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.
Brother hold your head this way,
And bustle to the front of the line;
'cause if they catch your eyes before you get inside
Well, you'll never be allowed.
People got a name for us
'cause we escape the strain of the days
Oh we stretch at the sides and bend in the middle
But we never ever break.
But if you're feeling that way now,
Or if you ever feel so inclined -
Skip past the doors of boring forty somethings and rise.
Oh, and if you want to lose your frown,
Or your name or even your face -
Lick up a dream that seemingly sings with whistling neon breath.
Come and have a drink with us,
A little wine or a nice champagne?
Oh thanks that's nice, and I would decline,
But at night things seem to change.
People got a name for us,
'cause we escape the strain of the days -
Oh we stretch at the sides and bend in our minds
But well never ever change.
And if you're feeling that way now,
Or if you ever feel so inclined,
Well, kick in the shins of all those fucking whingers and rise.
Oh and if you want to lose your frown,
Or your name or even your face,
Lick up a dream that seemingly sings with whistling neon breath.
Sid was at the gates of dawn,
And Jimmy said ride the snake:
So we bent our spoons and howled at the moon
To find what science replaced.
And it turns out it ain't that much
Though I may have missed it in the haze -
Oh drips in the mind and fills up your eyes
But well never be the same.
(Shhh)
But if you're ever coming down,
Or if you ever take too much -
Remember that's much better than never ever getting enough.
So if your want to lose your frown,
Or your name or even your face,
Lick up a dream that seemingly screams with rushing neon death.
All your spirits gone, and you are barley alive.
You hand me a smoke, though its like you hardly notice.
And its sad I suppose - When I look into your eyes you say:
It seems to go this way, no matter what's at stake,
Oh it seems to go this way with everything I start!
(Solo)
So if you're feeling that way now,
Or if you ever feel so inclined -
Skip past the doors of boring forty somethings and rise.
Oh but if you want to loose your frown,
Or your name or even your face -
Lick up a dream that seemingly sings with rushing neon death.
And bustle to the front of the line;
'cause if they catch your eyes before you get inside
Well, you'll never be allowed.
People got a name for us
'cause we escape the strain of the days
Oh we stretch at the sides and bend in the middle
But we never ever break.
But if you're feeling that way now,
Or if you ever feel so inclined -
Skip past the doors of boring forty somethings and rise.
Oh, and if you want to lose your frown,
Or your name or even your face -
Lick up a dream that seemingly sings with whistling neon breath.
Come and have a drink with us,
A little wine or a nice champagne?
Oh thanks that's nice, and I would decline,
But at night things seem to change.
People got a name for us,
'cause we escape the strain of the days -
Oh we stretch at the sides and bend in our minds
But well never ever change.
And if you're feeling that way now,
Or if you ever feel so inclined,
Well, kick in the shins of all those fucking whingers and rise.
Oh and if you want to lose your frown,
Or your name or even your face,
Lick up a dream that seemingly sings with whistling neon breath.
Sid was at the gates of dawn,
And Jimmy said ride the snake:
So we bent our spoons and howled at the moon
To find what science replaced.
And it turns out it ain't that much
Though I may have missed it in the haze -
Oh drips in the mind and fills up your eyes
But well never be the same.
(Shhh)
But if you're ever coming down,
Or if you ever take too much -
Remember that's much better than never ever getting enough.
So if your want to lose your frown,
Or your name or even your face,
Lick up a dream that seemingly screams with rushing neon death.
All your spirits gone, and you are barley alive.
You hand me a smoke, though its like you hardly notice.
And its sad I suppose - When I look into your eyes you say:
It seems to go this way, no matter what's at stake,
Oh it seems to go this way with everything I start!
(Solo)
So if you're feeling that way now,
Or if you ever feel so inclined -
Skip past the doors of boring forty somethings and rise.
Oh but if you want to loose your frown,
Or your name or even your face -
Lick up a dream that seemingly sings with rushing neon death.
