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.
Yes you bet you'd be dead, but you came back home
You had no place to go, a failure all your own
Start again, find a friend need a hand to hold
A lack of self control, another all time low
Upset, you regret, you don't measure up
You gave it everything, it wasn't good enough
This is once what we were fighting for
I know you'll never believe me
It feels like I'm always on the outside
Always on the outside looking in
It's not that easy
It feels like I'm dying on the inside
Always on the outside looking in
Broken plans, folded hands, it all came undone
The favors traded in and now you're down to one
You're a mess in distress and you're falling fast
Who's gonna save you now and help erase the past
Time keeps ticking away, another waste of a day
Stuck in the middle with no solution
Just another let down, never gonna break out
I can't take this
I know you'll never believe me
It feels like I'm always on the outside
Always on the outside looking in
It's not that easy
It feels like I'm dying on the inside
Always on the outside looking in
Just another let down, never gonna break out
I know you'll never believe me
It feels like I'm always on the outside
Always on the outside looking in
It's not that easy
It feels like I'm dying on the inside
Always on the outside looking in
You had no place to go, a failure all your own
Start again, find a friend need a hand to hold
A lack of self control, another all time low
Upset, you regret, you don't measure up
You gave it everything, it wasn't good enough
This is once what we were fighting for
I know you'll never believe me
It feels like I'm always on the outside
Always on the outside looking in
It's not that easy
It feels like I'm dying on the inside
Always on the outside looking in
Broken plans, folded hands, it all came undone
The favors traded in and now you're down to one
You're a mess in distress and you're falling fast
Who's gonna save you now and help erase the past
Time keeps ticking away, another waste of a day
Stuck in the middle with no solution
Just another let down, never gonna break out
I can't take this
I know you'll never believe me
It feels like I'm always on the outside
Always on the outside looking in
It's not that easy
It feels like I'm dying on the inside
Always on the outside looking in
Just another let down, never gonna break out
I know you'll never believe me
It feels like I'm always on the outside
Always on the outside looking in
It's not that easy
It feels like I'm dying on the inside
Always on the outside looking in
Lyrics submitted by punk-gurl22
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
Holiday
Bee Gees
Bee Gees
@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday".
I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
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.
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
It's about Johnnycake, of course. :)
And people like him. But for now, I'm going to talk in very specific terms of Johnny Cade. Midnytefox is right - Johnny is a character from "The Outsiders".
I think that this is progressing through the book, because it seems like it skips around a bit.
Yes you bet you'd be dead, but you came back home You had no place to go, a failure all your own Start again, find a friend need a hand to hold A lack of self control, another all time low Upset, you regret, you don't measure up You gave it everything, it wasn't good enough This is once what we were fighting for
This could be a reference to him being beaten at home, yes? Johnny said in the book, "I used to think was about killing myself, but. . ." Johnny was just chracterized as this poor, lost kid who never did anything wrong, and still lost everything. So "You gave it everything, it wasn't good enough." Johnny loved his parent, they never loved him back. It's all quite sad, really. :( But the gang always fought to show Johnny that he was worth something - maybe that's some significance to the last line?
The chorus - he's a greaser, and marked as lousy and spat on by society. Where's the solution when you're really a good person, but no one can see past your reputation (read the book, it's wonderful.)
Broken plans, folded hands, it all came undone The favors traded in and now you're down to one You're a mess in distress and you're falling fast Who's gonna save you now and help erase the past Time keeps ticking away, another waste of a day Stuck in the middle with no solution Just another let down, never gonna break out I can't take this
I don't want to ruin the book, but their was a "plan" to help him out of something, and even that didn't change anything. He may've ended up worse than he was before.
I just LOVE this song! It just. . it can fit to more than one person (aka: Johnny), but it fits him so. . .well. I love this band. They're amazing, and need to be praised beyond sane terms. Awesome, awesome, awesome song. Why can't bands like THIS be known worl-wide, but Hannah Montana can? Is tht fair? :(
Read "The Outsiders". This song means so much more afterwards. I love you, Johnny (along with the rest of the female fans. Haha.), and Gone Baby Gone for writing this! :)