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.
An asteroid crashed and nothing burned
It made me wonder
Do tigers sleep in lily patches?
Do rhinos run from thunder.
I got an ache in my left ear
I felt the truth but I still could hear.
Made me think, I would not be burned,
But rather give myself to science,
I felt that I could help
To science, I felt that I can help
Paranoid the doctor ran,
Shouting his graphic translation
All out of order
Gang wars and ails of riches,
Spewing forth their color
He purposely waited till I was done
To knock on the lavatory door
Accusing me of ruining the fun,
He knocked on it some more
The fun, He knocked on it some more.
And alloy suitors were all inside
An apple or a grape
To put forth a cloud of Mercury
In front of a mighty car
On a freeway in Los Angeles
Once the spraying has been done
'Cause there's more pain from necessity
You're a portrait of your past,
There's a mummy in the cabinet.
Are there no more arrows left?
What's that rubber bottle doing here?
How's that napkin for a proof
Ten cents to a dollar now
For a shelf of pregnant hens
Robert Palmer is employed
Again, again, again
So stupendous, living in this tube.
It made me wonder
Do tigers sleep in lily patches?
Do rhinos run from thunder.
I got an ache in my left ear
I felt the truth but I still could hear.
Made me think, I would not be burned,
But rather give myself to science,
I felt that I could help
To science, I felt that I can help
Paranoid the doctor ran,
Shouting his graphic translation
All out of order
Gang wars and ails of riches,
Spewing forth their color
He purposely waited till I was done
To knock on the lavatory door
Accusing me of ruining the fun,
He knocked on it some more
The fun, He knocked on it some more.
And alloy suitors were all inside
An apple or a grape
To put forth a cloud of Mercury
In front of a mighty car
On a freeway in Los Angeles
Once the spraying has been done
'Cause there's more pain from necessity
You're a portrait of your past,
There's a mummy in the cabinet.
Are there no more arrows left?
What's that rubber bottle doing here?
How's that napkin for a proof
Ten cents to a dollar now
For a shelf of pregnant hens
Robert Palmer is employed
Again, again, again
So stupendous, living in this tube.
Lyrics submitted by foreverstereo
Tube Lyrics as written by Trey Anastasio Jon Fishman
Lyrics © Downtown Music Publishing
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Light Up The Sky
Van Halen
Van Halen
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
When We Were Young
Blink-182
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
this song is crazy. i'm guessing you have to look at the last line "so stupendous, living in this tube". maybe the song is just talking about how crazy/insane that life would be if you just based it off of what you saw on TV.
@deathbear I think you're on the right track. It seems to me like sort of a stream of thought of someone that's flipping through television channels and seeing all of the strange, disconnected happenings on each channel.
^^^moron. not every song is about drugs
^^^at least it was way more interesting and thought provoking than your post.
considering how many songs have references to drugs/drug addiction, not only by phish, it's a definite possibility.
These are old but i agree with the last post! But in this persons mania they were killed by a car. When the sprayings done(body outline) Your trip is short no matter how you possum out!
I couldn't disagree more with that first post this song has nothing to do with television take it into context of who the song is singing to... a bunch of dosed heads who are changing themselves rapidly with chemicals, "i got an ache in my left ear, i felt a twinge but i still could hear, made me think i could not be burned, but rather give myself to science i felt that i could help" its an excuse for turning yourself into a science experiment with massive doses and if you never come back and things start looking like robert palmer and a cloud of mercury its alright because your just a sample and a statistic "its so stupendous, living in this tube"