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.
In a world so far away
At the end of a closing day
A little child was born and raised
Deep in the forest on a hidden place
Mother never saw his face
Ancient spirits of the forest
Made him king of elves and trees
He was the only human being
Who lived in harmony
In perfect harmony
The woods protected, fulfilled his needs
Fruit by birds, honey by bees
He found shelter under the trees
He grew up in their company
They became his family
Ancient spirits of the forest
Made him king of elves and trees
He was the only human being
Who lived in harmony
In perfect harmony
Ancient spirits of the forest
Made him king of elves and trees
He was the only human being
Who lived in harmony
In perfect harmony
A thousand seasons, they passed him by
So many times have said goodbye
And when the spirits called out his name
To join forever, to forever to stay
A forest spirit he became
Ancient spirits of the forest
Made him king of elves and trees
He was the only human being
Who lived in harmony
In perfect harmony
Ancient spirits of the forest
Made him king of elves and trees
He was the only human being
Who lived in harmony
In perfect harmony
At the end of a closing day
A little child was born and raised
Deep in the forest on a hidden place
Mother never saw his face
Ancient spirits of the forest
Made him king of elves and trees
He was the only human being
Who lived in harmony
In perfect harmony
The woods protected, fulfilled his needs
Fruit by birds, honey by bees
He found shelter under the trees
He grew up in their company
They became his family
Ancient spirits of the forest
Made him king of elves and trees
He was the only human being
Who lived in harmony
In perfect harmony
Ancient spirits of the forest
Made him king of elves and trees
He was the only human being
Who lived in harmony
In perfect harmony
A thousand seasons, they passed him by
So many times have said goodbye
And when the spirits called out his name
To join forever, to forever to stay
A forest spirit he became
Ancient spirits of the forest
Made him king of elves and trees
He was the only human being
Who lived in harmony
In perfect harmony
Ancient spirits of the forest
Made him king of elves and trees
He was the only human being
Who lived in harmony
In perfect harmony
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i love this song. it just like a fairytale. a child born in the forest its as beautiful as sharon's voice.
Although I'm sure that the meaning WT intended for this song is as simple as what everybody else has said, I interpret this song in a different way. I spend a lot of time thinking about the ethics of human existence in relationship to the other life forms around us (e.g. animal rights, eco-friendliness, whether to be vegetarian/vegan, et cetera), and the sad truth of it is that as one thing lives, it causes others to die. You could live nude in the woods and refrain from eating meat, but when you eat berries or fruit or vegetables, you may be depriving another herbivorous animal of food, or perhaps damaging the plant life; and every time you take a step you're probably killing an insect. The only way to truly cause no harm to any living thing would be to cease existing.
When I listen to this song, I think of it as a symbol of this idea. A boy dies soon after his birth; only by being dead can he exist in perfect harmony with the non-human world, because then he is causing absolutely no harm, and his decomposing body feeds the flora and fauna around him, causing him to become one with the woods.
Sounds like a disney song. I love this. It's so innocent.
This song pisses me off. The first time I heard it, I instantly recognized the melody from Loreena McKennitt's "Lady of Shallot". Please, if you think you like this song, listen to Loreena. This singer is shit and they obviously have problems coming up with their own music.
The only thing I hear is the line "In perfect harmony" at the end of the chorus sounds like "The lady of Shalott" at the end of a verse. Could be just me, but is there anything else? Either way, I love both artists and both songs, and I think songs are (almost) always going to take things from other songs, and that's (typically) fine.
this is such a sweet song, i love this band, i love this song, the music is amazing, and her voice, the lyrics everything about it is just wonderful
Wow this song remind me of the Nintendo 64 game Zelda: Ocarina of Time... "child in the forest", "ancient spirits of the forest" it seems very similar to Link and his history. I love the fact that Within Temptation are very...spiritual...in their music!
the way she sings it reminds me of how Loreena McKennitt sings The Lady of Shalott. Beautiful either way.
Are you sure that it is 'elves' and trees? When I first listened to this song, I heard 'owls' and now listening again, I can't tell, could be either... I think 'owls' works better. Anyway as far as the song meaning goes, I think it is straightforward with no symbolism. Its a fairytale about an orphan boy who grows up in the forest apart from other humans, similar to The Jungle Book or Tarzan. There are slightly more suble points: "He was the only human being Who lived in harmony", in other words the rest of the human race is not. As a race, we are constantly at war with nature, most of our actions damage it, we feel the need to destroy, subdue, push away, or bend it to our own design. (Deforestation, damming and levying of rivers, killing of preditory aminals because they compete with us in hunting game or they might happen to kill the occational livestock... etc, etc) While I find the lyrics interesting, this is actually one of my least favorite WT songs, I guess it is too slow, and something about the sound or rhythm annoys me. It does fit in with the "mother earth" theme though.
You were correct, it is "elves", I found the lyrics on their site.
DozenEchinacea x... Wow that is soooo true. I'm shocked at those words. You'd get an A in English Literature and 1st place at poem interpretations!!!!!!1