I will overcome, knowing that I'm not the only one
I will overcome, it's the only way to carry on
Where are the saviors?
Afraid of the toll
Sorry, do my nine inch nails
Slash your soul
Such heroes
Throwing stones
Straight at the one
Who is standing alone
Twisting and turning
It's always the same
Truth is never honest
When you're to blame
Pushing and pulling
Never give in, one day I wish
You'll see you're not so beautiful within
I will overcome, our violence your silence
Although it can't be undone
I will overcome, knowing that I'm not the only one
I will overcome, it's the only way to carry on
Run and run
Run and run
I will overcome, their violence your silence
Although it can't be undone
I will overcome, knowing that I'm not the only one
I will overcome, it's the only way to carry on
I will overcome
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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
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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.
Plastic Bag
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“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.
I am shocked that no one has commented on this song. This is the best WT song out there, period! I have no idea why it wasn't on the album, but oh, well.
I think it's about someone that has been the underdog for all his/her life, always been walked over and no one noticed his/her suffering, but has now decided to be heard, he/she WILL overcome everything and carry on with his/her life.
I LOVE LOVE LOVEEEEE the way she sings "you're not so beautiful within" It just sounds so powerful and full of emotion. I adore it.
i beleive this song is about a woman/girl who was abused or raped and they are struggling to get on with there life and they are saying that they will be stronger one day and the person who raped/abused them should better look out
imo, it is something about growing stronger and fight. calling for revenge. for some reason everytime i listen this song i kept seeing the scenes from happily ever after(drew barrymore) movie. how danielle had been abused by her step mother.
Sounds to me like a girl who was raped:
"Memory still haunts me In the dead of night
Over and over I felt so small"
and that no one helped her as she cried for help, and how afterwards, everyone blamed her or tried to ignore what had happened:
"Where are the heroes I my time of need Is my crying abandoned? Or have they gone Oh no
They just tend to stand Out of the rain Thinking but not acting That they're not to blame"
So she's angry at those who failed to help her, and those who aren't helping her now, but still she's not alone, there are others like her, and she'll overcome what she's been through, and get her revenge.
This hits home for me, that's really all I have to say.
Yeah, It does sound like a girl who got raped or something along the lines of that, cause here Knowing that I'm not the only one I will overcome It's the only way to carry on knowing im not the only one, well, alot of people get raped, and yeah.
Hehe, this song rules though. I love it.
The_howling: I agree =)
this song really hit me... especially the lyrics...
I feel it's not about rape, but moreso trauma itself and can go both ways. Like the memory of the trauma haunts them and no one was there to save/help them, but resolve to become stronger and overcome it. That's me really.
~ Raz
I dont think it's about a girl being raped. I sounds to me like a girl/boy who was bullied. 'such heroes, throwing stones at the one who is standing alone'
'they just tend to stand out of the rain, thinking but not acting'
She is the underdog at school or something, and everyone ignores the bullying, afraid to be bullied too. I was bullied too in my youth, and I did overcome it. It feels like this songs is about me. It's either you'll overcome it and becoming a stronger person, or you will be weak for years if you don't fight it. That's how I see it.