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.
The world itself consumed
Man, that's the only truth
And what we loved was not enough
Even though we wanted to
I learned it sick in bed
Mining golden vapours
Regrets like charms laid end to end
And other sweet divinities
And this I learned and thus I gleaned
What we loved was not enough
But kiss it quick and rise again
Kiss it quick and rise again
Kiss it quick and rise again
Kiss it quick and rise again
And the days come when we no longer feel
There'll be war in our cities
And riots at the mall
There'll be blood on our doorsteps
And panics at the ball
All our cities gonna burn
All our bridges gonna crack
All our pennies gonna rot
There'll be mud across our tracks
All our children gonna die
All our children gonna die
All our children gonna die
All our children gonna die
Then the west will rise again
The west will rise again
So good night vain children
Tonight is yours
The lights are yours
If you'd just ask for more
Than poverty and war
If you'd just ask for more
What we loved was not enough
What we loved was not enough
What we loved was not enough
What we loved was not enough
Man, that's the only truth
And what we loved was not enough
Even though we wanted to
I learned it sick in bed
Mining golden vapours
Regrets like charms laid end to end
And other sweet divinities
And this I learned and thus I gleaned
What we loved was not enough
But kiss it quick and rise again
Kiss it quick and rise again
Kiss it quick and rise again
Kiss it quick and rise again
And the days come when we no longer feel
There'll be war in our cities
And riots at the mall
There'll be blood on our doorsteps
And panics at the ball
All our cities gonna burn
All our bridges gonna crack
All our pennies gonna rot
There'll be mud across our tracks
All our children gonna die
All our children gonna die
All our children gonna die
All our children gonna die
Then the west will rise again
The west will rise again
So good night vain children
Tonight is yours
The lights are yours
If you'd just ask for more
Than poverty and war
If you'd just ask for more
What we loved was not enough
What we loved was not enough
What we loved was not enough
What we loved was not enough
Lyrics submitted by Misanthe
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From the West Will Rise Again EP, I can't get enough of this song. The lyrics seems fairly straight forward, their familiar themes of despair and hope are beautiful.
I saw them last night, they performed this song. It was a truly remarkable experience. This is probably my favorite song of theirs now. It's so damn good.
Same, I saw them a couple weeks ago in Portland. This was by far my favorite song of their set. Unbelievable. Can't stop listening to it now :P