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.
There are things that happen
To certain people when they're finally dead
Many never end up resting in their deserved casket bed
Cadavers in the wrong hands
Can come up for grabs
Join the countless corpses
On the mortuary auction slabs
The dead become a hot commodity, ready to sell
Merchandise on a market straight from hell
Price tags
Replace morgue tags
Vacant coffins buried
No one will ever know
As the wealthy gather
The bidding soon starts
Top dollar paid for human body parts
The auction is a success
Every bidder gets a piece
The gavel cracks loudly
Setting more of the deceased
The auctioneer shrieks as the bidding escalates
Unsold limbs lay on the selling block awaiting their fate
Vital organs in working order
Rake in the greatest cash
Physical merchandise drains each monetary slash
Price tags
Replace morgue tags
Vacant coffins buried
No one will ever know
As the wealthy gather
The bidding soon starts
Top dollar paid for human body parts
The auction is a success
Every bidder gets a piece
The gavel cracks loudly
Selling more of the deceased
For the eccentric, there is a black market
A death-dealing auction for the upper class jetset
Upon a necro-there the sale is based
Catering to every odd and strange taste
Bids and transactions for items of flesh
Purchasing quickly, as the dead lay fresh
Great sums paid for pieces of the dead
Highest price paid may take a complete head
Price tags
Replace morgue tags
Vacant coffins buried
No one will ever know
As the wealthy gather
The bidding soon starts
Top dollar paid for human body parts
The auction is a success
Every bidder gets a piece
The gavel cracks loudly
Selling more of the deceased
To certain people when they're finally dead
Many never end up resting in their deserved casket bed
Cadavers in the wrong hands
Can come up for grabs
Join the countless corpses
On the mortuary auction slabs
The dead become a hot commodity, ready to sell
Merchandise on a market straight from hell
Price tags
Replace morgue tags
Vacant coffins buried
No one will ever know
As the wealthy gather
The bidding soon starts
Top dollar paid for human body parts
The auction is a success
Every bidder gets a piece
The gavel cracks loudly
Setting more of the deceased
The auctioneer shrieks as the bidding escalates
Unsold limbs lay on the selling block awaiting their fate
Vital organs in working order
Rake in the greatest cash
Physical merchandise drains each monetary slash
Price tags
Replace morgue tags
Vacant coffins buried
No one will ever know
As the wealthy gather
The bidding soon starts
Top dollar paid for human body parts
The auction is a success
Every bidder gets a piece
The gavel cracks loudly
Selling more of the deceased
For the eccentric, there is a black market
A death-dealing auction for the upper class jetset
Upon a necro-there the sale is based
Catering to every odd and strange taste
Bids and transactions for items of flesh
Purchasing quickly, as the dead lay fresh
Great sums paid for pieces of the dead
Highest price paid may take a complete head
Price tags
Replace morgue tags
Vacant coffins buried
No one will ever know
As the wealthy gather
The bidding soon starts
Top dollar paid for human body parts
The auction is a success
Every bidder gets a piece
The gavel cracks loudly
Selling more of the deceased
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings
Auction of the Dead Lyrics as written by Ryan Stanek Jeremy Wagner
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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