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 told you I was hurt
Bleeding on the inside
I told you I was lost
In the middle of my life
There's times I stayed alive for you
There's times I would've died for you
There's times it didn't matter at all
Will you help me find the right way up
Or let me take the wrong way down
Will you straighten me out
Or make me take the long way around
I took the low road in
I'll take the high road out
I'll do whatever it takes
To be the mistake you can't live without
Standing in the dark
I can see your shadow
You're the only light
That's breaking through the window
There's times I stayed alive for you
There's times I would've died for you
There's times it didn't matter at all
Will you help me find the right way up
Or let me take the wrong way down
Will you straighten me out
Or make me take the long way around
I took the low road in
I'll take the high road out
I'll do whatever it takes
To be the mistake you can't live without
We'll I'm not gonna give it away
Not gonna let it go, just to wake up someday gone! Gone!
The worst part is looking back
And knowing that I was wrong
Help me find the right way up
Or let me take the wrong way down
Will you straighten me out
Or make me take the long way around
I took the low road in
I'll take the high road out
I'll do whatever it takes
To be the mistake you can't live without
I'll do whatever it takes
To be the mistake you can't live without
Bleeding on the inside
I told you I was lost
In the middle of my life
There's times I stayed alive for you
There's times I would've died for you
There's times it didn't matter at all
Will you help me find the right way up
Or let me take the wrong way down
Will you straighten me out
Or make me take the long way around
I took the low road in
I'll take the high road out
I'll do whatever it takes
To be the mistake you can't live without
Standing in the dark
I can see your shadow
You're the only light
That's breaking through the window
There's times I stayed alive for you
There's times I would've died for you
There's times it didn't matter at all
Will you help me find the right way up
Or let me take the wrong way down
Will you straighten me out
Or make me take the long way around
I took the low road in
I'll take the high road out
I'll do whatever it takes
To be the mistake you can't live without
We'll I'm not gonna give it away
Not gonna let it go, just to wake up someday gone! Gone!
The worst part is looking back
And knowing that I was wrong
Help me find the right way up
Or let me take the wrong way down
Will you straighten me out
Or make me take the long way around
I took the low road in
I'll take the high road out
I'll do whatever it takes
To be the mistake you can't live without
I'll do whatever it takes
To be the mistake you can't live without
Lyrics submitted by MusicFREAK20, edited by joliebaby, DASHONFIRE
The High Road Lyrics as written by Adam Gontier Don Gilmore
Lyrics © HYVETOWN MUSIC INC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
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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.
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There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
I think it's about a man who's, well frankly fucked. He's really messed up and the girl he cares about is trying to fix him. But his natural reaction is to appreciate it at first, but to relapse into his normal ways. It praises her for how she's gonna help him find the "right way out". But then it regresses in to a very dark tone about how she's the only light. She's the only good influence on him and he believes she's not going to be patient enough with him to straighten him up. Plus the dark side just wants to be good in-order to crush her. He wants to be the "mistake that she can't live with out". He pushes between knowing she's all that good for him and he keeps showing how he lies in the dark, because he wants to destroy "the only light breaking through the window." At the end he shows that he's trying to be the best he can, because he ends with saying, "We’ll I’m not gonna give it away Not gonna let it go just to wake up someday". He feels as though he's a mistake and clearly a fuck-up, but he can make himself great enough so that he's the one she can't live without.
At first, I believed it was about (like many others here think) how he didn't need someone to help him through, but after Adam left the band, I listened into the lyrics. "I told you I was hurt, I told you I was bleeding on the inside. I told you I was lost in the middle of my life," this could possibly be explaining how after he got out of rehab, he needed help. Or possibly even before when he explained he needed help with his addictions. But, after he got out of rehab, the rest of the band was still addicted to all sorts of drugs, or alcohol, and that was a negative influence, thus leading to the lines, "I took the low road in, I'll take the high road out," , "Help me find the right way up or let me take the wrong way down. Will you straighten me out, or let me take the long way around." This is stating how afterwards, he was still around all these negative influences. When he says he took the low road in, he was saying how he had such horrible addictions, but when he got out of rehab, he was still surronded by those who still do the same drugs he had become addicted too earlier.
