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.
Seems like only yesterday
Life belonged to runaways
Nothin' here to see
No looking back
Every sound monotone
Every color monochrome
Light began to fade
Into the black
Such a simple animal
Sterilized with alcohol
I could hardly
Feel me anymore
Desperate and meaningless
All filled up with emptiness
Felt like everything
Was said and done
I lay there in the dark
And I close my eyes
You saved me the day
You came alive
Still, I tried to find my way
Spinnin' hours into days
Burnin' like a flame
Behind my eyes
Drown it out
Drink it in
Crown the king of sufferin'
Prisoner, slave to the disguise
Disappear the only thing
Bittersweet surrenderin'
Knew that it was time
To say goodbye
And I lay there in the dark
And I close my eyes
You saved me the day
You came alive
No reason left
Me to survive
You saved me
The day you came alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
I lay there in the dark
And I close my eyes
You saved me the day
You came alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Nothin' more to give
I can finally live
Come alive
Your life into me
I can finally breathe
Come alive
I lay me down in the dark (come alive, come alive, come alive)
Open my eyes (come alive, come alive, come alive, come alive, come alive)
You saved me (come alive, come alive, come alive, come alive)
The day you came alive (come alive, come alive, come alive, come alive)
(come alive, come alive)
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Life belonged to runaways
Nothin' here to see
No looking back
Every sound monotone
Every color monochrome
Light began to fade
Into the black
Such a simple animal
Sterilized with alcohol
I could hardly
Feel me anymore
Desperate and meaningless
All filled up with emptiness
Felt like everything
Was said and done
I lay there in the dark
And I close my eyes
You saved me the day
You came alive
Still, I tried to find my way
Spinnin' hours into days
Burnin' like a flame
Behind my eyes
Drown it out
Drink it in
Crown the king of sufferin'
Prisoner, slave to the disguise
Disappear the only thing
Bittersweet surrenderin'
Knew that it was time
To say goodbye
And I lay there in the dark
And I close my eyes
You saved me the day
You came alive
No reason left
Me to survive
You saved me
The day you came alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
I lay there in the dark
And I close my eyes
You saved me the day
You came alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Nothin' more to give
I can finally live
Come alive
Your life into me
I can finally breathe
Come alive
I lay me down in the dark (come alive, come alive, come alive)
Open my eyes (come alive, come alive, come alive, come alive, come alive)
You saved me (come alive, come alive, come alive, come alive)
The day you came alive (come alive, come alive, come alive, come alive)
(come alive, come alive)
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Lyrics submitted by risefromtheashes
Come Alive Lyrics as written by Taylor Hawkins David Eric Grohl
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Songtrust Ave
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Light Up The Sky
Van Halen
Van Halen
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
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"
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,
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.
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
I don't think it's about the joys of having a child but I can see how it relates to the song itself. To me, I think it's about someone look back on his or her life and realising how much they've wasted and that they haven't lived their life at all. The first stanza is filled with powerful sensory imagery and each line ...with "mono", no looking back, it's like they were restricted and limited by only one choice in their life, they weren't getting anywhere. All their decisions and actions led them to the same destination at the end of their journey. "Monochrome" suggesting how black and white their world was and "monotone" suggesting lack of emotion hence emphasising a lack of life. They felt like they had nothing to live for and they took to drinking booze. Then they consumed themselves with despair when "I lay there in the dark and I close my eyes". Then someone or something that was probably in the same situation as him in the dark like himself probably showed them that their life wasn't just black and white and didn't lack of colour, and it allowed them to 'come alive'. This gave them inspiration to change themselves and they too began to ‘come alive’ as well and thus they began to feel compared to when "I could hardly feel me anymore", they weren't in touch with their senses. Senses that made them alive. I dunno, but that's how I interpret it unless someone can convince me otherwise or tell me word for word what Grohl meant when he wrote this song.