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.
How can you sleep, how can you eat, how can you breathe
I hardly can function, running on empty, faint with the breeze
Don't even feel me, pulling away, if you do, you don't say a thing
You keep talking right through me, looking right past
If I ask you tell me you're happy,
Happy? I want you to be happy, but not with me
This can't be my life
It's nothing like the way I dreamed
It doesn't seem right
To keep sticking it out when it's much better to leave
I never been a quitter, I'm more of a giver,
But I quit, our sick just got so much sicker… Even for me
You say that I've changed, I guess that I've changed or I've just come to my
senses
You're still the same, you want things to stay the way that they've been
Of course you do, it's good for you to have someone so quick to absorb your
belligerence
But it's not about you, it's not about you, it's not about you, but it's not about
me
About me, I'm off, this can't be where God or my mom wanted me to be
This can't be my life
It's nothing like the way I dreamed
It doesn't seem right
To keep sticking it out when it's much better to leave
I never been a quitter, I'm more of a giver,
But I quit, our sick just got so much sicker… Even for me
I got it, don't worry, there's nothing out there can hurt me
More than you have already
This can't be my life
It's nothing like the way I dreamed
It doesn't seem right
To keep sticking it out when it's much better to leave
Must be something I missed, standing on line, when they were handing out brains
This can't be my life, I made two lefts, I shoulda gone right
If I made one more left, it woulda been right
It can't be, can't be my life
Oh, oh, oh….
I hardly can function, running on empty, faint with the breeze
Don't even feel me, pulling away, if you do, you don't say a thing
You keep talking right through me, looking right past
If I ask you tell me you're happy,
Happy? I want you to be happy, but not with me
This can't be my life
It's nothing like the way I dreamed
It doesn't seem right
To keep sticking it out when it's much better to leave
I never been a quitter, I'm more of a giver,
But I quit, our sick just got so much sicker… Even for me
You say that I've changed, I guess that I've changed or I've just come to my
senses
You're still the same, you want things to stay the way that they've been
Of course you do, it's good for you to have someone so quick to absorb your
belligerence
But it's not about you, it's not about you, it's not about you, but it's not about
me
About me, I'm off, this can't be where God or my mom wanted me to be
This can't be my life
It's nothing like the way I dreamed
It doesn't seem right
To keep sticking it out when it's much better to leave
I never been a quitter, I'm more of a giver,
But I quit, our sick just got so much sicker… Even for me
I got it, don't worry, there's nothing out there can hurt me
More than you have already
This can't be my life
It's nothing like the way I dreamed
It doesn't seem right
To keep sticking it out when it's much better to leave
Must be something I missed, standing on line, when they were handing out brains
This can't be my life, I made two lefts, I shoulda gone right
If I made one more left, it woulda been right
It can't be, can't be my life
Oh, oh, oh….
Lyrics submitted by musicgenie
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Light Up The Sky
Van Halen
Van Halen
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.