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 sure you're probably busy getting on with your new life
So far away from
So far away from
When everything we used to say was wrong is now alright
Where has the time gone
Where has the time gone
If you're ever feeling lonely
If you're ever feeling down
You should know you're not the only one 'cause I feel it with you now
When the world is on your shoulders and you're falling to your knees
Oh please
You know love will set you free
I took a long and lonely walk up to an empty house
That's where I've come from
Where have you come from
The more I live, the more I know, I've got to live without
This ain't no sad song
Life has to go on
If you're ever feeling lonely
If you're ever feeling down
You should know you're not the only one 'cause I feel it with you now
When the world is on your shoulders and you're falling to your knees
Oh please
You know love will set you free
Ooh
You know love will set you free
Ooh
You know love will set you free
Ooh
You know love will set you free
Ooh
You know love will set you free
Ooh
You know love will set you free
Ooh
You know love will set you free
Love will set you free
Ooh
Love will set you free
If you're ever feeling lonely
If you're ever feeling down
You should know you're not the only one 'cause I feel it with you now
When the world is on your shoulders and you're falling to your knees
Oh please
You know love will set you free
Love will set you free
So far away from
So far away from
When everything we used to say was wrong is now alright
Where has the time gone
Where has the time gone
If you're ever feeling lonely
If you're ever feeling down
You should know you're not the only one 'cause I feel it with you now
When the world is on your shoulders and you're falling to your knees
Oh please
You know love will set you free
I took a long and lonely walk up to an empty house
That's where I've come from
Where have you come from
The more I live, the more I know, I've got to live without
This ain't no sad song
Life has to go on
If you're ever feeling lonely
If you're ever feeling down
You should know you're not the only one 'cause I feel it with you now
When the world is on your shoulders and you're falling to your knees
Oh please
You know love will set you free
Ooh
You know love will set you free
Ooh
You know love will set you free
Ooh
You know love will set you free
Ooh
You know love will set you free
Ooh
You know love will set you free
Ooh
You know love will set you free
Love will set you free
Ooh
Love will set you free
If you're ever feeling lonely
If you're ever feeling down
You should know you're not the only one 'cause I feel it with you now
When the world is on your shoulders and you're falling to your knees
Oh please
You know love will set you free
Love will set you free
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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:
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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"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
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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”
Dreamwalker
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I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.