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.
Once a week I make the drive, two hours east
To check the Austin post office box
And I make the detour through our old neighborhood
See all the Chevy Impalas in their front yards up on blocks
And I park in an alley
And I read through the postcards you continue to send
Where as indirectly as you can, you ask what I remember
I like these torture devices from my old best friend
Well, I'll tell you what I know, like I swore I always would
I don't think it's gonna do you any good
I remember the train headed south out of Bangkok
Down toward the water
I always get a late start when the sun's going down
And the traffic's thinning out and the glare is hard to take
I wish the West Texas Highway was a mobius strip
I could ride it out forever
When I feel my heart break, I almost swear I hear it happen, in fact, clean and not hard
I come in off the highway and I park in my front yard
Fall out of the car like a hostage from a plane
Think of you a while, start wishing it would rain
And I remember the train headed south out of Bangkok
Down toward the water
I come into the house, put on a pot of coffee
Walk the floors a little while
I set your postcard on the table with all the others like it
I start sorting through the pile
I check the pictures and the postmarks and the captions and the stamps
For signs of any pattern at all
When I come up empty-handed the feeling almost overwhelms me
I let a few of my defenses fall
And I smile a bitter smile
It's not a pretty thing to see
I think about a railroad platform
Back in 1983
And I remember the train headed south out of Bangkok
Down, down toward the water
To check the Austin post office box
And I make the detour through our old neighborhood
See all the Chevy Impalas in their front yards up on blocks
And I park in an alley
And I read through the postcards you continue to send
Where as indirectly as you can, you ask what I remember
I like these torture devices from my old best friend
Well, I'll tell you what I know, like I swore I always would
I don't think it's gonna do you any good
I remember the train headed south out of Bangkok
Down toward the water
I always get a late start when the sun's going down
And the traffic's thinning out and the glare is hard to take
I wish the West Texas Highway was a mobius strip
I could ride it out forever
When I feel my heart break, I almost swear I hear it happen, in fact, clean and not hard
I come in off the highway and I park in my front yard
Fall out of the car like a hostage from a plane
Think of you a while, start wishing it would rain
And I remember the train headed south out of Bangkok
Down toward the water
I come into the house, put on a pot of coffee
Walk the floors a little while
I set your postcard on the table with all the others like it
I start sorting through the pile
I check the pictures and the postmarks and the captions and the stamps
For signs of any pattern at all
When I come up empty-handed the feeling almost overwhelms me
I let a few of my defenses fall
And I smile a bitter smile
It's not a pretty thing to see
I think about a railroad platform
Back in 1983
And I remember the train headed south out of Bangkok
Down, down toward the water
Lyrics submitted by fuckedupdog, edited by subwoofer
Source Decay Lyrics as written by John Darnielle
Lyrics © PACIFIC ELECTRIC MUSIC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
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This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
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Ed Sheeran
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Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
Ive always got the impression that the two people in the song used to travel together (as many young friends do). They were both living in west Texas, and decided to pack up and see the world "to check the austin post office box, and i take the detour, through our old neighborhood".
Anyway, they travel around for a long time, and backpack around the globe (including Thailand of course). The main character after a while decides its time to "grow up" and leaves the other person, moving back to west Texas", the other person wants to keep travelling. They leave on good terms though, and agree to keep in touch "well i'll tell you what i know, like i swore i always would"
The traveller tries to keep in touch, sending postcards from various places they visit, sending them to the PO Box.
On the trip home, the main character realises how much misses the one who keeps travelling, and longs to return to them again (his "heart breaks"). He trys to figure out where he could possible rejoin his friend by looking at the postcards that they sent, to see if he can predict where they will be next "i check the the picture, and the postmarks, and the captions and the stamps, for signs of any patern at all". Soon, he realises that it is impossible "when i come up empty handed, the feeling almost overwhelms me" and becomes incredibly bitter as he realises that all that he has left are his memories "and i smile a bitter smile, not a pretty thing to see, think about a raileroad platform, back in nineteen eighty three"
This is perhaps my favourite MG song (for this week at least). I heard a live boot of this. Only John could do a live version recorded on a palmcorder that has better production values than he album version.
If you dont know what a mobius strip is, look it up, it adds a lot of depth to the song.
@dagwood Best explanation I can come up with as well. A guy living somewhere west of Austin who at some point traveled with his best friend/lover in Bangkok. She is still traveling, he is back in TX, and all he has is a memory of a railroad platform in 1983. My only question is whether the characters correspond to any of the others on AHWT or if this is a separate couple. I don't see anything that obviously links them to the others.