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.
The chair's been kicked, a rope tied to the rafters, blue-faced and broken-necked I die. Relieving my vision from the sick fucking stare of that hated sun burning the sky. Slumped like a headless scarecrow, cold and limp against the wall. Blood paints a pattern of Rorschach design, thawing the winter that burdens this heart.
Shit-stained and shameful, an exit in disgrace. Not a splash but just a ripple left, I end this life in vain.
[Solo]
In the dead of the darkness I breach the still lake, toward the reflection of the moon. The night-colored liquids arresting my lungs, finally at peace in this watery tomb.
Destroy this fragile body to be gorged upon by worms. Not a splash but just a ripple is left in the wake of my merciless scorn.
Beyond those cursed stars above lies the answer that I seek. On the backs of bullets rides my name, longing to kiss my cheek. Resentfully decline, retire this hated life. Without guilt I break these veins, carved with salvation's knife.
[Solo]
Turn not away, avert not your face, this is how it was meant to be. In silence found hanging there 'bove a pool of waste, the beauteous workings of mortality. No one can truly touch another parallel never to cross. Pointless, fumbling, sad mistake only capable of pain.
Beyond those cursed stars above lies the answer that I seek. On the backs of bullets rides my name, longing to kiss my cheek. Resentfully decline, retire this hated life. Without guilt I break these veins, carved with salvation's knife
Shit-stained and shameful, an exit in disgrace. Not a splash but just a ripple left, I end this life in vain.
[Solo]
In the dead of the darkness I breach the still lake, toward the reflection of the moon. The night-colored liquids arresting my lungs, finally at peace in this watery tomb.
Destroy this fragile body to be gorged upon by worms. Not a splash but just a ripple is left in the wake of my merciless scorn.
Beyond those cursed stars above lies the answer that I seek. On the backs of bullets rides my name, longing to kiss my cheek. Resentfully decline, retire this hated life. Without guilt I break these veins, carved with salvation's knife.
[Solo]
Turn not away, avert not your face, this is how it was meant to be. In silence found hanging there 'bove a pool of waste, the beauteous workings of mortality. No one can truly touch another parallel never to cross. Pointless, fumbling, sad mistake only capable of pain.
Beyond those cursed stars above lies the answer that I seek. On the backs of bullets rides my name, longing to kiss my cheek. Resentfully decline, retire this hated life. Without guilt I break these veins, carved with salvation's knife
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Light Up The Sky
Van Halen
Van Halen
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him.
There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
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.
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
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.
About someone commiting suicide by hanging themselves. Then reflecting on it after death, maybe? =) xx
The lyrics talk about dying in various ways, hanging (as the above user mentioned), drowning, slicing veins. I'm not sure what the song is trying to say though. My best guess is that a person wants to die so he/she can know what is after this life, hence "Beyond those cursed stars above lies the answer that I seek."
I think the first and last verse come full circle, speaking of the same hanging. Between the solos is a description of a drowning.
The last couple lines of the last verse speak of the futility and pain of life.
"No one can truly touch another parallel never to cross. Pointless, Fumbling, sad mistake only capable of pain."
The beginning chorus is speaking indirectly of the breathless oblivion "beyond those cursed stars." The second line mentions another method of death, which is by a bullet "longing to kiss my cheek." The last couple lines are my favorite, as they are the most profound to me.
"Resenfully decline, retire this hated life. Without guilt I break these veins, carved with salvation's knife."
These are obviously the words of somebody who hates life so much that he hands it back, saying "No thanks."
Ultimately, I believe this song is about how a person can be so fed up with life that they are overcome with the passion to kill themselves, and are so deluded to believe that an answer awaits them in death.
this song is about suicide and how someone can truely know and have everything they want in life so their only answer lie "beyond those cursed stars" so is suicide really for "pussies" or for those who have everything.
thedethlyllama you remind me of my friend. because he too shares your stupidity and has a tunneled vision on everything like suicide is for pussies and other dumb things like that, you get it you share the stupidity or known to you dumbness
Obviously everyone got that it's about killing yourself and i think phalseprophet was best in his way of explaining it but i would just like to say this song is amazing like every black dahlia song the lyrics have a way of seeming deeper then most deathmetal lyrics and not like he says these things so much for any kind of shocker value...like cannibal corpse or any other bands aiming to disgust people dahlia's lyrics have always felt more real to me and these ones are bone chilling
"look not away, avert not your face, this is how it was meant to be"
Lyrical Mastery...
The best song every written about suicide! The vivid details of the different forms of suicide are awe-inspiring. A song about someone so full of resentment towards their life, that they have no more interest in living it. The hope that maybe some sort of "afterlife" will bring peace or at the very least understanding. My favorite lyrics are "Beyond those cursed start above lies the answer that i seek. On the backs of bullets rides my name, longing to kiss my cheek." So hauntingly poetic, my favorite TBDM song so far.
It's obviously about suicide. The more important question is whether or not Trevor is trying to make a statement regarding this topic.
I happen to think that pretty much all of the lines represent an internal monologue of various persons either commiting suicide or those who intend to do so.
The protagonist is obviously the guy who hung himself because he is mentioned in the first and third verse. The interesting/weird thing is, that he describes it from a kind of "out of body" - third person - kind of view. As if he had already hung himself and now watches his own body and in the third verse he sees how someone finds his body.
However, there are those two lines that seem to be important and kind of stick out from the rest.
"No one can truly touch another parallel..." "Pointless - fumbling - sad mistake..."
Either Trevor breaks the monologue here and tries to make a statement of his own or this is still the monologue of the guy who hung himself. He seems to regret it in the end 'cos he wasn't able to reach the afterlife(or whatever he hoped for) and now seems to think of the suicide as a "pointless, fumbling and sad mistake".
The chorus of the song is a monologue too and supposedly stands for the thoughts of people thinking about the act of suicide. When you think about it that way, it makes it pretty awesome that Trevor endlessly repeats the chorus at the end of the song until both his voice and the song fades out, 'cos every single one of these chorus blocks could stand for a person who is commiting suicide right now, at this very moment.
This song could have easily been the last song on the album with the dramatic ending it has. I bet they thought about doing it that way, but maybe felt that it would have been too depressive. Instead we got "Warborn" depicting a war scene which was pretty awesome too.
If you take all what I said for granted, you could take this interpretation even further to why they ultimately picked a war scene to end this album....
simple. Suicide is for pussies.