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.
Nina I can be your boyfriend
So you can stay with your girlfriend
Your father is a sweet old man
But it is hard for him to understand
That you wanna love a woman
Nina I can be your boyfriend
If it puts an end to all this nonsense
First time I see you in Berlin
And you don't tell me anything
Until outside your dad's apartment
Ooh, ooh (ooh), bah bah bah
Oh God, Jesus Christ
I try to focus on your eyes
We're having dinner with your family now
Keep a steady look at your left eyebrow
If it's raised, it means yes
If it's not it means take a guess
Hey, you, stop kicking my legs
I'm doing my best
Can you pass the figs
Your father puts on my record
He says, "So tell me how you met her"
Uh, I get a little nervous and change the subject
And put my hand on some metal object
He jokes and tells me it's a lie detector
He takes out the booklet and starts reading
So I heard you're moving out next season
I say, "Yeah, New York is nice that time of year"
Almost as green as it is here
He says, "I thought you were moving to Sweden?" Oh
Oh God, what have I done?
I came to Berlin to have some fun
The clock on the wall strikes four, five, six
My eyes caught by a big crucifix
Guess that's why he won't let you go
His Catholic heart is big and slow
You know I'll do anything for love
But Nina what were you thinking of?
But Nina I can be your boyfriend
So you can stay with your girlfriend
Your father's mailing me all the time
He says he just wants to say hi
I send back "Out of office" auto-replies
Nina I just want to check in
'Cause I think about you every second
So I send you this postcard just to say
Don't let anyone stand in your way
Yours truly, Jens Lekman
Don't let anyone stand in your way
Don't let anyone stand in your way
Don't let anyone stand in your way
Don't let anyone stand in your way (ooh)
Don't let anyone stand in your way (ooh)
So you can stay with your girlfriend
Your father is a sweet old man
But it is hard for him to understand
That you wanna love a woman
Nina I can be your boyfriend
If it puts an end to all this nonsense
First time I see you in Berlin
And you don't tell me anything
Until outside your dad's apartment
Ooh, ooh (ooh), bah bah bah
Oh God, Jesus Christ
I try to focus on your eyes
We're having dinner with your family now
Keep a steady look at your left eyebrow
If it's raised, it means yes
If it's not it means take a guess
Hey, you, stop kicking my legs
I'm doing my best
Can you pass the figs
Your father puts on my record
He says, "So tell me how you met her"
Uh, I get a little nervous and change the subject
And put my hand on some metal object
He jokes and tells me it's a lie detector
He takes out the booklet and starts reading
So I heard you're moving out next season
I say, "Yeah, New York is nice that time of year"
Almost as green as it is here
He says, "I thought you were moving to Sweden?" Oh
Oh God, what have I done?
I came to Berlin to have some fun
The clock on the wall strikes four, five, six
My eyes caught by a big crucifix
Guess that's why he won't let you go
His Catholic heart is big and slow
You know I'll do anything for love
But Nina what were you thinking of?
But Nina I can be your boyfriend
So you can stay with your girlfriend
Your father's mailing me all the time
He says he just wants to say hi
I send back "Out of office" auto-replies
Nina I just want to check in
'Cause I think about you every second
So I send you this postcard just to say
Don't let anyone stand in your way
Yours truly, Jens Lekman
Don't let anyone stand in your way
Don't let anyone stand in your way
Don't let anyone stand in your way
Don't let anyone stand in your way (ooh)
Don't let anyone stand in your way (ooh)
Lyrics submitted by bing_redboy, edited by errorgorilla, gabbagabbaheygirl
A Postcard to Nina Lyrics as written by Jens Martin Lekman
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I think "Then it turned into buffalo 66"
Should be: "The clock on the wall strikes four, five, six."
That's pretty off, so maybe I'm hearing a different version. I really, really wish it said Buffalo 66 since that's my favorite movie. It also somewhat applies to the theme of the song here too.