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.
My bed is now a cylinder of steel
Cold and hard and shiny
To match the way I feel
The dust in here is like a burning wind
Black as coal and thunder
Dark as all my sins
I took it for a long, long time
And a woman can take a lot
Two can be undone by three
But it only takes one shot
You were there
To see me beg and kneel
What kind of man would ask me then
If he could make a deal?
When lovers of the future read these lines
A sound of steel and thunder
Will echo in their minds
I took it for a long, long time
And a woman can take a lot
Two can be undone by three
But it only takes one shot
I took it for a long, long time
And a woman can take a lot
Two can be undone by three
But it only takes one shot
Ashes become speed
And turn to blood
It's strange to see
How sharp and clean
The things that come from love
Cold and hard and shiny
To match the way I feel
The dust in here is like a burning wind
Black as coal and thunder
Dark as all my sins
I took it for a long, long time
And a woman can take a lot
Two can be undone by three
But it only takes one shot
You were there
To see me beg and kneel
What kind of man would ask me then
If he could make a deal?
When lovers of the future read these lines
A sound of steel and thunder
Will echo in their minds
I took it for a long, long time
And a woman can take a lot
Two can be undone by three
But it only takes one shot
I took it for a long, long time
And a woman can take a lot
Two can be undone by three
But it only takes one shot
Ashes become speed
And turn to blood
It's strange to see
How sharp and clean
The things that come from love
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Many things in these lyrics escape me, such as:
"two can be undone by three"
Would appreciate anyone who could shed some light over that section.
One thing is certain, for all the elements of cacophony as metaphor for this love are there: "When lovers of the future read these lines A sound of steel and thunder Will echo in their minds ,this love wasn't easy and it is no more.
Maybe when she sings that
"I took it for a long, long time And a woman can take a lot"
she is describing some sort of abuse, and that would be confirmed as the psychological type when she says
"You were there To see me beg and kneel What kind of man would ask me then If he could make a deal?
I may be completely off target here, maybe just mirroring own feelings with those of Lera, but the emotional load of this song is inescapable, and it is heavy!