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.
The bones of the bodies serve as pillars to this scene.
The corpses of the fallen sprawled so beautifully.
The artist dead.
We put a bullet in his head.
Now we paint with red,
the only color in which we shed.
And death loves this war of ages.
Seeing faces lacerated. [2x]
And in this war we're dying, dying alone.
The smoke of the pyres blankets this lone death bed.
We're finally leaving,
so says the dead.
Rape me.
Take me.
Take me on down.
It’s been a long time a coming,
so take the crown.
And death loves this war of ages.
Seeing faces lacerated. [2x]
And in this war we're fighting, fighting alone.
Can you smell the honor,
or is it the flesh?
This what you condone?
This is what you get.
We annihilate all we don’t know.
We keep shaking hands with the fucking devil.
Shake me.
Break me on down. [2x]
And I saw the man in the middle the road, yeah.
His gun it spoke to me.
It smiled and shone.
And I shot a man in the middle the road, yeah.
And I watched him dying there.
I smiled and moaned,
“Die alone,
I hope you burn in hell.” [4x]
Die alone, burn in hell.
Die alone.
Die alone and burn.
Die alone and burn.
Burn, burn, burn in hell. [2x]
Yeah you can burn in hell [2x]
Death loves this war of ages.
Seeing faces lacerated. [2x]
And in this war we're dying, we’re dying alone.
The corpses of the fallen sprawled so beautifully.
The artist dead.
We put a bullet in his head.
Now we paint with red,
the only color in which we shed.
And death loves this war of ages.
Seeing faces lacerated. [2x]
And in this war we're dying, dying alone.
The smoke of the pyres blankets this lone death bed.
We're finally leaving,
so says the dead.
Rape me.
Take me.
Take me on down.
It’s been a long time a coming,
so take the crown.
And death loves this war of ages.
Seeing faces lacerated. [2x]
And in this war we're fighting, fighting alone.
Can you smell the honor,
or is it the flesh?
This what you condone?
This is what you get.
We annihilate all we don’t know.
We keep shaking hands with the fucking devil.
Shake me.
Break me on down. [2x]
And I saw the man in the middle the road, yeah.
His gun it spoke to me.
It smiled and shone.
And I shot a man in the middle the road, yeah.
And I watched him dying there.
I smiled and moaned,
“Die alone,
I hope you burn in hell.” [4x]
Die alone, burn in hell.
Die alone.
Die alone and burn.
Die alone and burn.
Burn, burn, burn in hell. [2x]
Yeah you can burn in hell [2x]
Death loves this war of ages.
Seeing faces lacerated. [2x]
And in this war we're dying, we’re dying alone.
Lyrics submitted by UnholyNight
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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"
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
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This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
Okay, I want to give this song props. I hate people who don't say what they think the song means and just comment with love... so, let me quickly conclude it has something to do with war. And how stupid it is. And scary and useless, or maybe it's some emo relationship hyperbole. Iuno, it's a good song. Catchy.
lyrically: I think the song bashes war and death, etc. musically: this song is really awesome. well written, and skillfully played. there are some tasty riffs in this song, tell you what, and the vocals are well-done and carried out with much driving emotion. four and a half stars at the least.
oh yeah, and I forgot to mention that I'm pretty disappointed that this song wasn't included on "Requiem" when it was realeased, because it's one of the band's finest pieces IMO, and it wouldn't have done any harm to just throw it somewhere on the track list since there's only ten tracks anyway.