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.
Let the rain fall down, let it fall to the ground,
Let the rain fall down to the ground.
And the birds don't sing, no they don't make a sound,
When you're six feet underground.
Well they cast me out when the word spread around
That I never sang in the church.
And it took one night for the town to decide
I'm afflicted by the curse.
And the rain falls down, let it fall to the ground.
And the birds don't sing, no they don't make a sound.
So I look to the sky, tell me why, tell me why,
Do they all get to live, and I have to die?
So they marched me down to the center of town,
With their pitchforks high in the air.
I was chained and bound with a blindfold around
So the judge wouldn't catch my stare.
And they hung my soul from the gallows pole
But the witch they never found.
So to those who don't fit society's mold,
Learn to swim or you will drown.
And the rain falls down, let it fall to the ground.
And the birds don't sing, no they don't make a sound.
So I look to the sky, tell me why, tell me why,
Do they all get to live, and I have to die?
And the angels sing "let it shine, let it shine"
Dry the teardrops from my eyes.
And the bells will ring when the blind lead the blind,
'Cause the dead can't testify.
And because I can't take an eye for an eye,
In the afterlife I'll haunt you 'till you die!
And the rain falls down, let it fall to the ground
(Let teardrops hit the ground!)
And the birds don't sing, no they don't make a sound
(When you're six feet underground!)
So I look to the sky, tell me why, tell me why,
Do they all get to live, and I have to die?
And the angels sing "let it shine, let it shine"
Dry the teardrops from my eyes.
And the bells will ring when the blind lead the blind,
'Cause the dead can't testify.
And because I can't take an eye for an eye,
In the afterlife I'll haunt you 'till you die!
And the angels sing "let it shine, let it shine"
Dry the teardrops from my eyes.
And the bells will ring when the blind lead the blind,
'Cause the dead can't testify.
And because I can't take an eye for an eye,
In the afterlife I'll haunt you 'till you die!
Let the rain fall down to the ground.
And the birds don't sing, no they don't make a sound,
When you're six feet underground.
Well they cast me out when the word spread around
That I never sang in the church.
And it took one night for the town to decide
I'm afflicted by the curse.
And the rain falls down, let it fall to the ground.
And the birds don't sing, no they don't make a sound.
So I look to the sky, tell me why, tell me why,
Do they all get to live, and I have to die?
So they marched me down to the center of town,
With their pitchforks high in the air.
I was chained and bound with a blindfold around
So the judge wouldn't catch my stare.
And they hung my soul from the gallows pole
But the witch they never found.
So to those who don't fit society's mold,
Learn to swim or you will drown.
And the rain falls down, let it fall to the ground.
And the birds don't sing, no they don't make a sound.
So I look to the sky, tell me why, tell me why,
Do they all get to live, and I have to die?
And the angels sing "let it shine, let it shine"
Dry the teardrops from my eyes.
And the bells will ring when the blind lead the blind,
'Cause the dead can't testify.
And because I can't take an eye for an eye,
In the afterlife I'll haunt you 'till you die!
And the rain falls down, let it fall to the ground
(Let teardrops hit the ground!)
And the birds don't sing, no they don't make a sound
(When you're six feet underground!)
So I look to the sky, tell me why, tell me why,
Do they all get to live, and I have to die?
And the angels sing "let it shine, let it shine"
Dry the teardrops from my eyes.
And the bells will ring when the blind lead the blind,
'Cause the dead can't testify.
And because I can't take an eye for an eye,
In the afterlife I'll haunt you 'till you die!
And the angels sing "let it shine, let it shine"
Dry the teardrops from my eyes.
And the bells will ring when the blind lead the blind,
'Cause the dead can't testify.
And because I can't take an eye for an eye,
In the afterlife I'll haunt you 'till you die!
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Page
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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.
If we look at this song from a purely literal point of view, then it pretty much tells us about life in the 1600’s. In the past, many people were killed because of their beliefs, whether these opinions were religious or other; if they contradicted the rest of society, they were executed. 1692 was the year of the Salem Witch trials, which I believe this song is referencing to in part. In those days, if you had anything slightly off about you, any small difference, or different beliefs, you were accused of being a witch, and hunted down by the town.
“Hung from the gallows pole”, is a reference to the old folk song about a woman begging the executioner to spare her life. It was popularized in the 1970s when Led Zeppelin recorded their own version, entitled “Gallows Pole”, which is most likely what BT is referring to with this song. The gallows are the big wooden things they hung the condemned from in the past. “When the blind lead the blind” is a term that actually originally came from the bible.
Let they go, they are ye blynde leaders of ye blynde. Wha one blinde leadeth another, they fall both i ye diche. Bible, Matthew 15:14
In actual English, this is basically saying that when the blind lead the blind (therefore, when the disabled or incompetent take care of each other), they’ll all just fall into a ditch (ie., they’re screwed). Then, the song goes on to say that this is because the dead can’t testify. Therefore, those who are already screwed (dead), can’t help those who are about to be screwed (hung).
However, “The Dead Can’t Testify” could also be looked at as a metaphor reflecting today’s society. Obviously we don’t have people hunting us down with pitchforks because we refuse to sing in church, but it is sort of saying that by being different, we’ll be made into outcasts by society. Even though we say “oh, just be yourself,” often people are afraid to do that because of the possibility that they won’t be accepted by the rest of the world.