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.
I was living in a small mind
With no lifeline
And no messages can reach me from the outside
When I looked out over the horizon
Didn't notice the sun was setting or just rising
Then it hit me
Maybe bit me
Then I knew, quite a few would not go with me
I didn't know exactly where I would be going
But I had to let this river in me flowing
What a ride
When you open your eyes
For the very first time
A real surprise
I started living outside of the box
Crossing over lines where I always used to stop
Living outside of the box
'Cause I'm not gonna be anybody that I'm not
I always knew this day would come
When I got off my back, found some motivation
I've been living on the other side
Come hell or high water every moment I'm alive
I was living on a fault line
The fault was all mine
And this unstable ground found me down half the time
But I had enough
I had to get up
I had to shrug it all off 'cause it's the same old stuff
Then it hit me
You won't permit me
To be an individual
Just doesn't fit me
But I decided that it's going to be living
Yeah, I decided I'm escaping from your prison
What a high
When you open your mind for the very first time
A real surprise
I started living outside of the box
Crossing over lines where I always used to stop
Living outside of the box
'Cause I'm not gonna be anybody that I'm not
I always knew this day would come
When I got off my back, found some motivation
I've been living on the other side
Come hell or high water every moment I'm alive
So long conformity
And ambiguality is a new priority
All it takes, for heaven sakes
Is to figure out the face and learn to seperate
I started living outside for the box
Taking my time when I always used to rush
Living outside of the box
'Cause I'm not gonna be anybody that I'm not
I always knew this day would come
When I broke down the walls for my liberation
I've been living on the other side
Come hell or high water every moment I'm alive
Oh, living outside of the box
Oh, living outside of the box
Oh, living outside
Ha ha ha
I always knew this day would come
When I got off my back, found some motivation
Oh, living outside of the box
Of the box, of your life
Of everything that seems that nice
With no lifeline
And no messages can reach me from the outside
When I looked out over the horizon
Didn't notice the sun was setting or just rising
Then it hit me
Maybe bit me
Then I knew, quite a few would not go with me
I didn't know exactly where I would be going
But I had to let this river in me flowing
What a ride
When you open your eyes
For the very first time
A real surprise
I started living outside of the box
Crossing over lines where I always used to stop
Living outside of the box
'Cause I'm not gonna be anybody that I'm not
I always knew this day would come
When I got off my back, found some motivation
I've been living on the other side
Come hell or high water every moment I'm alive
I was living on a fault line
The fault was all mine
And this unstable ground found me down half the time
But I had enough
I had to get up
I had to shrug it all off 'cause it's the same old stuff
Then it hit me
You won't permit me
To be an individual
Just doesn't fit me
But I decided that it's going to be living
Yeah, I decided I'm escaping from your prison
What a high
When you open your mind for the very first time
A real surprise
I started living outside of the box
Crossing over lines where I always used to stop
Living outside of the box
'Cause I'm not gonna be anybody that I'm not
I always knew this day would come
When I got off my back, found some motivation
I've been living on the other side
Come hell or high water every moment I'm alive
So long conformity
And ambiguality is a new priority
All it takes, for heaven sakes
Is to figure out the face and learn to seperate
I started living outside for the box
Taking my time when I always used to rush
Living outside of the box
'Cause I'm not gonna be anybody that I'm not
I always knew this day would come
When I broke down the walls for my liberation
I've been living on the other side
Come hell or high water every moment I'm alive
Oh, living outside of the box
Oh, living outside of the box
Oh, living outside
Ha ha ha
I always knew this day would come
When I got off my back, found some motivation
Oh, living outside of the box
Of the box, of your life
Of everything that seems that nice
Lyrics submitted by SMUSER17185761
The Box Lyrics as written by
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Light Up The Sky
Van Halen
Van Halen
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
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.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"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."
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
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.
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
I like this song.I think its about being different from everyone else and just living life the way you want. I think it has more meaning then that but I'm not to sure
This is a song Perry wrote about escaping her extremely strict Christian upbringing and thinking for herself for the first time.
LOL...so she rebels by going to the superficial, plastic, materialistic world of Hollyweird and she's somehow "free." She sings about lesbianism and hedonism but she is supposedly free. LOL. Seems to me she just went from one extreme that's more positive and healthy to one that is arrogant, self-serving, selfish, and childish. We've all been there and done that, but some of us actually grow up and become adults. FYI...the woman's vocal quality is questionable.