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.
I've been losin' sleep
I've been keepin' myself awake
I've been wandering the streets
For days and days and days
Oh if I'm road to road
Back to back, lover to lover
And black to red, but I believe
I believe
There's no salvation for me now
No space among the clouds
And I feel I'm heading down
That's alright, that's alright
That's alright, that's alright
And I've been taking chances
I've been setting myself up for the fall
And I've been keeping secrets
From my heart and from my soul
Going from road to road
Bed to bed, lover to lover
And black to red
But I believe, I believe
There's no salvation for me now
No space among the clouds
And I feel that I'm heading down
But that's alright, that's alright
That's alright, that's alright
Rood to road, bed to bed
And lover to lover
And black to red
And road to road, bed to bed
And lover to lover
No space among the clouds
And I feel I'm heading down
But that's alright, that's alright
That's alright, that's alright
That's alright, that's alright
Road to road, bed to bed
And lover to lover
And black to red
And road to road, bed to bed
Lover to lover, to lover to lover
To lover, to lover, to lover, to lover
To lover, to lover, to lover, to lover (woo)
No salvation for me now
No salvation for me now
No salvation for me now
No salvation for me now
I've been keepin' myself awake
I've been wandering the streets
For days and days and days
Oh if I'm road to road
Back to back, lover to lover
And black to red, but I believe
I believe
There's no salvation for me now
No space among the clouds
And I feel I'm heading down
That's alright, that's alright
That's alright, that's alright
And I've been taking chances
I've been setting myself up for the fall
And I've been keeping secrets
From my heart and from my soul
Going from road to road
Bed to bed, lover to lover
And black to red
But I believe, I believe
There's no salvation for me now
No space among the clouds
And I feel that I'm heading down
But that's alright, that's alright
That's alright, that's alright
Rood to road, bed to bed
And lover to lover
And black to red
And road to road, bed to bed
And lover to lover
No space among the clouds
And I feel I'm heading down
But that's alright, that's alright
That's alright, that's alright
That's alright, that's alright
Road to road, bed to bed
And lover to lover
And black to red
And road to road, bed to bed
Lover to lover, to lover to lover
To lover, to lover, to lover, to lover
To lover, to lover, to lover, to lover (woo)
No salvation for me now
No salvation for me now
No salvation for me now
No salvation for me now
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Light Up The Sky
Van Halen
Van Halen
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Little Feat
Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
go ahead florence, get your aretha on!
LUV it! GOOD one!
I don't think it necessarily implies cheating...just perhaps casual sex without emotional attachment. It reminds me of of a woman moving from lover to lover after getting out a long relationship, wounded and unwilling to open her heart again, exemplified in the line: "keeping secrets from my heart and from my soul."
I'm not going to heaven either, but that's alright. I have Florence + the Machine.
That you're going to Hell and I'm guessing the devil is going to make you listen to Justin Beiber; The Jonas Brothers; Britney Spears; Lisa Marie Presley; Rod Stewart; Celine Dion; and a few others :) Good luck to ya and your ears!
This song is talking about going from guy to guy-with no emotional attachment- and although this may be wrong, she feels there's nothing she can do about it or just doesn't care. She knows she's "heading down" but "that's alright"...
i think i's not about going cheating or having sex with random people. think it's more like searching for something, or someone, or even a place under the sun, but she has pushed herself to the limits of this search and as she tries harder the goal gets more distant. she realizes that she is lost, eventually, but accepts that and carries on as she likes.
These lines sum it all up pretty well
"And I've been taking chances I've been setting myself up for the fall And I've been keeping secrets From my heart and from my soul"
It sounds to me it's about a woman who's been making mistakes, taking different lovers and sabotaging her chances of happiness because she didn't think she deserved it. "keeping secrets from my heart and from my soul" part makes me think that she was in love with someone but didn't want to admit it even to herself. She was afraid to love this person so she sabotaged the relationship.
Feeling as though you can't ever be forgiven for you sins. You are so bad deep into your sins that there is no forgiveness. "But that's alright"
Good song.
Oh and it's 'going from road to road, bed to bed'
I believe this song is about a woman who is cheating on her significant other. The guilt of it is eating away at her. She's losing sleep, she can't focus. Her worries are keeping her up at night. The lines "I've been wandering streets/for days and days and days" leads me to believe that the other man might be some distance away, or perhaps she sees him so frequently that she feels like she's been "wandering" back and forth between the two. She knows that there's not going to be pretty; leaving her boyfriend/husband is going to be the most difficult thing she's ever had to do. "Heading down" might allude to her ever-growing sense of dread for the final confrontation, but in the end, it's all going to be alright.
It sounds like a woman who is so indecisive she cant choose what she wants, keeps going back and forth and nothing gives her satisfaction and by not being able to choose she just goes with the flow and she feels like a slut and that god wont forgive her for her sins.