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.
You take a deep breath
And you walk through the doors
It's the morning of your very first day
You say hi to your friends you ain't seen in awhile
Try and stay out of everybody's way
It's your freshman year
And you're gonna be here for the next four years
In this town
Hoping one of those senior boys
Will wink at you and say
"You know I haven't seen you around, before"
'Cause when you're fifteen
And somebody tells you they love you
You're gonna believe them
And when you're fifteen
Feeling like there's nothing to figure out
Well, count to ten
Take it in
This is life before you know who you're gonna be
At fifteen
You sit in class next to a red-head named Abigail
And soon enough you're best friends
Laughing at the other girls
Who think they're so cool
We'll be out of here as soon as we can
And then you're on your very first date
And he's got a car
And you're feeling like flying
And your mama's waiting up
And you're thinking he's the one
And you're dancing 'round your room when the night ends
When the night ends
'Cause when you're fifteen
And somebody tells you they love you
You're gonna believe them
And when you're fifteen
And your first kiss makes your head spin around
Well, in your life you'll do things
Greater than dating the boy on the football team
I didn't know it at fifteen
When all you wanted
Was to be wanted
Wish you could go back
And tell yourself what you know now
Back then I swore I was gonna marry him someday
But I realized some bigger dreams of mine
And Abigail gave everything she had
To a boy who changed his mind
And we both cried
'Cause when you're fifteen
And somebody tells you they love you
You're gonna believe them
And when you're fifteen
Don't forget to look before you fall
But I've found time can heal most anything
And you just might find who you're supposed to be
I didn't know who I was supposed to be
At fifteen
La-la la-la la-la-la-la
La-la la-la la-la-la-la
La-la la-la
Your very first day
Take a deep breath girl
Take a deep breath as you walk through the doors
And you walk through the doors
It's the morning of your very first day
You say hi to your friends you ain't seen in awhile
Try and stay out of everybody's way
It's your freshman year
And you're gonna be here for the next four years
In this town
Hoping one of those senior boys
Will wink at you and say
"You know I haven't seen you around, before"
'Cause when you're fifteen
And somebody tells you they love you
You're gonna believe them
And when you're fifteen
Feeling like there's nothing to figure out
Well, count to ten
Take it in
This is life before you know who you're gonna be
At fifteen
You sit in class next to a red-head named Abigail
And soon enough you're best friends
Laughing at the other girls
Who think they're so cool
We'll be out of here as soon as we can
And then you're on your very first date
And he's got a car
And you're feeling like flying
And your mama's waiting up
And you're thinking he's the one
And you're dancing 'round your room when the night ends
When the night ends
'Cause when you're fifteen
And somebody tells you they love you
You're gonna believe them
And when you're fifteen
And your first kiss makes your head spin around
Well, in your life you'll do things
Greater than dating the boy on the football team
I didn't know it at fifteen
When all you wanted
Was to be wanted
Wish you could go back
And tell yourself what you know now
Back then I swore I was gonna marry him someday
But I realized some bigger dreams of mine
And Abigail gave everything she had
To a boy who changed his mind
And we both cried
'Cause when you're fifteen
And somebody tells you they love you
You're gonna believe them
And when you're fifteen
Don't forget to look before you fall
But I've found time can heal most anything
And you just might find who you're supposed to be
I didn't know who I was supposed to be
At fifteen
La-la la-la la-la-la-la
La-la la-la la-la-la-la
La-la la-la
Your very first day
Take a deep breath girl
Take a deep breath as you walk through the doors
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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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Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
Abigail gave everything she had to a boy who changed his mind.
This happened to me. I wasn't fifteen, I was twenty three. But it hurt more than I can put into words. It still does.
Thank you Taylor for telling it like it is.
Yeah, I don't think this song necessarily has to only apply to 15 year olds; I think it applies to naivety about love at any age, being vulnerable and believing in what someone says. I'm 20, and still dealing with this problem...the boy that changed his mind...tore my heart into a million places...