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.
The priest sat in the airport bar
He was wearing his father's tie
And his eyes looked into my eyes so far
Whenever the words ran dry
Behind the lash and the circles blue
He looked as only a priest can, through
And his eyes said me and his eyes said you
And my eyes said let us try
He said, "You wouldn't like it here"
No, it's no place you should share
The roof is ripped with hurricanes
And the room is always bare
I need the wind and I seek the cold
He reached past the wine for my hand to hold
And he saw me young and he saw me old
And he saw me sitting there
Then he took his contradictions out
And he splashed them on my brow
So which words was I then to doubt
When choosing what to vow
Should I choose them all, should I make them mine
The sermons the hymns and the valentines
And he asked for truth and he asked for time
And he asked for only now
Now the trials are trumpet scored
Oh will we pass the test
Or just as one loves more and more
Will one love less and less
Oh come, let's run from this ring we're in
Where the Christians clap and the Germans grin
Saying let them lose, crying let them win
Oh make them both confess
He was wearing his father's tie
And his eyes looked into my eyes so far
Whenever the words ran dry
Behind the lash and the circles blue
He looked as only a priest can, through
And his eyes said me and his eyes said you
And my eyes said let us try
He said, "You wouldn't like it here"
No, it's no place you should share
The roof is ripped with hurricanes
And the room is always bare
I need the wind and I seek the cold
He reached past the wine for my hand to hold
And he saw me young and he saw me old
And he saw me sitting there
Then he took his contradictions out
And he splashed them on my brow
So which words was I then to doubt
When choosing what to vow
Should I choose them all, should I make them mine
The sermons the hymns and the valentines
And he asked for truth and he asked for time
And he asked for only now
Now the trials are trumpet scored
Oh will we pass the test
Or just as one loves more and more
Will one love less and less
Oh come, let's run from this ring we're in
Where the Christians clap and the Germans grin
Saying let them lose, crying let them win
Oh make them both confess
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Light Up The Sky
Van Halen
Van Halen
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
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"
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,
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/
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Well, it's obviously about religion. Specifically, I think it's about the questions and confusion that can arise when someone is wondering if they should join a faith.
When she says "he was wearing his father's tie", I think that means the traditional collar of the Catholic priest, being the Heavenly Father's tie rather than that of a biological one.
It sounds like a story about a conversation with a priest, him advising her on whether she should become Christian or not and her wondering what to chose.
The lines: "He said, you wouldn't like it here It's no place you should share The roof is ripped with hurricanes And the room is always bare" Seem to be the priest explaining that entering into Christianity means also entering into the burden of the centuries of conflict and controversy it has been through, or the "hurricanes." The "room" always being bare is because more and more people are turning away from the faith.
The "Then he took his contradictions out And he splashed them on my brow" part seems to be a reference to Baptism, because priest usually pour water over the Baptized person's head. The "contradictions" in the holy water are probably the controversies surrounding Christianity, and how often times in the Bible one page can say "this is right," and then the next page it can say "no wait forget that, this is right."
The next lines of that verse are her wondering if she should then accept all of Christianity and become part of it. (BTW a line is missing... after "should I choose them all, should I make them mine" there is "the sermons, the hymns, and the valentines.") The Priest's response to all of her questions at the end of this verse is that he wants her to be honest about whatever she decides, and not choose something just for the sake of not disappointing him.
I'm not entirely sure about the last verse... "Now the trials are trumpet-scored" may reference how Christianity is no longer modest but nowadays needs a big show-and-tell to go along with it. "Will we pass the test" is probably asking whether or not she will continue to be fond of Christianity, or if she will love it "less and less." Perhaps the use of "we" in this verse is supposed to embody the hippie generation, just like in the song "Woodstock" which was on the same album. In this verse, I think she's connecting her struggles with religion to the same confusion about beliefs that most hippies were feeling at the time. "Oh come let's run from this ring we're in Where the christians clap and the germans grin Crying let them lose saying let them win Oh make them both confess." This part probably means that she wants to get away from all the people who make simple things like one's personal religion into an institution somewhat like a dictatorship, which is probably why the "germans" reference is in there. She wants to get back to the simple truths that Christianity used to stand for, like 'Love thy Neighbor', which seem to be lost now to everyone who decides what the Church stands for. "Make them both confess" talks about how even the Church and Governments have sinned, and they need to repent and better their lives just like everyone else.
Anyway, that's my take on it. Could be totally wrong, but whatever. :P