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 oh, the rage is gone
And oh, the sorries begin
And though the drinking has thinned
Oh, still I wrestle
I wrestle within
And then to you
I don't look so good
Like I did what I felt like
Like I did what I would
But I don't have my dog
And I don't make a sound
I live on an island
In the middle of town
So if you've got a thing
With me or my friend
Remember what we've been through
Remember where we've been
We don't have our dogs
And we don't make a sound
We live on an island
In the middle of town
And oh, the rage is gone
And oh, the sorries begin
And though the drinking has thinned
Oh, still I wrestle
I wrestle within
And then to you
I don't look so good
I got what I asked for
I got what I deserved
But I don't have my dog
And I don't make a sound
I live on an island
In the middle of town
Don't have my dog
Don't make a sound
I live on an island in the middle of town
And oh, the sorries begin
And though the drinking has thinned
Oh, still I wrestle
I wrestle within
And then to you
I don't look so good
Like I did what I felt like
Like I did what I would
But I don't have my dog
And I don't make a sound
I live on an island
In the middle of town
So if you've got a thing
With me or my friend
Remember what we've been through
Remember where we've been
We don't have our dogs
And we don't make a sound
We live on an island
In the middle of town
And oh, the rage is gone
And oh, the sorries begin
And though the drinking has thinned
Oh, still I wrestle
I wrestle within
And then to you
I don't look so good
I got what I asked for
I got what I deserved
But I don't have my dog
And I don't make a sound
I live on an island
In the middle of town
Don't have my dog
Don't make a sound
I live on an island in the middle of town
Lyrics submitted by post.paint.girl, edited by Stockholm
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"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"
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"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"
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Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
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"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
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Great version of a great song,
i really like this song, but i don't get the part about the dogs...
the part about not having his dog and living on an island in the middle of town... i think Chris is saying that he's alone, or feels alone.
I believe the part about his dog symbolizes he doesn't have a best friend.<br /> Mans best friend is a dog.
i think this song is about his sexuality, especially this verse:
"So if you've got a thing WIth me or my friend Remember what we've been through Remember where we've been"
could be. but i think the song is more centered on feeling isolated and distant by how weird and different you are or feel to be.
These lyrics are wrong, particularly in the chorus. This is more correct:
And oh, the rage is gone And oh, the sorries begin And though the drinking has thinned Oh, still I wrestle I wrestle within
And then to you I don't look so good Like I did what I felt like Like I did what I would
But I don't have my dog And I don't make a sound I live on an island In the middle of town
So if you've got a thing With me or my friend Remember what we've been through Remember where we've been
We don't have our dogs And we don't make a sound We live on an island In the middle of town
And oh, the rage is gone And oh, the sorries begin And though the drinking has thinned Oh still I wrestle I wrestle within
And then to you I don't look so good Like I did what I felt like Like I did what I would
But I don't have my dog And I don't make a sound I live on an island In the middle of town
No I don't have my dog And I don't make a sound I live on an island In the middle of town
Pretty simple message. His alcoholism is no secret; it's about relapse from a supposed recovery, or even just a moment of sobriety. The rage is gone, but only on the surface. He's apologized it all away, and even "thinned" his drinking. Everything's better. But then...he starts to not so good. Like he's gone and done what he felt like. Like we all knew he would.
The part about not having his dog, I think, is a moment of feeling bad for himself, and also a bit of a red herring for anyone who wants to know what's really wrong. I miss my dog, he says. That's all. And then he withdraws back to his little island where no one can touch him. That's the significance of an island in the middle of town: it's where you withdraw to from all of the people who care about you.
I think the speaker in this song is talking about having to leave certain people behind who have failed to understand or accept him. He has expressed his rage about something and feels bad about that ("all the sorries begin"). He has made a choice and is starting to come to terms with it ("the drinking has thinned") but he still "wrestle[s] within". The people he has left behind accuse him of being selfish ("to you, I don't look so good / Like I did what I wanted. Like I did what I would") but he points out that he has lost a great deal by making this choice. Saying that he doesn't have his dog and doesn't make a sound suggests that he is isolated and silenced. Though he is in the "middle of town," he essentially "live(s) on an island" because he is cut off from the "mainland" of society.