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.
We're not sentimental
We're just oil-filled machines
Trying not to say the things we mean
You gotta show us a little love
Our big brother tells us
That it's something in our genes
Pretty soon we'll all be coming clean
So start showing a little skin
I'm the judge and jury
I'm the lion and the lamb
And this is the beginning of the end
It's breaking you down
We're breaking you down
We're unrecognizable
We're sunken submarines
Trying to escape before we're seen
You're gonna miss us when we're gone
I'm the judge and jury
I'm the lion and the lamb
And this is the beginning of the end
We're breaking you down
We're breaking you down
We're just oil-filled machines
Trying not to say the things we mean
You gotta show us a little love
Our big brother tells us
That it's something in our genes
Pretty soon we'll all be coming clean
So start showing a little skin
I'm the judge and jury
I'm the lion and the lamb
And this is the beginning of the end
It's breaking you down
We're breaking you down
We're unrecognizable
We're sunken submarines
Trying to escape before we're seen
You're gonna miss us when we're gone
I'm the judge and jury
I'm the lion and the lamb
And this is the beginning of the end
We're breaking you down
We're breaking you down
Lyrics submitted by DAngerer87
The Beginning of the End Lyrics as written by Miller
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
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
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"
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
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.
Does anyone else out there think that, musically, this sounds like an Oasis song?
yes i definitely agree, it sounds a lot like oasis to me
(specifically reminds me of the song "hello")
whaaaat a difference from their previous albums. damn.
currently my favorite guster song.
Does anyone else see the ties to the novel "1984"? I was up at three in the morning one night over Christmas break working on a project on "1984" and I was listening to my iPod. This song came on and I found myself singing along with it. Then, I realized what the words were and I replayed the song about three times. I tried to come up with a soundtrack to play in the background when we played the boardgame (my project) but I couldn't find enough songs that fit the book.
Anyone who has read the book should know what I'm talking about. Yes, Big Brother is mentioned but there are other things in it.
"Trying not to say the things we mean" In "1984" the civilians could not say what they truly felt because of the Thought Police and then they would be tortured.
"Our big brother tells us That it's something in our genes" In the book, the main character is told that he is crazy and that is the only reason why he won't obey Big Brother. But he is told that he will be cured so that he follows Big Brother.
"I'm the judge and jury I'm the lion and the lamb" Big Brother is the ultimate dictator. He is the judge and jury and the lion and lamb.
"We're unrecognizable We're sunken submarines Trying to escape before we're seen You're gonna miss us when we're gone" The civilians in "1984" are all dressed exactly alike. They have to dress this way. Also, they have to on the lookout for the Thought Police. They have to ESCAPE from the Thought Police before they figure out the thoughts in their civilians heads.
Eh, may be a stretch, but I think it its pretty well.
A bit late for your project, I suppose, but if you still play your board game, you should check out David Bowie's Diamond Dogs album. It's a concept album based on the 1984 novel; he originally intended to use the music for a stage production of 1984.