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.
You know you look so tired
You're gonna stay up late tonight
Under the stars
I'll put you in pride of place
I'm gonna set my sights
I'm gonna set your soul alight
Under the stars
Under the stars
So let the street lights shine away
Till the breaking of the day
In the morning you'll decay a little
We've led a lifetime come undone
Staring straight into the sun
Like the barrel of a gun
Under the stars
Under the stars
Been waiting my whole life
For you to come and waste a while
Out in the dark
In the emptiness of time and space
Been going out of my mind
I've gotta bring you back to life
You and your heart
You and your heavy heart
So let the street lights shine away
Till the breaking of the day
In the morning you'll decay a little
We've led a lifetime come undone
Staring straight into the sun
Like the barrel of a gun
Under the stars
Under the stars
You know you look so tired
You're gonna stay up late tonight
Under the stars
Under the stars
Under the stars
Under the stars
Under the stars
So let the street lights shine away
Till the breaking of the day
For tonight all of the saints are sinners
Yeah I can feel we're coming up
Like our heart starts filling up
Like it's rushing through our blood
Under the stars
Under the stars
Under the stars
You're gonna stay up late tonight
Under the stars
I'll put you in pride of place
I'm gonna set my sights
I'm gonna set your soul alight
Under the stars
Under the stars
So let the street lights shine away
Till the breaking of the day
In the morning you'll decay a little
We've led a lifetime come undone
Staring straight into the sun
Like the barrel of a gun
Under the stars
Under the stars
Been waiting my whole life
For you to come and waste a while
Out in the dark
In the emptiness of time and space
Been going out of my mind
I've gotta bring you back to life
You and your heart
You and your heavy heart
So let the street lights shine away
Till the breaking of the day
In the morning you'll decay a little
We've led a lifetime come undone
Staring straight into the sun
Like the barrel of a gun
Under the stars
Under the stars
You know you look so tired
You're gonna stay up late tonight
Under the stars
Under the stars
Under the stars
Under the stars
Under the stars
So let the street lights shine away
Till the breaking of the day
For tonight all of the saints are sinners
Yeah I can feel we're coming up
Like our heart starts filling up
Like it's rushing through our blood
Under the stars
Under the stars
Under the stars
Lyrics submitted by heatherrxxx
Under The Stars Lyrics as written by Andrew Hayes Benjamin Giddings
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Mental Istid
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Gentle Hour
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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
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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.
I'm first out on this song appearently!
I think this song is about a person "rehabbing someone" from drugs or something else that's bad. A lot of lines point to the fact that he or she is helping someone: "I'm gonna set your soul Alight"
and
"To the breaking of the day In the morning you'll decay A little"
People that go to rehab often say that it's the hardest in the morning, because that's usually when you used to take your first dose of drugs.
"We've let a lifetime come undone Staring straight into the sun Like the barrel of a gun Under the stars"
It says that they've been wrong for a long time (doing drugs) and that's it's really dangerous and a near death-experience (staring straight into the sun, the barrel of a gun).
"Been waiting my whole life For you to come and waste a while In the dark In the emptiness of time and space"
I don't really understand this but I think it could be that you've been waiting for a while for this person to take the step and actually stop using drugs.
"Been going out my mind I gotta bring you back To life You and your heart You and your healthy heart"
This is the part that really points out that someone is helping another person over his drug addictions, 'gotta bring you back to life' and also that although the person used drugs, he's still got a healthy heart.
"You know you look so tired You're gonna stay up late Tonight Under the stars"
That someone looks tired and worn-out from the drugs, and that you'll probably have a fucked up sleeping schedule that makes you stay up late.
I think Under The Stars is a fictional place and that the person who wrote it only pictures this in their head, it's not going to happen for real because the person that's using drugs doesn't want to get help or is just simply too far down the wrong road to get help.