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.
Like a creeping shadow moving through the room
No one else can see it, I sense impending doom
Plugged into my mind somehow, it haunts me all day long
Like a strange religion, the children marching on
I hear the voices, they're calling me back
Oh God what could I have done
Something's left over, I hear the call
Forever I'm living with noises in the wall
When I played with fire I never felt the burn
Now I feel it everywhere, the devil takes his turn
The darkness held the promises, hiding from the dawn
Like a strange religion, a children's marching song
I hear the voices they're calling to me
What do they want with me
Somethings left over, I hear the call
Forever I'm living with noises in the wall
And still I wear the chains
Of sins that still remain
My knees won't bend to pray
Still it's got its hold on me
Playing games with the enemy, brings to life your darkest dreams
When you know what it really means
It's now too late
The creatures of the night you'll find, soon to become shadowblind
You won't even realize
You've started to die
A fools game with no winner, a soul of black forever
First he'll be an angel of light
It starts gnawing at you, always never leaves you
Now that you have opened the door
Tried to leave it all behind so many times before
Thought it all was just in my past
Still it keeps scratching and scratching at the door
These things won't leave me alone
It's wrapped itself around me now like a filthy coat
With sleeves that are far far too long
And they know what you fear, it's what's drawing them near
Another tormented soul to steal
Something's left over, I hear the call
Forever you'll be living with noises in the wall
No one else can see it, I sense impending doom
Plugged into my mind somehow, it haunts me all day long
Like a strange religion, the children marching on
I hear the voices, they're calling me back
Oh God what could I have done
Something's left over, I hear the call
Forever I'm living with noises in the wall
When I played with fire I never felt the burn
Now I feel it everywhere, the devil takes his turn
The darkness held the promises, hiding from the dawn
Like a strange religion, a children's marching song
I hear the voices they're calling to me
What do they want with me
Somethings left over, I hear the call
Forever I'm living with noises in the wall
And still I wear the chains
Of sins that still remain
My knees won't bend to pray
Still it's got its hold on me
Playing games with the enemy, brings to life your darkest dreams
When you know what it really means
It's now too late
The creatures of the night you'll find, soon to become shadowblind
You won't even realize
You've started to die
A fools game with no winner, a soul of black forever
First he'll be an angel of light
It starts gnawing at you, always never leaves you
Now that you have opened the door
Tried to leave it all behind so many times before
Thought it all was just in my past
Still it keeps scratching and scratching at the door
These things won't leave me alone
It's wrapped itself around me now like a filthy coat
With sleeves that are far far too long
And they know what you fear, it's what's drawing them near
Another tormented soul to steal
Something's left over, I hear the call
Forever you'll be living with noises in the wall
Lyrics submitted by Kingofstilport
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This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
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This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
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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.
I believe it's possibly inspired by the H.P. Lovecraft story "The Rats in the Walls." The track explores themes of inner turmoil, haunting memories, and spiritual struggle. The lyrics depict a sense of unease and impending doom that the protagonist experiences, represented by the "creeping shadow" and the "noises in the wall." The voices that the protagonist hears can be interpreted as both internal and external conflicts. They symbolize regret and guilt over past actions, possibly suggesting that they have caused harm to themselves or others. This lines up with Lovecraft's character Delapore when he learns that his family maintained an underground city for centuries, where they raised generations of human cattle.
The repeated phrase "forever I'm living with noises in the wall" highlights the persistent nature of the protagonist's inner demons. Despite attempts to escape or leave their past behind, they are haunted and tormented by their past actions and regrets. Delapore went mad when trying to process and move on after learning about his family's dark past; He killed his son's war friend and proceeded to eat his flesh while mumbling to himself. It mentions the marching and song of children which could be interpreted as the continuous cycle of evil that plagues the familial bloodline
The creeping shadow mentioned previously could refer to the swineherd, a nameless being that Delapore sees in his dreams, tending to his unseen herd in a twilight-lit grotto. It's his dreams of the swineherd that drive him to investigate the city beneath the priory. The noises which he thinks are rats serve to lead him to explore, taunting him with the mystery.
Whether or not it's inspired by is never mentioned, but there are similarities as mentioned. Without the comparison, you can view the noises in the walls as the evil acts a murderer has committed haunting him like his shadow; Acts that he can never escape or outrun, and will forever haunt him.