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.
Touch me while we both have hands
We won't keep them very long
Watch the window curtain blowing in the breeze
Keep your blessed memories
It's not what we talk about
When the table gossip turns
Someday you might find a circle of my friends
And they'll cry when you walk in
The grass is high on grandpa's farm
But he's not there to cut it down
Grey cat walking through the yard
Stops short and turns around as if he heard a sound
And we'll forget this solemn day
We'll be always young again
But I'll remember him, the one who's left us now
And hold you close as you'll allow
We won't keep them very long
Watch the window curtain blowing in the breeze
Keep your blessed memories
It's not what we talk about
When the table gossip turns
Someday you might find a circle of my friends
And they'll cry when you walk in
The grass is high on grandpa's farm
But he's not there to cut it down
Grey cat walking through the yard
Stops short and turns around as if he heard a sound
And we'll forget this solemn day
We'll be always young again
But I'll remember him, the one who's left us now
And hold you close as you'll allow
Lyrics submitted by Radio_War
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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"
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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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these are not the correct lyrics, these are lyrics from A Book Unfinished. Here's the correct lyrics:
touch me while we both have hands we won't keep them very long watch the window curtain blowing in the breeze keep your blessed memories
it's not what we talk about when the table gossip turns someday you might find a circle of my friends and they'll cry when you walk in
the grass is high on grandpa's farm but he's not there to cut it down grey cat walking through the yard stops short and turns around as if he heard a sound
and we'll forget this solemn day we'll be always young again but i'll remember him, the one who's left us now and hold you close as you'll allow
this is an amazing song, by the way. my new favorite in fact. i wish Sam's older home recordings were easier to find though.
I like how the perspective in the song changes from beginning to end...at least, that's the way I see it. The first is from an old man's point of view, talking to his wife/family. The second is a little blurry, but maybe it's the grandpa's final thoughts, like an echo right after his death. the third is a third-party narration of his estate and the lonely house he left behind. The last is his surviving family, children or grandchildren perhaps, recovering in the wake of his death. this song wins.
I respectfully disagree. I think the whole song is from the perspective of the grandson.<br /> <br /> In the first stanza, the death of his grandfather has reminded him of his own mortality. He is telling his wife they should appreciate the time they have together because it can slip away like the breeze through the window.<br /> <br /> I think the second stanza is about bottling up your feelings, or perhaps not wearing your heart on your sleeve. You don't go looking for sympathy. I think it's sort of a traditional male pride thing. I think the second half of the stanza is looking to the future, after the grandson is dead. Perhaps at the funeral his friends get emotional when his widow walks in. I don't know, this part has always sort of confused me.<br /> <br /> The third stanza is my favorite collection of words in the entire English language, except for when my daughters say "I love you, daddy". My grandfather was a South Carolina farmer. He has been dead for over twenty years and his farm has since fallen into disrepair. This stanza fills me with a sweet, beautiful sorrow I can't begin to describe.<br /> <br /> Anyway, the third stanza is about the slow healing of grief. Eventually they will forget the sorrow. They will go back to feeling like they will always be young, but the grandson promises to remember his grandfather, and his own mortality, and will cherish his relationship with his wife (or lover, or whatever).<br /> <br /> That's how I interpret the song. Sam Beam is a master at providing the perfect combination of detail and vagueness so that you can grasp onto something in the song and then fill in the blanks with your own experience to create a more personal interpretation. What does this song mean to you?