Lyrics submitted by crayola_colours
Polka Lyrics as written by Michael Tomlinson
Lyrics © DOWNTOWN MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Brother hold your head this way And bustle to the front of the line Coz if they catch your eyes before you get inside, Well you'll never be allowed keep your head down as you go in the door so they can't tell you're high as a kite (large pupils)
People got a name for us druggies/additcts - or something equally dismissive/degrading Coz we escape the strain of the days taking drugs as a break from the mundane Oh we stretch in the side and bend in the middle, But we never ever break could be a description of how people on some drugs dance, or how skinny a lot of drug-takers are But if you feel that way now Or if you ever feel so inclined if you want to get high Skip past the doors of boring forty-somethings and rise come in to the club past the "boring people", get high and have a great time
Oh and if you wanna lose your frown Or your name or even your face Lick up a dream that seemingly sings with whistling neon breath If you want to have an amazing experience and forget everything for a while eat some of this (Personally i think this is about LSD - but it could describe any number of drugs, likely hallucinigans or maybe opiates - which are mentioned later in the song)
Come and have a drink with us A little wine or a nice champagne Oh thanks sounds nice and I will decline But at night things seem to change a lot of poeple choose drugs over alcohol - or sometimes both?
People got a name for us Coz we escape the strain of the days Coz we stretch in the sides and bend in them eyes but we never ever change there are always people taking drugs?
And if you feel that way now Or if you ever feel so inclined Well kick in the shins of all the fucking whingers and rise ignore all the people telling you how bad it is to get high and have a great time
Yeh and if you wanna lose your frown Or your name or even your face Lick up a dream that seemingly sings with whistling neon breath
Sid was at the gates of dawn end of the night? (or perhaps a drug reference that I don't understand) And Jimmy said ride the snake sounds like a refence to "chasing the dragon" - opium? - perhaps at the end of a crazy night out on LSD or maybe Ecstacy they went to someone's hous to take an opiate? So we bent our spoons and howled at the moon to find what science replaced I think this is a reference to how opiates - like opium, are now engineered artificially And it turns out it aint that much it wasn't as exciting as they thought, or science didn't really make many changes to the natural chemical Though I may have missed it in the haze although it's hard to recall Oh it drips in your mind And fills up your eyes And you'll never be the same it takes over your mind and changes the way you think - possibly forever - not necessarily negative
But if you're ever coming down Or if you ever take too much Remember that's much better than never ever getting enough it's better have a bad come down then to have a nagging additcion where you never ever seem to have enough
Oh so if you wanna lose your frown Or your name or even your face Lick up a dream that seemingly screams with rushing neon death alright this seems to indicate that the person is going too far, perhaps taking too much, and knows it
All your spirits gone, and you are barley alive. You hand me a smoke, though it�s like you hardly notice after addiction has taken hold And it�s sad I suppose When I look into your eyes you say It seems to go this way, no matter what�s at stake, Oh it seems to go this way with everything I start a person lamenting that they seemd to get addicted to everything they have, even if they know the consequences of going too far and do so anyway
Oh so if you feel that way now Or if you ever feel so inclined Skip past the doors of boring forty-somethings and rise But if you want to lose your frown Or your name or even your face Lick up a dream that seemingly sings with rushing neon death
Yep I agree with the general gist of all this.<br /> <br /> The last time I 'licked up a dream', effects were starting to kick in nicely and I'd decided to whack on the headphones and listen to some music... this was the first song that came on the radio! :) The song was very new at the time, and though I'd probably heard it a couple of times before without paying too much attention. This time I really "heard" it! I of course found it hilariously coincidental and/or meaningful that a song with such subject matter just happened to be the first one to come on the radio. Just try and imagine how 'trippy' it was to hear the voice asking repeatedly "if you're feelin' that way now" ... Ahh you crazy universe, I thought! ;)<br /> <br /> Quite a few incorrect lyrics are listed, some of which I'll correct below.<br /> <br /> "Oh we stretch inside and bend in the middle, But we never ever break"<br /> I take this as a reference to the way certain substances can bend and expand your mind to various new ways of thinking, only to eventually return you to near enough your previous 'normal' state of mind unharmed, but not necessarily unchanged.<br /> <br /> "Syd was at the gates of dawn"<br /> Syd Barret was a renowned tripper.<br /> The Piper at the Gates of Dawn is Pink Floyd's debut album and the only one made under Syd Barrett's leadership.<br /> [ from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Piper_at_the_Gates_of_Dawn ]<br /> <br /> "And Jim he said ride the snake" <br /> Jim Morrison (also a renowned tripper) from the song 'The End' [ songmeanings.net/songs/view/4928/ ]<br /> <br /> "Lick up a dream that seemingly sings with whistling neon death"<br /> The word 'breath' is only changed to 'death' for the last line of the song.<br /> An apt way to end the song, and perhaps another reference to ego death (along with the references to 'losing your name')<br /> <br /> To be honest, I first found it offensive that the song was being used for a car ad,<br /> but have too come to find it quite amusing. Especially given that the ad is kind of trippy in its own way ;) [ youtube.com/watch ]<br /> <br /> Anyway, great song... All the more impressive when you consider it's this young band's debut!
now that you point out who Jim and Syd are, it makes an awful lot of sense :)<br /> <br /> Thanks!!
