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.
Pop the cork, a champagne glass
Raise to the future, drink to the past
Thank the Lord for the friends he cast,
In the play he wrote for you.
And if you love the girl, man, light up a torch
Blaze a trail to her front porch
Kiss her till your lips are scorched
Till the rain comes down on you
Bless your sweet mistakes,
That crumbled you down to your knees.
That brought you to this place
Changing you by degreesâ?¦
When change was just what you neededâ?¦
So if you live your life in a three piece suit,
In a cocktail dress, or combat boots
You pick your path, you walk your truth
And the world will come round to you.
It's a long ride, I can't tell you why
But there's a place in your pocket where peace can abide
You pull it out, it's a compass, a guide
And it will put a little soul on you.
Bless your sweet mistakes,
That crumbled you down to your knees.
That brought you to this place
Changing you by degreesâ?¦
When change was just what you neededâ?¦
What you neededâ?¦
And in this wild blue world
There is a soul weavin' fine feelin' girl
You've got to walk in paradise to find a pearl
If you only believe,
You'll get what you needâ?¦
What you neededâ?¦
Conquer your fear and you'll master the game,
Life is always and never the same.
Use a little faith to light the flame
And I know you'll connect to you.
Bless your sweet mistakes,
That crumbled you down to your knees.
That brought you to this place
Changing you by degreesâ?¦
When change was just what you neededâ?¦
What you neededâ?¦
Raise to the future, drink to the past
Thank the Lord for the friends he cast,
In the play he wrote for you.
And if you love the girl, man, light up a torch
Blaze a trail to her front porch
Kiss her till your lips are scorched
Till the rain comes down on you
Bless your sweet mistakes,
That crumbled you down to your knees.
That brought you to this place
Changing you by degreesâ?¦
When change was just what you neededâ?¦
So if you live your life in a three piece suit,
In a cocktail dress, or combat boots
You pick your path, you walk your truth
And the world will come round to you.
It's a long ride, I can't tell you why
But there's a place in your pocket where peace can abide
You pull it out, it's a compass, a guide
And it will put a little soul on you.
Bless your sweet mistakes,
That crumbled you down to your knees.
That brought you to this place
Changing you by degreesâ?¦
When change was just what you neededâ?¦
What you neededâ?¦
And in this wild blue world
There is a soul weavin' fine feelin' girl
You've got to walk in paradise to find a pearl
If you only believe,
You'll get what you needâ?¦
What you neededâ?¦
Conquer your fear and you'll master the game,
Life is always and never the same.
Use a little faith to light the flame
And I know you'll connect to you.
Bless your sweet mistakes,
That crumbled you down to your knees.
That brought you to this place
Changing you by degreesâ?¦
When change was just what you neededâ?¦
What you neededâ?¦
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Light Up The Sky
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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"
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
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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."
When We Were Young
Blink-182
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This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Ignoring your passions is suicide to the soul. One cannot fear change. One cannot fear failure. One must have courage and conviction. Change will happen without you, but are you going to let it happen or are you going to cause it to happen?
The faith in this song refers to faith in the divine. Take that faith and put at least some of it in yourself that you will make the right choices. Get over the fact that you will suffer. You will fail. Others will fail you. Living life well does not mean that everything goes your way.
Give yourself a chance to find happiness. If you deny the chance you will know only regret.
forget all your troubles. look at life as something sweet you'll never get back. learn from your mistakes and don't regret anything. God will bless you.
i love this song. It seems that throughout most of ellis paul's songs prevails one idea... look inside of you, and count your blessings. Or maybe more than one... but all along the same line, the same boat. You've got to keep going, and small mistakes are only there to help you learn, nothing else. Don't let them get you down because the world keeps turning and if you try, you can do whatever your heart compels you to
I agree with BJ_Thomas.
You live and you learn. If you don't give up, you can prevail. Come through it.
Be thankful for what you have learned and that you never need to learn it again, as long as you never forget. You will not forget it if you had to learn the hard way... Which this song is about.
Everyone can relate to this song, I love how Paul outlines the fact that everyone has a different role and play in this world...
it doesnt matter if you are dressed in 3-piece suit, a cocktail dress or combat boots, everyone picks a path -- and you must live it to your full extent, learn from mistakes, hold your head high and embrace imagination and your day-to-day life