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.
Well, the hospital's going to let you go, but the city's gonna stick around
Yeah, sure the stars are in the sky, but the money's still down on the ground
Man, if money didn't matter then I might tell you something new
You can't tell people what they want to hear if you also want to tell the truth
And I'm just trying to tell the truth, kid
I'm just trying to tell the truth
You can't get every girl
You'll get the ones you love the best
You won't every girl
You'll love the ones you get the best
I know bodies of water freeze over, I'm from a place with lots of lakes
But sometimes they get soft in the center and the center is a dangerous place
It's been a long cold winter and now you're standing on unsafe ice
You could probably do anything if you could just go and get yourself right
You gotta get yourself right, kid
I'm gonna give you some advice
You can't get every girl
You'll get the ones you love the best
You won't every girl
You'll love the ones you get the best
Kid, you can't kiss every girl
You gotta trust me on this one
You gotta trust me on this one
I know what you're going through
I had to go through that too
I know what you're going through
I had to go through that too
You can't get every girl
You'll get the ones you love the best
You won't every girl
You'll love the ones you get the best
You can't get every girl
You'll get the ones you love the best
You won't every girl
You'll love the ones you get the best
I know what you're going through
Yeah, sure the stars are in the sky, but the money's still down on the ground
Man, if money didn't matter then I might tell you something new
You can't tell people what they want to hear if you also want to tell the truth
And I'm just trying to tell the truth, kid
I'm just trying to tell the truth
You can't get every girl
You'll get the ones you love the best
You won't every girl
You'll love the ones you get the best
I know bodies of water freeze over, I'm from a place with lots of lakes
But sometimes they get soft in the center and the center is a dangerous place
It's been a long cold winter and now you're standing on unsafe ice
You could probably do anything if you could just go and get yourself right
You gotta get yourself right, kid
I'm gonna give you some advice
You can't get every girl
You'll get the ones you love the best
You won't every girl
You'll love the ones you get the best
Kid, you can't kiss every girl
You gotta trust me on this one
You gotta trust me on this one
I know what you're going through
I had to go through that too
I know what you're going through
I had to go through that too
You can't get every girl
You'll get the ones you love the best
You won't every girl
You'll love the ones you get the best
You can't get every girl
You'll get the ones you love the best
You won't every girl
You'll love the ones you get the best
I know what you're going through
Lyrics submitted by goodreverend
Soft in the Center Lyrics as written by Tad Jason Kubler Craig Finn
Lyrics © Reservoir Media Management, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Should be:
Man if money didn't matter Then I might tell you something new. You can't tell people what they want to hear if you also want to tell the truth.
One correction: "Nobody's wanna freeze over," should be "I know bodies of water freeze over."
Seems relatively straight-forward (for a Hold Steady song).
"Yeah, sure the stars in the sky But the money's still down on the ground" --It seems like he (whoever that may be, maybe Craig) is talking to someone who is a dreamer, who has their head in the clouds. He is sort of pulling them back to reality -- "You can't tell people what they want to hear if you also want to tell them the truth."
The whole "you can't get every girl," philosophy falls in line with that.
The analogy to being in the center of a melting lake basically would mean the kid is living in dangerous territory, but I'm not sure about the specifics.
The first line "Well, the hospital's gonna let you go But the scene is gonna stick around" should be "But the city's gonna stick around," which leads me to believe that whoever the narrator is talking to has had some medical/mental issues relating to whatever it is he's "going through," and while the character is no longer hospitalized, the "City" is going to stay involved with him, as in DMH or a social worker or something. My first guess is that the guy in the song is/was seriously depressed, maybe even suicidal - which goes along with the whole thin ice metaphor later on.
I feel like this song is a response to their other song "First Night". possibly another Holly song? she was the one in the hospital in that song. however, it could be about all of their usual characters being on thin ice, thanks to their lifestyle choices. and "the city's gonna stick around" could allude to the fact that regardless of the fact that a person gets help, the things that got them hospitalized in the first place are always going to be lurking about.
Good advice, Craig.