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.
"Are we ready to go?"
"From whence shall we expect the approach of danger?
Shall some transatlantic giant step the earth and crush us at a blow?
Never! All the armies of Europe and Asia could not, by force
Take a drink from the Ohio River
Or set a track on the Blue Ridge in the trial of a thousand years
If destruction be our lot, we ourselves must be its author and finisher
As a nation of free men, we will live forever, or die by suicide"
There'll be no more counting the cars on the Garden State Parkway
Nor waiting for the Fung Wah bus to carry me to who-knows-where
And when I stand tonight, 'neath the lights of the Fenway
Will I not yell like hell for the glory of the Newark Bears?
Because where I'm going to now, no one can ever hurt me
Where the well of human hatred is shallow and dry
No, I never wanted to change the world, but I'm looking for a new New Jersey
Because tramps like us, baby, we were born to die
I'm doing 70 on 17, I'm doing 80 over 84
And I never let the Meritt Parkway magnetize me no more
Give me a brutal Somerville summer
Give me a cruel New England winter
Give me the great Pine Barrens
So I can see them turned into splinters
'Cause if I come in on a donkey, let me go out on a gurney
I want to realize too late I never should have left New Jersey
Whoa-oh-oh-oh, whoa-oh-oh-oh
La da da da da da da da da da da, yeah! Yeah!
Whoa-oh-oh-oh, whoa-oh-oh-oh
I sense the enemy, they're rustling around in the trees
I thought I had gotten away but they followed me to 02143
Woe, oh woe is me, no one knows the trouble I see
When they hang Jeff Davis from a sourapple tree
I'll sit beneath the leaves and weep
None of us shall be saved, every man will be a slave
For John Brown's body lies a'mouldring in the grave and there's rumblings down in the caves
So if it's time for choosing sides, and to show this dirty city how we do the Jersey Slide
And if they deserve a better class of criminal, then I'm'a give it to them tonight
So we'll rally around the flag, rally around the flag
Rally around the flag, boys, rally once again, shouting the Battle Cry of Freedom
Rally around the flag, rally around the flag
Glory, glory, Hallelujah, His truth is marching on
"I will be as harsh as truth and as uncompromising as justice
On this subject, I do not wish to think, or speak, or write with moderation
I am in earnest
I will not equivocate, I will not excuse
I will not retreat a single inch, and I will be heard"
"From whence shall we expect the approach of danger?
Shall some transatlantic giant step the earth and crush us at a blow?
Never! All the armies of Europe and Asia could not, by force
Take a drink from the Ohio River
Or set a track on the Blue Ridge in the trial of a thousand years
If destruction be our lot, we ourselves must be its author and finisher
As a nation of free men, we will live forever, or die by suicide"
There'll be no more counting the cars on the Garden State Parkway
Nor waiting for the Fung Wah bus to carry me to who-knows-where
And when I stand tonight, 'neath the lights of the Fenway
Will I not yell like hell for the glory of the Newark Bears?
Because where I'm going to now, no one can ever hurt me
Where the well of human hatred is shallow and dry
No, I never wanted to change the world, but I'm looking for a new New Jersey
Because tramps like us, baby, we were born to die
I'm doing 70 on 17, I'm doing 80 over 84
And I never let the Meritt Parkway magnetize me no more
Give me a brutal Somerville summer
Give me a cruel New England winter
Give me the great Pine Barrens
So I can see them turned into splinters
'Cause if I come in on a donkey, let me go out on a gurney
I want to realize too late I never should have left New Jersey
Whoa-oh-oh-oh, whoa-oh-oh-oh
La da da da da da da da da da da, yeah! Yeah!
Whoa-oh-oh-oh, whoa-oh-oh-oh
I sense the enemy, they're rustling around in the trees
I thought I had gotten away but they followed me to 02143
Woe, oh woe is me, no one knows the trouble I see
When they hang Jeff Davis from a sourapple tree
I'll sit beneath the leaves and weep
None of us shall be saved, every man will be a slave
For John Brown's body lies a'mouldring in the grave and there's rumblings down in the caves
So if it's time for choosing sides, and to show this dirty city how we do the Jersey Slide
And if they deserve a better class of criminal, then I'm'a give it to them tonight
So we'll rally around the flag, rally around the flag
Rally around the flag, boys, rally once again, shouting the Battle Cry of Freedom
Rally around the flag, rally around the flag
Glory, glory, Hallelujah, His truth is marching on
"I will be as harsh as truth and as uncompromising as justice
On this subject, I do not wish to think, or speak, or write with moderation
I am in earnest
I will not equivocate, I will not excuse
I will not retreat a single inch, and I will be heard"
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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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^Knew that line sounded familiar it probably is a reference to that Billy Bragg song.
However, doing a little internet stalking revealed that lead singer Patrick Stickles was a literature major at Ramapo College in New Jersey and went to graduate school at Harvard (and probably lived next door in Somerville which he mentions in the song by name and zip code). So the trip is quite literal, but there is allegory of present day America tied into Civil War references about how we can only defeat ourselves and are all slaves to something. Well done, Patrick.