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.
Let's get the fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck out of here!
Let's get the fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck out of here!
Let's get the fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck out of here!
Don't test the captain's validity or his vulnerability.
I've seen the necks unnaturally twisted, craned to stars in the sky.
I've felt the chill upend the happiness of idiots in minutes;
they clutch their jewelry tight and say "How lucky am I!"
And like a drunk spills boons on his varsity letter,
can we forgive a ship of fools for what they don't know better?
I guess not.
"Man I hope he'll piss himself."
Analyze this room.
Grab that mop and broom and clean it up.
Man I hope he shits himself
when the rest of the shipwrecked long drowned in their graves
make a claim on the souls of the heartless fakes.
"Please help, my party flew away with the ocean mist.
I narrowly escaped to the roof."
But when the Night Rangers found me (dead, but for my liver)
and said "Don't tell me you love me", abhorrent and deliberate.
How we ruined the day's remains. Sinful.
A hero's humility is a foolish amenity.
Cups of coffee speed the heartbeats of the soonest to die.
I saw the first blood in the water, someone's mother or daughter.
I wait for troutman; Give me clearance for this chopper to fly.
Cause they were jumping off the backs of only sons,
offering up light snacks of younger ones.
"Well, how fast could our legs run?"
Let's get the fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck out of here!
The weak are screaming for the captain but the captain ain't here.
How we ruined the day's remains. Sinful.
The bodies splashed like paint.
To see so many scattered cockroaches running from the light.
Oh, when I saw them floating out to the river,
the cold inside my stomach was a hunger to me.
And if the devil makes a mess of all the raw meat,
Let him be.
Oh how my captain sailed it straight up the middle,
but the crooked lines are quicker when you're snorting them in.
Because if the devil's at your door you leave it open.
Let him in.
Let's get the fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck out of here!
Let's get the fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck out of here!
Don't test the captain's validity or his vulnerability.
I've seen the necks unnaturally twisted, craned to stars in the sky.
I've felt the chill upend the happiness of idiots in minutes;
they clutch their jewelry tight and say "How lucky am I!"
And like a drunk spills boons on his varsity letter,
can we forgive a ship of fools for what they don't know better?
I guess not.
"Man I hope he'll piss himself."
Analyze this room.
Grab that mop and broom and clean it up.
Man I hope he shits himself
when the rest of the shipwrecked long drowned in their graves
make a claim on the souls of the heartless fakes.
"Please help, my party flew away with the ocean mist.
I narrowly escaped to the roof."
But when the Night Rangers found me (dead, but for my liver)
and said "Don't tell me you love me", abhorrent and deliberate.
How we ruined the day's remains. Sinful.
A hero's humility is a foolish amenity.
Cups of coffee speed the heartbeats of the soonest to die.
I saw the first blood in the water, someone's mother or daughter.
I wait for troutman; Give me clearance for this chopper to fly.
Cause they were jumping off the backs of only sons,
offering up light snacks of younger ones.
"Well, how fast could our legs run?"
Let's get the fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck out of here!
The weak are screaming for the captain but the captain ain't here.
How we ruined the day's remains. Sinful.
The bodies splashed like paint.
To see so many scattered cockroaches running from the light.
Oh, when I saw them floating out to the river,
the cold inside my stomach was a hunger to me.
And if the devil makes a mess of all the raw meat,
Let him be.
Oh how my captain sailed it straight up the middle,
but the crooked lines are quicker when you're snorting them in.
Because if the devil's at your door you leave it open.
Let him in.
Lyrics submitted by brunoisrad
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This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
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I don't know if this was AWS' intention, but it comes off like any situation (particularly life-threatening) where people sort of...lose all civility and revert to their true survival, fight or flight instincts. Some kind of hell breaks loose (maybe in their own lives that's emotional, or something like an actual sinking ship). It comes up in the song as cannibalism (offering up snacks of younger ones) and in the penultimate verse. The use of cocaine in the final verse could symbolize that loss of control, and the ending is finally letting that devil (loss of civility, reverting to sheer animalism) inside you and becoming it.
Also, while browsing John Hughes wikipedia page, I found out that "Jaws 3, People 0" is a name of an unproduced screenplay of his, which was supposed to be a parody of the Jaws series. Dunno how it is relevant, though.