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'm counting on a memory to get me out of here
I'm waiting for the fog around this spooky little town to clear
All this time I spent being someone else's friend
Just one more time, for old time's sake I'd like to go back home again
The world had seven wonders once upon a time
It's sure enough the favored nations aided their decline
And all around me I've seen times like it was back when
But like back then, I'd say a men if I could get back home again
If I could go back home, if I could go back home
If I'd never left, I'd never have known
We all dream of leaving, but wind up in the end
Spending all our time trying to get back home again
Could have been a jailbreak and a spotlight hitting me
Or was I just some nightclub singer, back in nineteen sixty three
In the old part of Valencia, on the coast of Spain
Never tiring once of hearing songs about going home again
If I could go back home, if I could go back home
If I'd never left, I'd never have known
We all dream of leaving, but wind up in the end
Spending all our time trying to get back home again
If I could go back home,
If I'd never left, I'd never have known
We all dream of leaving, but wind up in the end
Spending all our time trying to get back home again
I'm waiting for the fog around this spooky little town to clear
All this time I spent being someone else's friend
Just one more time, for old time's sake I'd like to go back home again
The world had seven wonders once upon a time
It's sure enough the favored nations aided their decline
And all around me I've seen times like it was back when
But like back then, I'd say a men if I could get back home again
If I could go back home, if I could go back home
If I'd never left, I'd never have known
We all dream of leaving, but wind up in the end
Spending all our time trying to get back home again
Could have been a jailbreak and a spotlight hitting me
Or was I just some nightclub singer, back in nineteen sixty three
In the old part of Valencia, on the coast of Spain
Never tiring once of hearing songs about going home again
If I could go back home, if I could go back home
If I'd never left, I'd never have known
We all dream of leaving, but wind up in the end
Spending all our time trying to get back home again
If I could go back home,
If I'd never left, I'd never have known
We all dream of leaving, but wind up in the end
Spending all our time trying to get back home again
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In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Little Feat
Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
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,
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.
This is my favorite song because of how I interpret its meaning. I think this song is about loss of innocence and an existential crisis. I'm at the age where I am experiencing both these things, and so this song holds special meaning for me. The lyrics "I'm counting on a memory to get me out of here" refer to the memories of childhood or other precious times in life that we don't want to leave behind. "I'm waiting for the fog around this spooky little town to clear" to me stand for depression, and the waiting for it to pass, whether by safely standing by or by deliberately self harming. "We all dream of leaving but wind up in the end/spending all our time trying to get back home again" refer to the longing for a break from all the stress of life and waiting for death to provide relief, but at the same time, not wanting death to take you. I also see this song as a sort of wistful longing for a childhood home. Maybe it's because I first heard this song in my childhood hometown in New England on vacation from my current home in Florida. Either way, this song is so sad to me because it speaks to me on a deep emotional level. Everyone has a different interpretation, though, so whether you see it the same way as I do or not, that's perfectly okay.