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'll take it out on modern times and a shoot a gun
I'll shoot down every person that I wanna love
If you wanna see the the sun it's rising up
I'll shoot down every person that I wanna love
Control a different body since you came to life
Projections on the screen a walking suicide
Don't try to tell me that you love me 'cause you don't
Don't try to tell me that you love me 'cause you don't
Your'e gonna see the man in the sky
You've got your lover wondering why
Your love is waiting on in the sky
A wave of faces in your eyes
I'll bite the head off every little mourning dove
Crucify my love and drink my baby's blood
Don't try to tell me that you love me 'cause you don't
Don't try to tell me that you love me 'cause you don't
Your'e gonna see the man in the sky
You've got your lover wondering why
Your love is waiting on in the sky
A wave of faces in your eyes
I'll shoot down every person that I wanna love
If you wanna see the the sun it's rising up
I'll shoot down every person that I wanna love
Control a different body since you came to life
Projections on the screen a walking suicide
Don't try to tell me that you love me 'cause you don't
Don't try to tell me that you love me 'cause you don't
Your'e gonna see the man in the sky
You've got your lover wondering why
Your love is waiting on in the sky
A wave of faces in your eyes
I'll bite the head off every little mourning dove
Crucify my love and drink my baby's blood
Don't try to tell me that you love me 'cause you don't
Don't try to tell me that you love me 'cause you don't
Your'e gonna see the man in the sky
You've got your lover wondering why
Your love is waiting on in the sky
A wave of faces in your eyes
Lyrics submitted by cutewhensedated
Dark Tunnel Lyrics as written by Sarah Barthel Joshua Carter
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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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
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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.
Magical
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How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
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“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
I think it's about severe depression leading to suicide, possibly murder-suicide. The whole "Don't try to tell me that you love me cause you don't" makes me think of a relationship that went bad, maybe a break up or cheating. He's obviously angry - you can tell just by the tone and all the random violent threats he's making. "I'll shoot down every person that I want to love" is maybe a play on the phrase "shoot down" which can mean murder or decline something (an invitation, a date, etc). The chorus is obviously talking about suicide and the questions his "loved one" won't ever have answers for. I literally spent an hour playing with EQ stuff to try to hear the spoken part. I got what I could and couldn't distinguish any other single word. It's missing the middle part (the music gets louder and I couldn't lower it enough to hear clearly). If anyone knows what it says, lemme know. I have my own theory about it. I think it's a voicemail left for the person who killed themselves. This girl is thanking him for something. It sounds like he let her vent to him or was a shoulder to cry on. I don't think they know one another very well and she has no idea he's dead. Suicidal people tend to think that no one would care if they were dead or that everyone would be "better off" without them. This voice-mail flies in the face of that; someone did care and she's apparently left several voice-mails trying to get a hold of him. It makes me think about people who killed themselves and the little things they may have done for someone that left a huge impact without even realizing it. I guess the message is that you can never know what effect you have on people.