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.
Emily will find a better place to fall asleep
She belongs to fairy tales that I could never be
The future haunts with memories that I could never have
And hope Is just a stranger wondering how it's got so bad
I die each time you look away
My heart, my life will never be the same
This love will take my everything
One breath, one touch will be the end of me
You could be the final straw that brings me back to earth
Ever-waiting airports full of the love that you deserve
Wishing I could find a way to wash away the past
Knowing that my heart will break, but at least the pain will last
I die each time you look away
My heart, my life will never be the same
This love will take my everything
One breath, one touch will be the end of me
Emily will find a better place to fall asleep
Maybe she will save me in the oceans of her dream
And maybe someday love
Maybe someday love
She belongs to fairy tales that I could never be
The future haunts with memories that I could never have
And hope Is just a stranger wondering how it's got so bad
I die each time you look away
My heart, my life will never be the same
This love will take my everything
One breath, one touch will be the end of me
You could be the final straw that brings me back to earth
Ever-waiting airports full of the love that you deserve
Wishing I could find a way to wash away the past
Knowing that my heart will break, but at least the pain will last
I die each time you look away
My heart, my life will never be the same
This love will take my everything
One breath, one touch will be the end of me
Emily will find a better place to fall asleep
Maybe she will save me in the oceans of her dream
And maybe someday love
Maybe someday love
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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.
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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"
Blue
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“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.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
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“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.
This is what I think this song is about:
Emily will find a better place to fall asleep (Emily will find a better person to be with, instead of him) She belongs to fairy tales that I could never be (She, in her own fate will have a better love life than him) The future haunts with memories that I will never have (He has thought about being with her, and what will happen to both of them in the future if they were together. But he knows that he can't have it because he's not with her anymore) And hope is just a stranger, wondering how it got so bad (Sometimes you hope for something to happen, and you also look forward for it to happen. But sometimes, it never turns out the way you wanted it to be)
I die each time you look away (Well I think that this might have 2 meanings to it, but I'm not sure. The 1st meaning I think it means that she never looks at him anymore. The 2nd meaning I think it means that she never looks back in the past, when both of them used to be together) My heart, my life will never be the same (Without her, his heart and life will never be as it used to be like) This love will take my everything (He would do anything for this love) One breath, one touch will be the end of me (When she goes away, he'll loose his hope of love)
You could be the final straw that brings me back to earth (She can be the only person who he'll ever love) Ever-waiting airports full of the love that you deserve (He'll wait for her no matter what) Wishing I could find a way to wash away the past (He wishes that he can erase all the memories he had with her) Knowing that my heart will break, but at least the pain will last (He knows that his heart will break, but at least he's still having the same pain as before)
Emily will find a better place to fall asleep (As before, she will find a better person to be with, instead of him) Maybe she will save me in the oceans of her dream (Maybe she'll come back to him, one day) And maybe someday love (And maybe she'll start loving him again) Maybe someday love (Maybe she will...)