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.
And take a little walk when the worst is to come
When I saw you looking like I never thought
And say you're at a loss or forgot that words can do more than harm
Oh
Oh
Oh
Oh
The town is gonna talk, but these people do not
See things through to the very minimal
But what's it gonna cost to be gone?
If we see you like I hoped we never would
Oh
Oh
Oh
Oh
My eyes can't look at you any other way
Any other way, any other way
My eyes can't look at you any other way
Any other way, any other way
So take it as a song or a lesson to learn
And sometime soon be better than you were
If you say you're gonna go, then be careful
And watch how you treat every living soul
Oh
Oh
Oh
Oh
My eyes can't look at you any other way
Any other way, any other way
When eyes can't look at you any other way
Any other way, any other way
When I saw you looking like I never thought
And say you're at a loss or forgot that words can do more than harm
Oh
Oh
Oh
Oh
The town is gonna talk, but these people do not
See things through to the very minimal
But what's it gonna cost to be gone?
If we see you like I hoped we never would
Oh
Oh
Oh
Oh
My eyes can't look at you any other way
Any other way, any other way
My eyes can't look at you any other way
Any other way, any other way
So take it as a song or a lesson to learn
And sometime soon be better than you were
If you say you're gonna go, then be careful
And watch how you treat every living soul
Oh
Oh
Oh
Oh
My eyes can't look at you any other way
Any other way, any other way
When eyes can't look at you any other way
Any other way, any other way
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the absolute most beautiful song ive ever heard without question.
i may be completely wrong, but i took this song to be about a group of guys who are close friends with a girl and in this case, the guy or all of the guys start to develop feelings for this girl but she doesn't feel the same way about them. but because of this, things get awkward and the girl starts separating herself from the group of guy friends without really dealing with the problem ("whats it gonna cost to be gone? when we start seeing you like i hope we never would") Kinda saying they never meant to develop feelings for her but it was a natural transition from them seeing her as a friend to seeing her as something more. Hence the line "eyes can't look at you any other way" just emphasizing that he can't control the way he feels. and at the end of the song, he knows their friendship is over and maybe she didn't let him down gently enough so he gives this song as a lesson to "be careful and watch how you treat every living soul" so maybe she'll be more empathetic with the next heart she breaks.
again, i may be very wrong.
Whether or not this is the intended meaning of the song, this is exactly how I interpreted it as well. In this song I hear longing, unrequited love, and loneliness. I also hear a quiet acceptance and understanding. I think the situation you described fits perfectly with the lyrics of the song. I imagine that the girl is a close friend with the speaker, and loves him platonically, but doesn’t see him the way he sees her. The lyric, “And say you're at a loss or forgot that words can do more than harm” describes the guy’s confession of love, and her reaction to his words. They don’t just harm their relationship, but they cause her to severe ties. <br /> I think that this girl is afraid or incapable of being in a relationship, and maybe this guy is just one of many rejected suitors. I think this would describe the stanza where he says, “So take it as a song or a lesson to learn<br /> And sometime soon be better than you were<br /> If you say you're gonna go, then be careful<br /> And watch how you treat every living soul” It’s possible that he has accepted that she is going along her way, but he hopes that one day she can change her ways and love someone in return. <br />
@shoefly785 I know you are right. The woman I love lost her fiancé at sea. She was lost. My work force me to relocate to this same place. We met through my work and ended up intimate. I was the opposite of him. I got sick with a recurring ailment that makes me feel lost at sea. It’s a relationship hurdle and rapidly changed the dynamic and she still loves him. I would have always been second to him. That’s something I would never be or be to someone. So we are floating as friends as neither one of us are able to sustain what we started for these reasons. I know we won’t go backwards and lightning rarely strikes twice so I imagine that someone else will come along and I cannot look at her any other way. And there have been many other eyes and I imagine that’s all I will become because she can only see me the way I hoped she never would. and this small town of fishermen wives are gonna talk. and I can’t look at her any other way. So in the future it’s more likely that when I go back into remission I will experience the heartbreak and hope that she will be in a better place and will be careful with the next heart. For now our song is matchbox twenty “unwell” stay a while and maybe then we’ll see...
Straight from Ben's mouth: “I traded some e-mails with [Schrempf], and I explained to him that I wasn’t slagging his name or anything. He was very cool about it. The song’s not really about him. It has some Seattle themes is all, but I’m so bad about making up song titles I just used his name as a working title.”
So sorry it really has nothing to do with the actual basketball player.
urbandictionary.com/define.php
This song gives me goose pimples.
i've always loved this song, but it seems that out of no where, i seem to have gotten a different notion of what this song may be saying. previously, i concured with the ideas of it being somewhat about unrequited love, but something seemed askew...
well, i think it's not really that. i think it's more trying to explain to a person the speaker loves and values (maybe a partner, maybe a best friend, maybe both in one), that regardless of how badly they see things around them and view themselves, that the speaker cannot help but continue to view the person with loving eyes. people make mistakes, bad choices, say and do terrible things, but when you really love and know someone for who they are, you cannot help but feel like "my eyes can't look at you any other way." the person may beat themselves up about these things, but the speaker continues to be the champion and cheerleader for that person, unconditionally.
amazing song.
@chicananerd I think your analysis is spot-on.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detlef_Schrempf
Dude could shoot the three, rebound, and sported a haircut you could set your watch to. Also, I don't think "Jim McIlvaine" makes too forch a song title.
urbandictionary.com/define.php
I really love the line "eyes can't look at you any other way'. Whatever the song may actually be about, I think that line is just very sweet and romantic.
the opening lines are a spot-on description of that moment when your relationship's gone irreparably wrong, and both of you know it and can tell by the other's eyes, but getting the words out is a lot harder than, say, taking a walk. it reminds me of every time i've gone through a breakup (or any controversy, really) that's damaged the way people perceive me or caused me to lose friends. because your mutual friends often feel the need to choose sides ("the town is gonna talk," making judgments with minimal information), and sometimes they just can't "look at you any other way" than as so-and-so's ex, or as the person who caused or was the victim of such pain. it's tempting to just say f*ck it and run headlong into the next one (taking it as just a sad song, and repeating history). but the best thing to do is learn each lesson and transmute your acute awareness of psychological pain into an increased care and regard for every living soul. and hopefully, if your love was real, your eyes will still see all the good inside that made you love each other in the first place.
this song means a lot to me.
The first time I heard this song I was stuck in traffic in the middle of a light snow storm. There was something about this song and that moment that has always stuck with me. It is a common for me on compilations. Gorgeous...
I think it's about the end of a relationship. The beginning is initially about a fight and saying things you didn't mean. You take a walk to clear your head after forgetting words can do more then harm and said some bad things to a person you've loved.
The second stanza is about when the gossip occurs and everyone knows that something beautiful has ended. Her friends that became your friends and your friends that became hers are now forced to pick sides. They make a big decision on poor information. What's the cost of leaving everything behind when you split? You lose your friends, your way of life, and you're lonely. The chorus to me is the the answer to the age old question "Can't we be friends?" and the response is "My eyes can't see you any other way" than a lover.
The third stanza is the dialogue back to it.It probably would be like this. Okay, well if we can't be friends. Then take it as a song or a lesson to learn And sometime soon be better than you were If you say you're gonna go, then be careful And watch how you treat every living soul.
Basically it's step by step reenactment of the ending of a relationship. The opening argument that takes place. The question of "Can't we still be friends?" the person says "My eyes can't see you other than a lover." The response is "Okay if you're gonna go remember this and don't repeat it again.
Yeah that's the way I see it. I think the like "My eyes can't see you any other way" pretty much says it all.