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.
Realize how lonely this is
Self-defeating, oh, fuck, yeah
Drowned in love and false kisses
A gathering of no meaning
That shadow is a cross okay
Judgment must willing today
Silence is not sacrifice
Crucifixion is the easy life
Who threw the first stone
If the stone is you
Forgive them forsaken
Bleeding feet an angel's savior
That shadow is a cross okay
Judgment must be willing today
Silence is not sacrifice
Crucifixion is the easy life
Embrace to betrayal
An arms army salvation
Listen to the selfish ones
They are the voice of accomplishment
Self-defeating, oh, fuck, yeah
Drowned in love and false kisses
A gathering of no meaning
That shadow is a cross okay
Judgment must willing today
Silence is not sacrifice
Crucifixion is the easy life
Who threw the first stone
If the stone is you
Forgive them forsaken
Bleeding feet an angel's savior
That shadow is a cross okay
Judgment must be willing today
Silence is not sacrifice
Crucifixion is the easy life
Embrace to betrayal
An arms army salvation
Listen to the selfish ones
They are the voice of accomplishment
Lyrics submitted by deltasunlight, edited by teaspill
Doors Closing Slowly Lyrics as written by Nicholas Jones James Bradfield
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
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Light Up The Sky
Van Halen
Van Halen
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
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
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.
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
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.
This might sound crazy, but I feel like this one might be autobiographical.
Realise how lonely this is? Self-defeating oh fuck yeah Drowned in love and false kisses A gathering of no meaning
Love and false kisses in the setting of a large gathering brings to mind the devotional ritual of a concert. By the end of Richey's time with the Manics, he was going out to perform, and then spending prettymuch all the rest of his time alone, either in his flat or a van while the rest of the band and the fans kept away. No matter where he was, it was loneliness, with his only real human contact being in the context of being worshiped on a stage in a meaningless display.
The shadow is the cross ok
To live in the "shadow of the cross" is to live one's life as Jesus did. Here, we have the shadow itself being the cross. The implication I pull from this is that the emulation of himself he could see in his fans was a source of guilt and pain for him, a cross he had to bear.
Judgement must be willing today
This can be read multiple ways. 1. One must be willing to do what one must, according to one's good judgement.
Silence is not sacrifice Crucifixion is the easy life
A logical permutation of "silence is not sacrifice" is speaking is sacrifice. Pair that with the next line, and you can draw the conclusion that speaking, being open about his thoughts and life and opinions, led to his crucifixion -- and hence to his worship, and the easy life of being a rockstar. It's also worth noting, as MBlack pointed out, that he did give up any chance for a normal life by choosing that life path. This is almost certainly one of the doors being referenced as closing in the title.
Who threw the first stone? If the stone is you
The Manics got a decent amount of flak for encouraging their fans to be damaged -- cutting, anorexia, et al -- due to Richey being so open about matters. I think this line questions whether he may have thrown the first stone at himself simply by being open about who he was. It may also question whether he is genuinely culpable for the damage he's been accused of producing in his fans.
Forgive them forsaken Bleeding feet an angels saviour
Both lines, once again, reference Jesus. Forgiving those who forsake him references Peter thrice-forsaking Jesus, the second line references the nativity. Forgiving those who forsook him may reference forgiving people for leaving him alone and lonely, forgiving people for throwing metaphorical stones at him, or both. The second line speaks more of his legitimate capacity to help the depressed/eating disordered/self-injuring fragments of the population by bringing their shared issues to light and making them feel less alone (even in the midst of his own loneliness).
Embrace to betrayal Unarmed army salvation
The second line here is a clear reference to the Salvation Army, who were some of the very first people dedicated to getting drunks and addicts sober. A few months before Richey was institutionalized and started working through a 12-step program, the band stopped letting him be alone with fans. I'm not inferring exactly what happened, but clearly there was some betrayal involved with letting worshipful fans get too close that would cause that to happen. It was obliquely referenced in several interviews as one of the main motivations he had to get sober. This would be another door closing: Drugs and alcohol were removed, soundly so. This left him with the act of being worshiped exclusively from afar, in a concert setting in which he merely pretended to play guitar, by worshipful fans he would not let himself touch or get too close to, while he was actively criticized for encouraging them to emulate him, without even having the escape hatch of obliterating his mind to stop thinking about the meaningless, lonely joke of it all. (Sorry if that sentence verges on incoherence.) If one thinks about it, this leaves very few options. He can't live a normal life, he's in a band. He can't enjoy decadent band life, he's chosen definitively to be sober and not exploit his fans. The last doors closed, the solutions to the miseries of existence were removed. What's left? What options did he have?
Listen to the selfish ones They are the voice of accomplishment
I'm honestly not sure how facetious this line is meant to be. On one hand, it may be legitimate advice. Richey spent his life trying, passively and obediently, both not to hurt anyone and to fulfill what people wanted and expected from him. And what did he get for it? Nothing but flak from the media, and worship from people he may well have been damaging as much as he helped. If he'd been selfish, maybe he could have had a normal, productive life rather than the crucifixion he found. On the other side of the coin, accomplishment is not virtuous, and inevitably involves stomping people down and standing on the backs of other people to pull off. Whether you aim for passive obedience or selfish accomplishment, evil gets produced, and you have to take part in it if you're going to be alive.
Rambly, I know. And quite possibly trying to pull too many nuances out of one lyric. But it does seem to encapsulate a lot of what Richey said of the world, as well as a lot of what he must have been feeling by the end.