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.
I remember, wasn't so long ago
We had a one room shack and the livin' was low
And my mama by herself raised me and my bro
Wasn't easy, but we did it with the little that go
Worked hard while got us off of school everyday
And kept her eyes on the stars when the skies were gray
Gave us pride to survive, really showed us the way
Now I really understood what she was tryin' to say
She said, "Son there'll be times when the tides are high
And the boat may be rocky, you can cry
Just never give up
You can never give up," uh-uh
In this life you could lead if you only believe
And in order to achieve what you need
You can never give up
You can never give up
And this hope
That keep me holding on
On and on
And this hope
That makes me carry on
On and on
Boom-boom, couldn't have made it alone
I got a wonderful life, two kids on my own
With a strong foundation that was carved in stone
And my mama for the love that made my house a home
Made me wonder some time if this was meant to be
All this for a humble little guy like me
And all I ever really wanted was a family
To teach my kids the same value that she gave to me
She said, "Son there'll be times when the tides are high
And the boat may be rocky, you can cry
Just never give up
You can never give up," uh-uh
In this life you could lead if you only believe
And in order to achieve what you need
You can never give up
You can never give up
And this hope
That keep me holding on
And on
And this hope
That makes me carry on
On and on
Me not gonna suffer, things are for better
Never let yourself be overcome by the pressure
?
See the man and watch ?
Blaze like fire, we nah go retire
Got nuff sleep and I am a expire
We haf a retire, that we require
We have to make a mark before the time expire
And this hope
That keep me holding on
And on
And this hope
That makes me carry on
On and on
And this hope
That keep me holding on
And on
And this hope
That makes me carry on
On and on
There's hope, yeah
Hope keeps it alive, yeah, uh
Hope keeps it alive, yeah, uh
And it strikes an iron, uh
Hope keeps it alive, yeah, yeah
Hope keeps it alive, yeah
Only the strong survive, yeah
Keep it carry on, keep it carry on, yeah
Uh-uh
I'll keep it carry on, yeah
I gotta carry on, gotta carry on and be strong
Uh-uh-uh
Yeah, yeah, yeah, uh-uh
And this hope
That keep me holding on
And on
And this hope
That makes me carry on
On and on
We had a one room shack and the livin' was low
And my mama by herself raised me and my bro
Wasn't easy, but we did it with the little that go
Worked hard while got us off of school everyday
And kept her eyes on the stars when the skies were gray
Gave us pride to survive, really showed us the way
Now I really understood what she was tryin' to say
She said, "Son there'll be times when the tides are high
And the boat may be rocky, you can cry
Just never give up
You can never give up," uh-uh
In this life you could lead if you only believe
And in order to achieve what you need
You can never give up
You can never give up
And this hope
That keep me holding on
On and on
And this hope
That makes me carry on
On and on
Boom-boom, couldn't have made it alone
I got a wonderful life, two kids on my own
With a strong foundation that was carved in stone
And my mama for the love that made my house a home
Made me wonder some time if this was meant to be
All this for a humble little guy like me
And all I ever really wanted was a family
To teach my kids the same value that she gave to me
She said, "Son there'll be times when the tides are high
And the boat may be rocky, you can cry
Just never give up
You can never give up," uh-uh
In this life you could lead if you only believe
And in order to achieve what you need
You can never give up
You can never give up
And this hope
That keep me holding on
And on
And this hope
That makes me carry on
On and on
Me not gonna suffer, things are for better
Never let yourself be overcome by the pressure
?
See the man and watch ?
Blaze like fire, we nah go retire
Got nuff sleep and I am a expire
We haf a retire, that we require
We have to make a mark before the time expire
And this hope
That keep me holding on
And on
And this hope
That makes me carry on
On and on
And this hope
That keep me holding on
And on
And this hope
That makes me carry on
On and on
There's hope, yeah
Hope keeps it alive, yeah, uh
Hope keeps it alive, yeah, uh
And it strikes an iron, uh
Hope keeps it alive, yeah, yeah
Hope keeps it alive, yeah
Only the strong survive, yeah
Keep it carry on, keep it carry on, yeah
Uh-uh
I'll keep it carry on, yeah
I gotta carry on, gotta carry on and be strong
Uh-uh-uh
Yeah, yeah, yeah, uh-uh
And this hope
That keep me holding on
And on
And this hope
That makes me carry on
On and on
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
Standing On The Edge Of Summer
Thursday
Thursday
In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
This song is sooooo cool!!! Absolutely a summer-hit!!! :) And this "never-give-up"-message together with this sound makes you forget your little problems for a while... cool song.