NICE SONG
I agree by and large with Froggie Frog's interpretation above, except this part:
"So we bent our spoons and howled at the moon to find what science replaced And it turns out it aint that much Though I may have missed in in the haze Oh it drips in your mind And fills up your eyes And you'll never be the same"
I think this bit is about spirituality, and is where the song gets a bit philosophical. The idea being that the people in the song haven't found any fulfillment from spirituality, so now they look to illicit drugs - science's chemical replacement for the euphoria of a spiritual experience. What they find out is that there is nothing beyond life and the high... though they still hold on and assume they just missed it. And even though they couldn't achieve what they were looking for, through either spirituality or drugs, they are forever changed by trying.
Bit heavy I suppose, but that's the interpretation I like. :)
I took the first verse to mean that these kids were under age, trying to get into the club and not get seen/caught.
The next part of the song is about being young and carefree, not letting yourself be weighed down with the negativity, obligations, lack of enthusiasm and obstacles in life... "...and rise" to rise above it. Don't let other's whinging bring you down.
Basically, my interpretation of this song was about being young, carefree, positive and 'in the moment'.
Hey this is an amazing song I saw them live yestirdsy and it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life, this song is especially good the instramentals used are incredible and I got a photo with the drummer the lyrics are awesome I especially love the refrences made to the drug addicts haha haha cool song ox
i saw them live a few months back - they blew me away - i had such a good time! everyone in the bar was dancing around crazy having a wonderful time. I expect big things from Yves Klein Blue :)
"Come and have a drink with us A little wine or a nice champagne Oh thanks sounds nice and I will decline"
heroin addicts don't drink alcohol.
"The Piper At The Gates of Dawn" was a Pink Floyd album described as demonstrating the genius of Syd Barrett, a founding member of the group who left because of mental illness exacerbated by the use of LSD. Jim Carrey performed a Saturday Night Live skit called "Jimmy Tango's Fat Busters" in which "Jimmy Tango" explained that the secret to losing weight was to use amphetamines, a practice he referred to as "riding the snake".
ah this song is incredible
sid was at the Gates Of Dawn...sid barret was the "genius" behind tge psychedelic first albumn by Pink Floyd before he had a mental bteakdown (said to be from too much 'cid)
Jimmy said "ride the snake" .Jim Morrison from the Doors. Another infamous artist known for drugs although he drank himself to death in Paris
I think they included these lines because so many people dont have a clue to what they refer to. Especially their targetted listeners, millenials who think "classic rock" was 80s Madonna or michael.jackson
The last time I 'licked up a dream', effects were starting to kick in nicely and I'd decided to whack on the headphones and listen to some music... this was the first song that came on the radio! :) The song was very new at the time, and though I'd probably heard it a couple of times before without paying too much attention. This time I really "heard" it! I of course found it hilariously coincidental and/or meaningful that a song with such subject matter just happened to be the first one to come on the radio. Just try and imagine how 'trippy' it was to hear the voice asking repeatedly "if you're feelin' that way now" ... Ahh you crazy universe, I thought! ;)
Quite a few incorrect lyrics are listed, some of which I'll correct below.
"Oh we stretch inside and bend in the middle, But we never ever break" I take this as a reference to the way certain substances can bend and expand your mind to various new ways of thinking, only to eventually return you to near enough your previous 'normal' state of mind unharmed, but not necessarily unchanged.
"Syd was at the gates of dawn" Syd Barret was a renowned tripper. The Piper at the Gates of Dawn is Pink Floyd's debut album and the only one made under Syd Barrett's leadership. [ from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Piper_at_the_Gates_of_Dawn ]
"And Jim he said ride the snake" Jim Morrison (also a renowned tripper) from the song 'The End' [ songmeanings.net/songs/view/4928/ ]
"Lick up a dream that seemingly sings with whistling neon death" The word 'breath' is only changed to 'death' for the last line of the song. An apt way to end the song, and perhaps another reference to ego death (along with the references to 'losing your name')
To be honest, I first found it offensive that the song was being used for a car ad, but have too come to find it quite amusing. Especially given that the ad is kind of trippy in its own way ;) [ youtube.com/watch ]
Anyway, great song... All the more impressive when you consider it's this young band's debut!