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.
Wiped out in the city slick
Another sick rock 'n' roller acting like a dick
Needing cash
Burning through the trash
That piles up in this place
And fills up behind my empty face
Full of things that I'm not to do
You come over with all of your friends
And all their opinions I don't want to know
And I'm looking over my shoulder
Booking away with nowhere to go
I run down to the corner lot
It's forty-five past two
I almost forgot to show
Got a date to make with Mr. So-and-so
After which
I won't care when you all start to bitch and moan
About being alone
You come over with all of your friends
And all their opinions I don't want to know
And I'm looking over my shoulder
Booking away with nowhere to go
Well, can't you just leave me alone?
You've already thrown all the sticks and stones
You had to send my way
Well, can't you just leave it at that?
And spare us both the bother
Because I just bounce back anyway
I got nothing that I want to do more
Than make another sonic "fuck you" to play
Whenever you make my life cliche
So to fit in some little box with the all the labeled shit
You would say to keep confusion away
You come over with all of your friends
And all their opinions I don't want to know
And I'm looking over my shoulder
Booking away with nowhere to go
You come over with all of your friends
And all their opinions I don't want to know
And I'm looking over my shoulder
Booking away
Another sick rock 'n' roller acting like a dick
Needing cash
Burning through the trash
That piles up in this place
And fills up behind my empty face
Full of things that I'm not to do
You come over with all of your friends
And all their opinions I don't want to know
And I'm looking over my shoulder
Booking away with nowhere to go
I run down to the corner lot
It's forty-five past two
I almost forgot to show
Got a date to make with Mr. So-and-so
After which
I won't care when you all start to bitch and moan
About being alone
You come over with all of your friends
And all their opinions I don't want to know
And I'm looking over my shoulder
Booking away with nowhere to go
Well, can't you just leave me alone?
You've already thrown all the sticks and stones
You had to send my way
Well, can't you just leave it at that?
And spare us both the bother
Because I just bounce back anyway
I got nothing that I want to do more
Than make another sonic "fuck you" to play
Whenever you make my life cliche
So to fit in some little box with the all the labeled shit
You would say to keep confusion away
You come over with all of your friends
And all their opinions I don't want to know
And I'm looking over my shoulder
Booking away with nowhere to go
You come over with all of your friends
And all their opinions I don't want to know
And I'm looking over my shoulder
Booking away
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In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Son Şansın - Şarkı Sözleri
Hayalperest
Hayalperest
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.
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
My two cents:
It is definitely 'sonic fuck you' and not 'sonnet; fuck you!' or 'song and fuck you!'. It means he wants to write a song that is meant to be a fuck you to someone. In this case the fuck you is for whoever it is that is coming over with all of their friends to give him opinions he doesn't want to hear. In other words, this song "looking over my shoulder" IS the sonic fuck you.
As to who the 'fuck you' is for, the two most likely options have been pointed out here: friends of his who are trying to convince him to change his ways (give up drugs) or a record company. I personally think the former is more likely, it fits in with other songs of his where he's been mad at people trying to get him to stop drugs (like "everybody cares, everybody understands"). An alternative is that he is mad at people coming around and complaining about things he doesn't find that important - like the things he is wrestling with are so horrible that listening to other people complaining about "being alone" is driving him crazy. I felt like this after a few of my friends died and I was grieving and every time I had to listen to someone complaining about boyfriend troubles or getting a B on a paper would make me feel angry and apart from the whole world - everybody else's problems felt so shallow compared to my grief. There is something in this song and others by Elliott (like "Stained Glass Eyes", among others) which is reminiscent of this feeling for me.
I think it's interesting that he goes for his meeting with Mr So and So at 2:45am - the same time as in the song 2:45am. In both songs he paints a picture of himself wandering the streets in the middle of the night looking for a way to escape his life. He looks for drugs and the arms of another person to chase away the problems which are plaguing him, whether they be the demons in his dreams (in 2:45am) or the people in his life (in this song). Obviously this is a reoccurring problem for him.
What is also interesting is that Elliott seems to be admitting in this song that his problems are reoccurring - he says he's writing "another sonic fuck you", pointing out that he has written songs as fuck-you's before and in making the meeting with the dealer at 2:45am he is purposefully reminding us that he has found himself in this position before.