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.
From the start of the day
To the end of the race
We thought we had this all figured out
Without a moment to waste
But we choke, we choke on our words
We waste all of our days
Throw off another year
Living our lives is our greatest fear
From being useless to being used
We lie awake wondering why another year is wasted
Another chance to live passed by us
This on the tip of our tongues
The silence of our lives
But this flame keeps burning
We'll never lay down and die
This isn't hopeless
We'll keep on fighting until the bitter end
This isn't hopeless
We'll carry on
Forget about the boundaries
We'll leave the past behind
With every step we take
We'll finally redefine
We'll carry on
We are the bright lights
Let's not stop shining
This life will always be worth living
From the start of the day
To the end of the race
We thought we had this all figured out
Without a moment to waste
We'll have our way
To the end of the race
We thought we had this all figured out
Without a moment to waste
But we choke, we choke on our words
We waste all of our days
Throw off another year
Living our lives is our greatest fear
From being useless to being used
We lie awake wondering why another year is wasted
Another chance to live passed by us
This on the tip of our tongues
The silence of our lives
But this flame keeps burning
We'll never lay down and die
This isn't hopeless
We'll keep on fighting until the bitter end
This isn't hopeless
We'll carry on
Forget about the boundaries
We'll leave the past behind
With every step we take
We'll finally redefine
We'll carry on
We are the bright lights
Let's not stop shining
This life will always be worth living
From the start of the day
To the end of the race
We thought we had this all figured out
Without a moment to waste
We'll have our way
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yea could be non religious
i read that scott wade (the one who sings this song mostly) isnt a christian, so it might not having anything to do with religion, it could be though. depends if someone else wrote it, and if scotts agnostic (which im nt sure about) he'd still sing the song if it had religious influence.