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.
Oh so the words have been said
The feeling's old but it's new to me
I guess I'm scared to death but
Oh I just love you Oh I just love you
Telling my friends, "I gotta go"
That I need rest
bit I'm running for the phone
I think Casey knows but
Oh I just love you Oh I just love you
A watch now on my wrist, a collard shirt
and hair clean cut sculpted
I'll iron out the flaws
come meet your new in-laws
oh here's the awkward pause
When I look at you,
I've caught myself off-guard a time or two
Those funny times I realize that I've been staring
way too long and you're done talking
not to mention I've stopped breathing
I'm such a mess
Rushing to open your car door
You lean and open mine
before I can turn the key and
Oh I just love you Oh I just love you
Calling to say hi on your break
In less than twenty words you made
my whole damn day and
Oh I just love you Oh I just love you
In the coffee shop you sipped
your drink and we all sat and talked
My mind it wandered off alone
to find a thought as beauty
poured out when you talked
Stand still in my sight, a switch got hit
somewhere back in my mind
Just then I realized there what I have
to do, because I couldn't stand to look
at you across another crowded room
and know that you would not be mine
Time drags its feet
but somehow you sneak it past me
Night after night
At this rate if you stay with me
I'll go to bed at twenty-three
and wake up sixty-five
Well next to you that would be
just fine, that'd be just fine
The feeling's old but it's new to me
I guess I'm scared to death but
Oh I just love you Oh I just love you
Telling my friends, "I gotta go"
That I need rest
bit I'm running for the phone
I think Casey knows but
Oh I just love you Oh I just love you
A watch now on my wrist, a collard shirt
and hair clean cut sculpted
I'll iron out the flaws
come meet your new in-laws
oh here's the awkward pause
When I look at you,
I've caught myself off-guard a time or two
Those funny times I realize that I've been staring
way too long and you're done talking
not to mention I've stopped breathing
I'm such a mess
Rushing to open your car door
You lean and open mine
before I can turn the key and
Oh I just love you Oh I just love you
Calling to say hi on your break
In less than twenty words you made
my whole damn day and
Oh I just love you Oh I just love you
In the coffee shop you sipped
your drink and we all sat and talked
My mind it wandered off alone
to find a thought as beauty
poured out when you talked
Stand still in my sight, a switch got hit
somewhere back in my mind
Just then I realized there what I have
to do, because I couldn't stand to look
at you across another crowded room
and know that you would not be mine
Time drags its feet
but somehow you sneak it past me
Night after night
At this rate if you stay with me
I'll go to bed at twenty-three
and wake up sixty-five
Well next to you that would be
just fine, that'd be just fine
Lyrics submitted by zoeyzoeyzoeyzo
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
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him.
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.
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
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.
I agree with stuckatsea. This song is like a stream of conciousness. It's like the feeling is so overwhelming he can't even put it into words so he just settles for explaining all the little silly things that make his heart beat extra fast, that make him feel like he can do anything, that make him fall in love with her everytime he looks at her.