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.
Well, I've been going through the motions
Wonder if anyone can see
That I been looking for something
Have you been looking for me
I ain't the same no more
In fact I have changed from before
No, you ain't gonna find me
Oh no, cause I'm not who I used to be
Well, I used to be a little girl
Just a smiling, feeling free
I wasn't worried bout nobody
Nobody worried bout me
But, I ain't the same no more
You'll find I have changed from before
No, you ain't gonna find me
Cause I ain't who I used to be
I said I'd never grow old
I can't remember how that used to be
I find myself without the power
I find myself without the glory
Listen! I ain't the same no more
You'll find I have changed from before
You ain't gonna find me
Oh no, cause I'm not who I used to be
Oh, no, no, I ain't who I used to be
Oh, no, no, I ain't who I used to be
Oh, no...
Wonder if anyone can see
That I been looking for something
Have you been looking for me
I ain't the same no more
In fact I have changed from before
No, you ain't gonna find me
Oh no, cause I'm not who I used to be
Well, I used to be a little girl
Just a smiling, feeling free
I wasn't worried bout nobody
Nobody worried bout me
But, I ain't the same no more
You'll find I have changed from before
No, you ain't gonna find me
Cause I ain't who I used to be
I said I'd never grow old
I can't remember how that used to be
I find myself without the power
I find myself without the glory
Listen! I ain't the same no more
You'll find I have changed from before
You ain't gonna find me
Oh no, cause I'm not who I used to be
Oh, no, no, I ain't who I used to be
Oh, no, no, I ain't who I used to be
Oh, no...
Lyrics submitted by pawlowski
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I love this song. First poster is right.. it's obvious what the song is trying to say. It holds a similar meaning for me. After being diagnosed with a life altering disease in my early 20's - I changed and started looking at life differently. Suddenly the people I surrounded myself with.. they just didn't make sense to me anymore and I didn't make sense to them. The ideals I held close growing up weren't as important. I opened my mind and found that life has a lot of gray areas. And that's okay. I found new meaning in life... this song is awesome. That's just what it means to me. All music is subjective! Brittney, the lead singer, reminds me of Janis. She's not scared to get all ugly in the face with it - it's awesome... The notes that she sings don't even have to be perfect because you're not listening to that.. you're listening to the feeling behind them.
Saw them in Portland recently. Britney's energy is absolutely insane... the woman is an amazing lead singer. She made me cry a few times, it felt like she took the deepest of my feelings and exposed them to myself and it was the most refreshing feeling in the world. The crowd was amazing too, everyone was there to see and enjoy this band. Excited to see them again in July!
Another great song. I think it's pretty obvious this song is about growing up and losing the immortal feeling you have when you're young.