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.
Shorty Blackwell, Shorty Blackwell
Be friends with me, be friends with me
Shorty Blackwell, Shorty Blackwell
Be friends with me, be friends with me
I'm feeling very bad today
Another cat came into stay
He's eating all my food
He's speaking very rude
He's gonna change the mood
I'm feeling very bad today
A red balloon got in my way
It followed me around
But never touched the ground
What can I say?
He built a house upon a hill
Ask him if he's happy and then give him a pill
He's going mad
He bought another car today
Ask him if he's happy, then turn the other way
He's going mad (repeat over and over)
I'm feeling very bad today
Another cat came into stay
He's eating all my food
He's speaking very rude
He's gonna change the mood
Black and shiny now you've finally
Gotten everything you've wanted
And you're taunted by the power
That you really don't want anymore
Everybody's talking faster
Hurry up get me a master
I don't have much time to lose
And besides I'm polishing my shoes
Crossing the street
Watching your feet
Or you'll die in a thunderbird light
Wishing with all of your might
That you read the newspaper that
You forgot to buy today
How will you know what they do when they say
Say(repeat over and over)
I'm feeling very bad today
Another girl came by to stay
I can't think of a word
To tell you what I've heard
I've been away [Repeat x10]
I am my?
Be friends with me, be friends with me
Shorty Blackwell, Shorty Blackwell
Be friends with me, be friends with me
I'm feeling very bad today
Another cat came into stay
He's eating all my food
He's speaking very rude
He's gonna change the mood
I'm feeling very bad today
A red balloon got in my way
It followed me around
But never touched the ground
What can I say?
He built a house upon a hill
Ask him if he's happy and then give him a pill
He's going mad
He bought another car today
Ask him if he's happy, then turn the other way
He's going mad (repeat over and over)
I'm feeling very bad today
Another cat came into stay
He's eating all my food
He's speaking very rude
He's gonna change the mood
Black and shiny now you've finally
Gotten everything you've wanted
And you're taunted by the power
That you really don't want anymore
Everybody's talking faster
Hurry up get me a master
I don't have much time to lose
And besides I'm polishing my shoes
Crossing the street
Watching your feet
Or you'll die in a thunderbird light
Wishing with all of your might
That you read the newspaper that
You forgot to buy today
How will you know what they do when they say
Say(repeat over and over)
I'm feeling very bad today
Another girl came by to stay
I can't think of a word
To tell you what I've heard
I've been away [Repeat x10]
I am my?
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings
Shorty Blackwell Lyrics as written by Micky Dolenz
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
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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"
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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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”
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I think this whole song is basically about depression. Around the time he wrote this song, Micky Dolenz was going through depression and abusing drugs, and I believe this whole song is about everything that was going on and coping with it. Especially the part where he says "And you're taunted by the power that you really don't want anymore", I think it's about him having all these things now, but it really didn't mean anything. I think he just wanted his past back.