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.
When she's on her best behavior
Don't be tempted by her favors
Never turn your back on Mother Earth
Towns are hurled from A to B
By arms that looked so smooth to me
Never turn your back on Mother Earth
Never turn your back on Mother Earth
Three days and two nights away from my friends
Amen to anything that brings a quick return
To my friends, to my friends
Never turn your back on Mother Earth
Well, I'll admit I was unfaithful
But from now on I'll be more faithful
Never turn your back on Mother
Never turn your back on Mother
Never turn your back on Mother Earth
Don't be tempted by her favors
Never turn your back on Mother Earth
Towns are hurled from A to B
By arms that looked so smooth to me
Never turn your back on Mother Earth
Never turn your back on Mother Earth
Three days and two nights away from my friends
Amen to anything that brings a quick return
To my friends, to my friends
Never turn your back on Mother Earth
Well, I'll admit I was unfaithful
But from now on I'll be more faithful
Never turn your back on Mother
Never turn your back on Mother
Never turn your back on Mother Earth
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Light Up The Sky
Van Halen
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Holiday
Bee Gees
Bee Gees
@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday".
I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
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.
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.
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.
(Reposted from the Sparks page this song is a cover of. Note that the Neko Case version leaves a few lines of the original out.)
This is a deceptively complex song that hinges on a vaguely understood relationship between two interlocking ideas. First is the harsh, seemingly dualistic reality of nature: serene and alluring at its best, tempestuous, brutal and unforgiving at its worst. The same beautiful clouds you marvel at can raze cities and kill with indifference. The second main idea is in the implied narrative that builds on the second half and requires a little more unpacking. We have the image of a destructive deluge with narrow survival prospects already in place, then the rest of the song takes on a first-person perspective of someone separated from friends they wish to return to. In their desperation, they admit their infidelity and vow to do better. Whether this is relationship infidelity or religious infidelity is not specified, but in either case we are hearing thoughts driven by desperation and remorse.
Something left unsaid in this narrative portion becomes somewhat accessible through revisiting the first half: does this person believes there is a connection with their behavior and the grim situation they are in? A deity punishing them perhaps? Or have they simply reevaluated their behavior and values because they are now facing death? The answer is most likely the latter. Consider the tone of the line "grasp at straws that don't want grasping". In the context of a violent flood that can hurl towns from A to B, the real theme becomes clearer: at the end of the day the universe just doesn't give a damn. We cry out in the dark we hope that someone hears us, but the world is a cold, unfair and uncertain place.
So what can we do? The answer is in what causes that last vow to "be more faithful". The sentiment isn't really about fidelity, but about remorse and values. When people face death they realize their mistakes, and they're almost always caused by having made the wrong things important to them. The essence of the song becomes clearer here. We need to face reality, no matter how unattractive the truth can be, to meditate on our priorities and values, to not be lulled into routine and take the good things around us for granted, to not wait until the twilight of our lives to pursue truly important—to not turn our backs on Mother Earth.