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.
It can't pay attention
What slips into the system
A light touch, a whisper that puts you to sleep
Don't sympathize with the mystery disease
All it is is a feeling,
Pain in a dress too revealing,
A lost bond an old friend who likes what it sees
You can't shake off the mystery disease
Lovers in a past life
Meet in the street close to midnight,
A last look sweet like the end of a dream,
Then fall back into the mystery disease
Go on, tell your symptoms to me
It's not in any of the books you can read
It's no fun to face what you don't get to be,
But what's one more to the mystery disease?
Floating impatience
Snuffs my limited sapience
Black smoke as soon as the pressure's released
Deep space sighs, the mystery disease
Consumed by a weakness
Cut with perpetual unrest
You see stars, sunsets blurred through a screen,
Trap what you want, waste what you need
And when the west wind sweeps through the leaves,
Emperors of history fall to their knees
Small fronds can't see the wood for the trees,
Left in the dust of the mystery disease
What slips into the system
A light touch, a whisper that puts you to sleep
Don't sympathize with the mystery disease
All it is is a feeling,
Pain in a dress too revealing,
A lost bond an old friend who likes what it sees
You can't shake off the mystery disease
Lovers in a past life
Meet in the street close to midnight,
A last look sweet like the end of a dream,
Then fall back into the mystery disease
Go on, tell your symptoms to me
It's not in any of the books you can read
It's no fun to face what you don't get to be,
But what's one more to the mystery disease?
Floating impatience
Snuffs my limited sapience
Black smoke as soon as the pressure's released
Deep space sighs, the mystery disease
Consumed by a weakness
Cut with perpetual unrest
You see stars, sunsets blurred through a screen,
Trap what you want, waste what you need
And when the west wind sweeps through the leaves,
Emperors of history fall to their knees
Small fronds can't see the wood for the trees,
Left in the dust of the mystery disease
Lyrics submitted by dissolutions, edited by Audster, subfusion, livinlife94, minicuotas, Bearstronauts, qoz
Mystery Disease Lyrics as written by Benjamin Nicholas Huner Goldwasser Sandy Linzer
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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."
When We Were Young
Blink-182
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
I've been reading interpretations here for ages, but this is my very first own.
I believe this song is about what it's like to be a millennial, which is kinda like a disease. I mean, our generation is all about being connected but not present, this is why our capacity of focusing is so limited.
It is a fact that our society of consumption plays with our needs by introducing us to new products and habits that touch an inner deeper space of ourselves. That's why new ways of life are so identifiable, kind like "a lost bond... an old friend who likes what it sees".
When they sing about pain in a beautiful package "pain in a dress too revealing", it makes me think about how our limitations are played by the media and big companies that sells us the promise of completeness, so, face them is just too painful.
I also feel like all of the symptoms of being a millennial are sung in this song, just cause there are things that we can't really put into words, just feel or express with a sigh, art or any other form of language.
It seems that the need for imediate impact is so carved inside that when it doesn't come quickly enough we get to be too hard on ourselves, forgetting that we are only human. "floating impatience, snuffs my limited sapience..."
Then Andrew simply describes my nights when my head is so full with information that I can't seem to close my eyes and go to sleep just going through the feed on instagram, tumblr or netflix. That's when i just feel exhausted but can't seem to rest, just like a Walking Dead....
"Consumed by a weakness Cut with perpetual unrest You see stars, sunsets blurred through a screen, Trap what you want, waste what you need""
I just haven't been able to produce meaning to the last paragraph, the one that touches me the most. I guess that's another thing about being a millennial: not seeing what's right in front of us.