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.
She says sometimes she sees these things
Right before they're happening
Hail Mary full of grace
Some nights she swears she feels her face
She's known a couple boys that died
And two of them were crucified
And the last one had enlightened eyes
But the first guy he was jesus Christ
Hey Judas - I know you made a grave mistake
Hey Peter - you've been pretty sweet since easter break
Now she's four a.m. and she's wide awake
She's shivering and smiling
Let's clutch and kiss and sing and shake
And now lets try to levitate
You catholic girls you stop much too late
Baby lets transverberate
Baby lets transverberate
Baby lets transverberate
And she saw all the footage right before it got cut
And she saw all the bodies and she saw the blood
She saw the angel put a sword in his side
And baby thats how we got canonized
She saw him gushing blood right before it got cut
She saw him put a body in a bag in the trunk
She saw the guys coming in from the sides
And baby thats how we get energized
She said you know I'm down to pay for it
She said just grab me some indulgences
'Cause I've been mostly dying
And I've been mostly [unknown]
And I've been mostly crying
And I've been thinking 'bout both crosses
She saw the film right before it came out
And at first she thought judas might go for the mouth
And she saw the nails and she saw the hands
She saw the crowd and she heard the band
And the new kid begged them not to do it
And jesus just said hey I still love you judas
Since you've been up in Massachusetts
I've been dreaming about dos cruces
And I've been thinking about both crosses
And ive been dreaming about dos cruces
Yea I've been thinking about both crosses
Right before they're happening
Hail Mary full of grace
Some nights she swears she feels her face
She's known a couple boys that died
And two of them were crucified
And the last one had enlightened eyes
But the first guy he was jesus Christ
Hey Judas - I know you made a grave mistake
Hey Peter - you've been pretty sweet since easter break
Now she's four a.m. and she's wide awake
She's shivering and smiling
Let's clutch and kiss and sing and shake
And now lets try to levitate
You catholic girls you stop much too late
Baby lets transverberate
Baby lets transverberate
Baby lets transverberate
And she saw all the footage right before it got cut
And she saw all the bodies and she saw the blood
She saw the angel put a sword in his side
And baby thats how we got canonized
She saw him gushing blood right before it got cut
She saw him put a body in a bag in the trunk
She saw the guys coming in from the sides
And baby thats how we get energized
She said you know I'm down to pay for it
She said just grab me some indulgences
'Cause I've been mostly dying
And I've been mostly [unknown]
And I've been mostly crying
And I've been thinking 'bout both crosses
She saw the film right before it came out
And at first she thought judas might go for the mouth
And she saw the nails and she saw the hands
She saw the crowd and she heard the band
And the new kid begged them not to do it
And jesus just said hey I still love you judas
Since you've been up in Massachusetts
I've been dreaming about dos cruces
And I've been thinking about both crosses
And ive been dreaming about dos cruces
Yea I've been thinking about both crosses
Lyrics submitted by CharlatanSin
Both Crosses Lyrics as written by J Kubler C Finn
Lyrics © RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
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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
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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.
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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.
I don't think that the girl is Holly - it's Sapphire, the psychic girlfriend from "Chips Ahoy". Back in happier times, she used to tell Charlemagne which horse was gonna finish in first, but now she's seeing visions of his murder.
He gets stabbed anyway, but the tip-off might have saved him - in "Yeah Sapphire" he tells her that "it all went down exactly like your visions" and that "I'm not drunk, I'm cut / I'm gushing blood /And I need someone to come and pick me up."
Throughout the rest of the album we hear inconsistent accounts of one murder, or two murders -- so while some townie definitely gets killed, we don't know if it's Charlemagne or not.
The album also has a few hints that it's Holly who is the "Judas" who tells the bad guys where Charlemagne is hiding out -- she previously told people she was up in Massachusetts. She's definitely the strung out girl in "Lord I'm Discouraged" - there's your relapse.
Possibly my favorite Hold Steady song yet. Amazing.
It's a great song but what is it about?
There's some obvious references to viewing "The Passion," and filling the girl with Catholic guilt, yet in spite of that she continues to deal with shady people.
I'm almost 100% certain this is Holly in the midst of a relapse.
I agree that this is probably 'bout Holly. Heck, aside from the fact that Finn's really singing here, this sounds like it could be a song from Seperation Sunday, right down to the fact that it doesn't have a chorus. I mean, granted, most HS songs with choruses are great, but I've always kind of had a soft spot for the old-style ones.
On a completely unrelated note, "transverberate" is apparently a real word. It means to pierce, which I assume is supposed to go with the line about the sword in Jesus' side.
Also, theremins are love.
The tranverberate thing is weird. It's listed in the dictionary as "To beat or strike through", but it has a second meaning in Catholicism involving an ecstatic experience, related to a "dart of love" piercing the heart and inflaming within it an intense love of God. Source:maryschild.blogspot.com/2005/08/feast-of-transverberation-of-st-teresa.html
transverberate is him talking about sex. Between it meaning "to stab" and "ecstasy," he's playing with words, as Craig often does.