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.
Girl you drive me crazy
Why you never come around
Now you're such a lady
Why your feet don't touch the ground
Tell me pretty baby
Say you I'll never let me down
Autumn clearing
All the leaves are falling down
I can see clearly now
Why you never come around
Now you're such a lady
Why your feet don't touch the ground
Tell me pretty baby
Say you I'll never let me down
Autumn clearing
All the leaves are falling down
I can see clearly now
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
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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."
When We Were Young
Blink-182
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
The song is about a girlfriend (in what sense? Unclear) with whom the narrator has become estranged. She has made her way to high society and forgotten about her former friends (“now you’re such a lady, why your feet don’t touch the ground”). Maybe she has married a wealthy landowner; maybe she has made a fortune through being an amazing burlesque performer, who knows? Whatever the case, our narrator feels betrayed by her (maybe unfoundedly so, just to add another twist). The last few lines are definitely my favourites, though. “Autumn clearing, all the leaves are falling down” brings to memory the classic Autumn Leaves, another song about two people that are tragically not together anymore. Zamba ends with a cliffhanger: “I can see you clearly now”.
I find that last line frustrating and compelling. It welcomes more than one interpretation. Maybe he sees that, despite her fully immersing herself in that strange world, she’s truly unhappy and lonely up there á la the girl from Bitter-Sweet (“as you turn to leave you try to force a smile, then you break down and cry”). Or, maybe, he sees that she has changed completely as a person, or just revealed her true nature which makes him realise he never truly knew her and he has been mourning the loss of a person that never really existed. Both are unhappy outcomes. I just can’t come up with a happy one that makes sense to me. Either way, I love how Zamba is so wonderfully open-ended. Depending on the day, I go for one ending or the other.