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.
Tell me something, girl
Are you happy in this modern world?
Or do you need more?
Is there somethin' else you're searching for?
I'm falling
In all the good times I find myself
Longin' for change
And in the bad times I fear myself
Tell me something, boy
Aren't you tired tryin' to fill that void?
Or do you need more?
Ain't it hard keeping it so hardcore?
I'm falling
In all the good times I find myself
Longing for a change
And in the bad times I fear myself
I'm off the deep end, watch as I dive in
I'll never meet the ground
Crash through the surface, where they can't hurt us
We're far from the shallow now
In the sha-ha, sha-hallow
In the sha-ha, sha-la-la-la-low
In the sha-ha, sha-hallow
We're far from the shallow now
I'm off the deep end, watch as I dive in
I'll never meet the ground
Crash through the surface, where they can't hurt us
We're far from the shallow now
In the sha-ha, shallow
In the sha-ha, sha-la-la-la-low
In the sha-ha, shallow
We're far from the shallow now
Are you happy in this modern world?
Or do you need more?
Is there somethin' else you're searching for?
I'm falling
In all the good times I find myself
Longin' for change
And in the bad times I fear myself
Tell me something, boy
Aren't you tired tryin' to fill that void?
Or do you need more?
Ain't it hard keeping it so hardcore?
I'm falling
In all the good times I find myself
Longing for a change
And in the bad times I fear myself
I'm off the deep end, watch as I dive in
I'll never meet the ground
Crash through the surface, where they can't hurt us
We're far from the shallow now
In the sha-ha, sha-hallow
In the sha-ha, sha-la-la-la-low
In the sha-ha, sha-hallow
We're far from the shallow now
I'm off the deep end, watch as I dive in
I'll never meet the ground
Crash through the surface, where they can't hurt us
We're far from the shallow now
In the sha-ha, shallow
In the sha-ha, sha-la-la-la-low
In the sha-ha, shallow
We're far from the shallow now
Lyrics submitted by Mellow_Harsher, edited by RamonaChick
Shallow Lyrics as written by Stefani J. Germanotta Andrew Wyatt
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
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Wow. This song is absolutely fantastic. I must humbly say that I was not expecting to be moved so much by such a simple and short song. But despite it being simple and short, “Shallow” is a beautiful, sweet and eloquent song filled with powerful emotion and a clear point to prove. The song is set up in such a way it would be difficult to nail down a single genre to put this song into. And in a similar fashion, I think it would be difficult to nail down a singular idea of the song.
Lyrically speaking, there’s so many situations you could apply this song too and having that element in a piece of music is a part of what makes it great. I was able to draw from the song that it’s really a song about faith and trust. It takes that kind of bravery and courage you get from being faithful and trusting to be able to hold someone’s hand and then plunge yourselves into the deep end and fully commit, whether you commit to each or if you commit to something you’re doing together.
All in all, it’s a beautiful song with a beautiful meaning of trust, faith, and mutual companionship. If you’re going to do anything at all, plunge into it wholeheartedly. If you’re not going to do a job all the way, don’t do it at all.