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.
Here I am in Amsterdam
I like it here they speak my language
Even though it's not my own
It's got BBC for comfort zone
But best of all it's got Marks and Spencer
Equality for the masses never felt better
And some of my dreams
They may have come true
But so have my nightmares
Which I can't get through
And now I've lost the power to speak
And now I've lost the power to eat
Idle and out of touch in Europe
Nothing's gone and nothing's changed
All that was before will still remain
It's too late to learn a new currency
And some of my dreams
They may have come true
But so have my nightmares
Which I can't get through
I like it here they speak my language
Even though it's not my own
It's got BBC for comfort zone
But best of all it's got Marks and Spencer
Equality for the masses never felt better
And some of my dreams
They may have come true
But so have my nightmares
Which I can't get through
And now I've lost the power to speak
And now I've lost the power to eat
Idle and out of touch in Europe
Nothing's gone and nothing's changed
All that was before will still remain
It's too late to learn a new currency
And some of my dreams
They may have come true
But so have my nightmares
Which I can't get through
Lyrics submitted by Songmeaningsuser
Valley Boy Lyrics as written by Jones Bradfield
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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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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Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
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Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“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.
I really like this song.
Anyway I think it's just about the Wire being rather xenophobic (a sheltered boy from the valleys) and ignoring European culture while on tour for the comforts of British cultural imperialism (M&S and the BBC). I'm not sure why the song gets so depressing towards the end- I think it may just be his lament for the fact that although he has become a famous rock star, in global demand, those very things he takes comfort in are evidence that the messages of MSP are falling on deaf ears.
The song is criticising the EU (scum). "It's too late to learn a new currency" obviously refers to the euro. "Idle and out of touch in Europe" could refer to how the EU have lost touch with real perople in europe.
"And some of my dreams They may have come true But so have my nightmares Which I can't get through" This could, but I'm not sure, mean that Nicky's dream of unity among nations (they're socialist) has been achieved, but his nightmares of no democracy / accountability / freedom have also come true.
"Nothing's gone and nothing's changed" also refers to how dictatorships which we fought to eradicate still exist. Everything's the same as it's always been.<br /> <br />
I don\'t think this is anything to do with the EU. It\'s about Nicky himself and how he felt he\'d become disconnected from his Valley Boy roots after years of endless touring. He\'s the one whose idle and out of touch in Europe, watching the BBC and surviving on Marks and Spencer sandwiches, desperate to just go home. All of his dreams of being a massively sucessful rock star have come true, but only after the nightmare of losing Richey. And now he\'s got nothing left to say, and everything is the same, day after day after day. So was any of it worth it?