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.
And if what you've got is still nothing, you feel the chill as summer leaves.
Breathe the cold into your lungs and known you truly are alone.
We walk the streets until we freeze and hope the warmth will set us free.
And know that you have lied and I wish I could be there on the day you die - alone.
We'll bury you in the snow and steel will break frozen ground
as these arms lower you down into a hole where you belong.
The feel of love is so gone. The blood in your veins was frozen from the start.
With a broken heart you left me here alone.
I wonder why I'm still dying for this.
And we've walked through these woods before on some cold October nights.
I didn't think I'd walk back out alone.
And without you by my side I just start to smile and see things for what they are
and not what you have shown.
Fraudulence - you have shown nothing more to me.
Now you lie entombed in cold, frozen.
Now we'll sing a song so pure.
And what you've done is so incurable.
You lay alone under the ground.
What went wrong with us?
Breathe the cold into your lungs and known you truly are alone.
We walk the streets until we freeze and hope the warmth will set us free.
And know that you have lied and I wish I could be there on the day you die - alone.
We'll bury you in the snow and steel will break frozen ground
as these arms lower you down into a hole where you belong.
The feel of love is so gone. The blood in your veins was frozen from the start.
With a broken heart you left me here alone.
I wonder why I'm still dying for this.
And we've walked through these woods before on some cold October nights.
I didn't think I'd walk back out alone.
And without you by my side I just start to smile and see things for what they are
and not what you have shown.
Fraudulence - you have shown nothing more to me.
Now you lie entombed in cold, frozen.
Now we'll sing a song so pure.
And what you've done is so incurable.
You lay alone under the ground.
What went wrong with us?
Lyrics submitted by Bergy
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Light Up The Sky
Van Halen
Van Halen
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him.
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.
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
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,
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.
i think this song is about how a past girlfriend died and he's reminiscing over it, then he realises she was a fake or "fraudulent" heartless bitch and she deserves nothing more than the cold tomb in which shes forever buried.
this is my favorite song by secret lives. i dont know why it never got as big as some of their other songs. i love the transition from the breakdown back into the chorus. the one flaw i think it has though is the very last part when the two vocal lines are going at once. it would be great if the two melodies werent so similar. "what went wrong" and "incurable" sync up and it makes the vocals sound a little wierd to me. but still a fucking amazing song.