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.
Clock in you’re at work but you’re not working so hard
Checking messages ten times a day ensuring you’re not bored
Talking on someone else’s dime
Put a quarter in the pay phone don’t keep them waiting on the line
Rushing through time just to find myself
Asking someone in the future if they’d save me a space
Cause the line’s getting longer with every hour
People forget why they’re waiting
The mood’s turning sour
I don’t want to go to school tomorrow
Stay up late watching TV
Eat a midnight snack I’ll pretend it’s Friday
Complacent as I’ll ever be
See those gentle sheep following a path to who knows where
Chewing on the grass so plentiful the wool is growing thicker
But the grass is made of plastic and there’s plastic on the grass
A mechanical lady with her garden hose waters the cement
Where’s my mystical pan who plays on his flute?
Dancing entrancing those who choose to hear his tune
There’ll be a man who comes out of hiding
He’ll be the one who forces you to decide
Why can’t I just believe just believe?
I can move my feet
Pondering is a step beyond wondering
Complacent as I’ll ever be
Checking messages ten times a day ensuring you’re not bored
Talking on someone else’s dime
Put a quarter in the pay phone don’t keep them waiting on the line
Rushing through time just to find myself
Asking someone in the future if they’d save me a space
Cause the line’s getting longer with every hour
People forget why they’re waiting
The mood’s turning sour
I don’t want to go to school tomorrow
Stay up late watching TV
Eat a midnight snack I’ll pretend it’s Friday
Complacent as I’ll ever be
See those gentle sheep following a path to who knows where
Chewing on the grass so plentiful the wool is growing thicker
But the grass is made of plastic and there’s plastic on the grass
A mechanical lady with her garden hose waters the cement
Where’s my mystical pan who plays on his flute?
Dancing entrancing those who choose to hear his tune
There’ll be a man who comes out of hiding
He’ll be the one who forces you to decide
Why can’t I just believe just believe?
I can move my feet
Pondering is a step beyond wondering
Complacent as I’ll ever be
Lyrics submitted by constant
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There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
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This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
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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.
my favorite song by them, definitely.