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.
This my excavation and to
Day is Qum'ran
Everything that happens is from now on
This is pouring rain
This is paralyzed
I keep throwing it down, two
Hundred at a time
It's hard to find it when you knew it
When your money's gone
And you're drunk as hell
On your back with your racks as he stacks your load
In the back with the racks and he stacks your load
In the back with the racks and you're unstacking your load
I've been twisting to the sun
I needed to replace
And the fountain in the front yard is rusted out
All my love was down
In a frozen ground
There's a black crow sitting across from me
His wiry legs are crossed
He's dangling my keys, he even fakes a toss
Whatever could it be
That has brought me to this loss?
On your back with your racks as he stacks your load
In the back with the racks and he stacks your load
In the back with the racks and you're unstacking your load
This is not the sound of a new man
Or a crispy realization
It's the sound of me unlocking and you lift away
Your love will be
Safe with me
Day is Qum'ran
Everything that happens is from now on
This is pouring rain
This is paralyzed
I keep throwing it down, two
Hundred at a time
It's hard to find it when you knew it
When your money's gone
And you're drunk as hell
On your back with your racks as he stacks your load
In the back with the racks and he stacks your load
In the back with the racks and you're unstacking your load
I've been twisting to the sun
I needed to replace
And the fountain in the front yard is rusted out
All my love was down
In a frozen ground
There's a black crow sitting across from me
His wiry legs are crossed
He's dangling my keys, he even fakes a toss
Whatever could it be
That has brought me to this loss?
On your back with your racks as he stacks your load
In the back with the racks and he stacks your load
In the back with the racks and you're unstacking your load
This is not the sound of a new man
Or a crispy realization
It's the sound of me unlocking and you lift away
Your love will be
Safe with me
Lyrics submitted by J.Diddy, edited by humanitea, accountoffline, benapere
Re: Stacks Lyrics as written by Justin Vernon
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
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I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
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There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
I interviewed Justin a few weeks back, and I made sure to ask him about this song (as it is my favorite off this album). He did not delve into specific lyric meanings; as they are deliberately (and appropriately) oblique. However, he did mention the last lyrics "this is not the sound of a new man/ or a crispy realization/ it's the sound of the unlocking and lift away" best described those months in the cabin. He said it was his liberation, and this song reflects it.
Who knows what many of his meanings refer to, the chorus certainly puzzles me. However, it is not hard to sense that this song represents his accomplished catharsis. "everything that happens is from now on ..." A beautiful, beautiful song.