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.
Sometimes we fall down and can't get back up
We're hiding behind skin that's too tough
How come we don't say I love you enough
'Til it's too late, it's not too late
Our hearts are hungry for a food that won't come
And we could make a feast from these crumbs
And we're all staring down the barrel of a gun
So if your life flashed before you, what would you wish you would've done
Yeah gotta start
Looking at the hands of the time we've been given here
This is all we got then we gotta start thinkin' it
Every second counts on a clock that's tickin'
Gotta live like we're dying oh
We only got 86 400 seconds in a day
To turn it all around or to throw it all away
Gotta tell 'em that we love 'em while we got the chance to say,
Gotta live like we're dying oh
Well if your plane fell out of the skies
Who would you call with your last goodbye
Should be so careful who we left out of our lives
So when we long for absolution, there'll be no one on the line
Yeah we gotta start lookin' at the hands of the time we've been given here
This all we got then we gotta start thinkin' it
Every second counts on a clock that's tickin'
Gotta live like we're dying oh
We only got 86 400 seconds in a day
To turn it all around or to throw it all away
Gotta tell 'em that we love 'em while we got the chance to say,
Gotta live like we're dying
Like we're dying oh
Like we're dying
Like we're dying oh
Like we're dying
We only got 86 400 seconds in a day
To turn it all around or to throw it all away
Gotta tell 'em that we love 'em while we got the chance to say,
Gotta live like we're dying oh
You never know a good thing until it's gone
You never see a crash until it's head on
Why we think we're right when we're dead wrong,
You never know a good thing 'til it's gone
Yeah we gotta start lookin' at the hands of the time we've been given here
This all we got and we gotta start thinkin' it
Every second counts on a clock that's tickin'
Gotta live like we're dying oh
We only got 86 400 seconds in a day
To turn it all around or to throw it all away
Gotta tell 'em that we love 'em while we got the chance to say,
Gotta live like we're dying
Like we're dying oh
Like we're dying
Like we're dying oh
Like we're dying
We only got 86 400 seconds in a day
To turn it all around or to throw it all away
Gotta tell 'em that we love 'em while we got the chance to say,
Gotta live like we're dying oh
We're hiding behind skin that's too tough
How come we don't say I love you enough
'Til it's too late, it's not too late
Our hearts are hungry for a food that won't come
And we could make a feast from these crumbs
And we're all staring down the barrel of a gun
So if your life flashed before you, what would you wish you would've done
Yeah gotta start
Looking at the hands of the time we've been given here
This is all we got then we gotta start thinkin' it
Every second counts on a clock that's tickin'
Gotta live like we're dying oh
We only got 86 400 seconds in a day
To turn it all around or to throw it all away
Gotta tell 'em that we love 'em while we got the chance to say,
Gotta live like we're dying oh
Well if your plane fell out of the skies
Who would you call with your last goodbye
Should be so careful who we left out of our lives
So when we long for absolution, there'll be no one on the line
Yeah we gotta start lookin' at the hands of the time we've been given here
This all we got then we gotta start thinkin' it
Every second counts on a clock that's tickin'
Gotta live like we're dying oh
We only got 86 400 seconds in a day
To turn it all around or to throw it all away
Gotta tell 'em that we love 'em while we got the chance to say,
Gotta live like we're dying
Like we're dying oh
Like we're dying
Like we're dying oh
Like we're dying
We only got 86 400 seconds in a day
To turn it all around or to throw it all away
Gotta tell 'em that we love 'em while we got the chance to say,
Gotta live like we're dying oh
You never know a good thing until it's gone
You never see a crash until it's head on
Why we think we're right when we're dead wrong,
You never know a good thing 'til it's gone
Yeah we gotta start lookin' at the hands of the time we've been given here
This all we got and we gotta start thinkin' it
Every second counts on a clock that's tickin'
Gotta live like we're dying oh
We only got 86 400 seconds in a day
To turn it all around or to throw it all away
Gotta tell 'em that we love 'em while we got the chance to say,
Gotta live like we're dying
Like we're dying oh
Like we're dying
Like we're dying oh
Like we're dying
We only got 86 400 seconds in a day
To turn it all around or to throw it all away
Gotta tell 'em that we love 'em while we got the chance to say,
Gotta live like we're dying oh
Lyrics submitted by angelofthesilence
Live Like We're Dying Lyrics as written by Andrew Frampton Stephen Kipner
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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