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.
Somebody somewhere must pay
Not you you just walk away to the foot of her stairs
She at the top with her head in the clouds
And was she easily lead
Well can you tell me that you were not
You unwashed and undressed
She with her head full of your cigarettes
She is oh such a pretty one wrapped up in needle cord and coincidence
And you don`t know what to want
Until it's gone gone gone pretty gone
Somebody somewhere must pay
Somebody else will confess all your sins
You'll be saved
Then you'll step on that face
She will laugh she will kiss yes and tell
She is gone she is pretty gone she's under your thumb
Oh you little man but you don`t know what you want
Until she's gone gone gone
Pretty dress full of nothingness to confess
She is nothing less
She was half way to holiness when you said
Won't you put on your dress and come down to magazine avenue
Won't you put on your dress and come down?
Not you you just walk away to the foot of her stairs
She at the top with her head in the clouds
And was she easily lead
Well can you tell me that you were not
You unwashed and undressed
She with her head full of your cigarettes
She is oh such a pretty one wrapped up in needle cord and coincidence
And you don`t know what to want
Until it's gone gone gone pretty gone
Somebody somewhere must pay
Somebody else will confess all your sins
You'll be saved
Then you'll step on that face
She will laugh she will kiss yes and tell
She is gone she is pretty gone she's under your thumb
Oh you little man but you don`t know what you want
Until she's gone gone gone
Pretty dress full of nothingness to confess
She is nothing less
She was half way to holiness when you said
Won't you put on your dress and come down to magazine avenue
Won't you put on your dress and come down?
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Light Up The Sky
Van Halen
Van Halen
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
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.
When We Were Young
Blink-182
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.