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.
We're never done with killing time
Can I kill it with you?
'Til the veins run red and blue
We come around here all the time
Got a lot to not do, let me kill it with you
You pick me up and take me home again
Head out the window again
We're hollow like the bottles that we drain
You drape your wrists over the steering wheel
Pulses can drive from here
We might be hollow, but we're brave
(And I like you)
I love these roads where the houses don't change (and I like you)
Where we can talk like there's something to say (and I like you)
I'm glad that we stopped kissing the tar on the highway (and I like you)
We move in the tree streets
I'd like it if you stayed
Now we're wearing long sleeves
And the heating comes on
(You buy me orange juice)
We're getting good at this
Dreams of clean teeth
I can tell that you're tired
But you keep the car on
While you're waiting out front
You pick me up and take me home again
Head out the window again
We're hollow like the bottles that we drain
You drape your wrists over the steering wheel
Pulses can drive from here
We might be hollow, but we're brave
(And I like you)
I love these roads where the houses don't change (and I like you)
Where we can talk like there's something to say (and I like you)
I'm glad that we stopped kissing the tar on the highway (and I like you)
We move in the tree streets
I'd like it if you stayed
We're never done with killing time
Can I kill it with you?
'Til the veins run red and blue
We come around here all the time
Got a lot to not do, let me kill it with you
(And I like you)
I love these roads where the houses don't change (and I like you)
Where we can talk like there's something to say (and I like you)
I'm glad that we stopped kissing the tar on the highway (and I like you)
We move in the tree streets
I'd like it if you stayed
And I like you
And I like you
And I like you
Can I kill it with you?
'Til the veins run red and blue
We come around here all the time
Got a lot to not do, let me kill it with you
You pick me up and take me home again
Head out the window again
We're hollow like the bottles that we drain
You drape your wrists over the steering wheel
Pulses can drive from here
We might be hollow, but we're brave
(And I like you)
I love these roads where the houses don't change (and I like you)
Where we can talk like there's something to say (and I like you)
I'm glad that we stopped kissing the tar on the highway (and I like you)
We move in the tree streets
I'd like it if you stayed
Now we're wearing long sleeves
And the heating comes on
(You buy me orange juice)
We're getting good at this
Dreams of clean teeth
I can tell that you're tired
But you keep the car on
While you're waiting out front
You pick me up and take me home again
Head out the window again
We're hollow like the bottles that we drain
You drape your wrists over the steering wheel
Pulses can drive from here
We might be hollow, but we're brave
(And I like you)
I love these roads where the houses don't change (and I like you)
Where we can talk like there's something to say (and I like you)
I'm glad that we stopped kissing the tar on the highway (and I like you)
We move in the tree streets
I'd like it if you stayed
We're never done with killing time
Can I kill it with you?
'Til the veins run red and blue
We come around here all the time
Got a lot to not do, let me kill it with you
(And I like you)
I love these roads where the houses don't change (and I like you)
Where we can talk like there's something to say (and I like you)
I'm glad that we stopped kissing the tar on the highway (and I like you)
We move in the tree streets
I'd like it if you stayed
And I like you
And I like you
And I like you
Lyrics submitted by stagnate, edited by AliAdenwala, superdeep
400 Lux Lyrics as written by Joel Little Ella Marija La Yelich O'connor
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him.
There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
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This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
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This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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i think she wrote this song after her friend james. on his instagram (jamesklowe) there's pics of her drinking orange juice with him ('you buy me orange juice') and during a vevo lift session called "becoming lorde" she said, 'last summer we drove out to the suburb they're just finishing off [...] i like funny places like that'. she didn't exactly say any names but i related that back to the lyrics 'i love these roads where the houses don't change' because essentially, that's what a suburb is. i just feel like, due to the excess amount of pictures that james takes of her on his instagram, she would write about it. she's young and a teenager, and your friends are one of the most important parts in your life as a teenager. james seems like a very dear friend to her. aside from that, people speculate and think that james is her boyfriend, but i don't think that's the case. lorde has said she doesn't like writing about love or boys because she doesn't think boys are a subject matter for songs. she writes what she feels. i don't think she'd take the risk of writing a song about a boyfriend. sorry if this comes off as creepy. just wording my thoughts, thought i'd submit for everyone else to see.
I like your response. Im a kiwi, and actually live not far from where Lorde actually resides. I love this song. The song is intriging and your interpretation makes sense.<br /> Thanks for posting.
Her actual quote is, "i think somewhere along the line also there was a misquote where people got the impression i thought writing about love was shameful. i don’t! i just haven’t found a way of doing it which is powerful and innovative, which is why i don’t. " So I think that it is possible that at this point she did find a way she enjoyed expressing feelings for a guy. And it also helps that even liking this guy is not the entire point of the song, if that is what she's getting at. It's about more than that.<br /> <br /> I think that Lorde likes using metaphors and wordplay to sort of make her true meaning a little bit cryptic, though not entirely hidden. But still, with this song, I get the vibe that she likes this guy. However I totally agree with everything you said about her friend. I never saw that stuff, but taking your word for it, it sounds like it's totally about him. But I can't help thinking that with all said in the song, there is something about this guy that makes her feel alive, because she is "hollow like the bottles we drain" yet "pulses can drive from here." <br /> And the fact that there is drinking implied sort of gives me two ideas. One, she's on that sort of drunk love high. She does repeatedly say, "I like you." You know when you've been drinking and you just have this excitement for whomever you're with? Or two that it is a physical relationship because obviously, when you're engaging in physical activity with another person, your pulse is up. If she's sneaking out the window at night drinking, good chance they're also hooking up. <br /> <br /> I agree with the commenter down there that she is referencing her song White Teeth Teens. And the main takeaway from there is that even awesome, original Lorde who is one of a kind, does sometimes daydream about being one of those normal, pretty, "perfect" teenage girls or of coming off a certain way. <br /> <br /> I think this song sort of addresses a lot of things. Wanting to come off perfectly, admiring the beautiful suburbs- something that has never been close to your home, the thrill of sneaking out and drinking, the excitement of being in a car at night with someone you like. As for the title, someone referenced the meaning of a lux, and it's actually quite simple. 400 lux refers to a certain amount of light over a given area. Coincidentally, a sunrise or sunset is equal to 400 lux. This is probably a play on words referencing the way that she feels and also the fact that they're probably out until sunrise, or something along those lines. <br /> <br /> <br /> Anyway just my thoughts!
Your interpitations are precious
perfect interpretation. i was going to make one, but this was basically it. although i ould like to add - James is certainly her boyfriend.