So, in a short summary, I feel as if Adam wrote this song to tell the listeners that he was leaving the band before even saying a thing to the media.
A sad story, but I feel as if it's accurate. Feel free to correct me if you feel the need to do so.
@RocknBri I love that<br />
At first, I believed it was about (like many others here think) how he didn't need someone to help him through, but after Adam left the band, I listened into the lyrics. "I told you I was hurt, I told you I was bleeding on the inside. I told you I was lost in the middle of my life," this could possibly be explaining how after he got out of rehab, he needed help. Or possibly even before when he explained he needed help with his addictions. But, after he got out of rehab, the rest of the band was still addicted to all sorts of drugs, or alcohol, and that was a negative influence, thus leading to the lines, "I took the low road in, I'll take the high road out," , "Help me find the right way up or let me take the wrong way down. Will you straighten me out, or let me take the long way around." This is stating how afterwards, he was still around all these negative influences. When he says he took the low road in, he was saying how he had such horrible addictions, but when he got out of rehab, he was still surronded by those who still do the same drugs he had become addicted too earlier.
So, in a short summary, I feel as if Adam wrote this song to tell the listeners that he was leaving the band before even saying a thing to the media.
A sad story, but I feel as if it's accurate. Feel free to correct me if you feel the need to do so.
maybe he had sexual relations with a girl and then ended up driving her away due to his drug abuse and self medicating issues and then realized after moving onto different girls that shes truly the only one she wants to be with and hell do anything to redeem himself while she doesnt want anything to do with him whatsoever, thus motivating him to get clean and improve his life in hopes of one day becoming the man she needs. he wants to be the one mistake she cant live without. also he says there are times hes stayed alive for her, probably implying that he was driven suicidal and into deep depression over this girl constantly beating himself up for his mistakes but still sees scarce hope that he will pull out of this slump hes in and his life will eventually take a turn for the better. he says will you straighten me out? because he cares for this girl and sees so much potential in her that he'd be willing to give up drugs to be with her and never drive her away again. shes the only light breaking through his window. the only thing that keeps him strong. and at the same time the one thing that yields the greatest pain
also,maybe its not the fact that he did drugs that drove her away, but its the way he acted toward her while under the influence and he realizes this which is why he uses her as a source of motivation to get clean. driving away ppl u care about the most in ur life tends to be a wake up call for ppl who are aware that drugs are making them change and become someone they dont wanna be.
and when he says "the worst part is looking back and knowing that i was wrong" he is saying that now that hes back on his own two feet and hes mentally stable and clean he realizes that no matter what he does this girl will never come back to him. he realizees that if she truly cared she wouldve comforted him and shown sympathy when he needed it instead of turning her back and just ignoring him. he realizes there is always hope for another girl to come into his life even if he never meets another like her. and hes become so emotionally strong that he realizes he doesnt need anyone and hes better off alone.
I feel like this person has clearly made mistakes, he's made some bad choices, but he also has reached out for help. You get the vibe though that whomever he was reaching out to has had enough of dealing with his poor choices and their consequences. But, the singer is still making it clear he will do whatever it takes to make it right and keep that person in his life, despite knowing the type of person he is (prone to fucking up, to put it bluntly).
Also, the line in the chorus is "Will you straighten me out, or make me take the long way around", not "Will you string me out".
This is like many of their songs where it can touch on many topics. Similar to I hate everything about you it was later known and told by adam it was his addiction. This song I agree with the long list of associations people made to addiction and this song. I feel its more towards the addiction and the road to recovery. As if a inner monolog to himself (or possibly god) of will you show me the way up so I dont fall into drugs again
The flip side could be a relationship that he/she messed up and is asking him/her help me find the right way up. So he/she can right the wrong.
a guy is expressing that he doesnt need a certain woman in his life but would appreciate if she would guide him a little bit
Good song!
THIS SONG IS SOOO FUCKKKKKKINGGG AMAZING!!!! thanks youz peepuls for this song!
i think it is a song about redemption