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.
Turned off our TVs and we’re not buying anything
We’re eating from your dumpsters and we’re stealing from your shelves
We gotta learn to live for ourselves
And we’re not gonna work for anybody else
We quit our jobs we burned our cars
And now we’ve all dropped out of school
We don’t give a fuck about our careers
We’re starting to stand up to our fears
We’re learning so many new things and we’re getting new ideas
And it’s spreading like, it’s spreading like
It’s spreading like wild fire, yeah
It’s spreading like, it’s spreading like
It’s spreading like wild fire, yeah
It’s spreading like, it’s spreading like
It’s spreading like wild fire, yeah
It’s spreading like, it’s spreading like
It’s spreading like wild fire, yeah
Tonight we’re gonna dance
Tomorrow we will fight and you won’t stand a chance
‘Cause you’ll fight only for your money
But we’ll fight to be free
This whole world you think you know is slowly coming to an end
There’s a new world being born
It’s not gonna be yours
Everything you think you own is slowly slipping through your hands
And we’re taking it all back
We’re gonna give it away to everybody
And it’s gonna be free
We’re eating from your dumpsters and we’re stealing from your shelves
We gotta learn to live for ourselves
And we’re not gonna work for anybody else
We quit our jobs we burned our cars
And now we’ve all dropped out of school
We don’t give a fuck about our careers
We’re starting to stand up to our fears
We’re learning so many new things and we’re getting new ideas
And it’s spreading like, it’s spreading like
It’s spreading like wild fire, yeah
It’s spreading like, it’s spreading like
It’s spreading like wild fire, yeah
It’s spreading like, it’s spreading like
It’s spreading like wild fire, yeah
It’s spreading like, it’s spreading like
It’s spreading like wild fire, yeah
Tonight we’re gonna dance
Tomorrow we will fight and you won’t stand a chance
‘Cause you’ll fight only for your money
But we’ll fight to be free
This whole world you think you know is slowly coming to an end
There’s a new world being born
It’s not gonna be yours
Everything you think you own is slowly slipping through your hands
And we’re taking it all back
We’re gonna give it away to everybody
And it’s gonna be free
Lyrics submitted by Nowah
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