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.
As far as you take me that's where I believe
The realm of soft delusions floating on the leaves
On a distant shoreline she waves her arms to me
As all the thought police and closing in for sleep
The dilly dally of my bright lit stay
The steam of my misfortunes
Has given me the power to be afraid
And in my mind I'm everyone
And in my mind
Without a care in this whole world
Without a care in this life
It's what you take that makes it right
Porcelina of the oceans blue
In the slipstream, of thoughtless thoughts
The light of all that's good, the light of all that's true
To the fringes gladly, I walk unadorned
With gods and their creations
With filth and disease
Porcelina, she waits for me there
With seashell hissing lullabies
And whispers fathomed deep inside my own
Hidden thoughts and alibis
My secret thoughts come alive
Without a care in this whole world
Without a care in this life
It's what you take that makes it right
And in my mind I'm everyone
In my mind I'm everyone of you
You make it right
It's all all right
You make it right
Porcelina of the oceans blue
The realm of soft delusions floating on the leaves
On a distant shoreline she waves her arms to me
As all the thought police and closing in for sleep
The dilly dally of my bright lit stay
The steam of my misfortunes
Has given me the power to be afraid
And in my mind I'm everyone
And in my mind
Without a care in this whole world
Without a care in this life
It's what you take that makes it right
Porcelina of the oceans blue
In the slipstream, of thoughtless thoughts
The light of all that's good, the light of all that's true
To the fringes gladly, I walk unadorned
With gods and their creations
With filth and disease
Porcelina, she waits for me there
With seashell hissing lullabies
And whispers fathomed deep inside my own
Hidden thoughts and alibis
My secret thoughts come alive
Without a care in this whole world
Without a care in this life
It's what you take that makes it right
And in my mind I'm everyone
In my mind I'm everyone of you
You make it right
It's all all right
You make it right
Porcelina of the oceans blue
Lyrics submitted by Ice, edited by Mellow_Harsher, NeonFlow, BIRDDUDE830
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
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I think this is a love song of sorts. It might not even be a real person, just the image of what in Billy's mind would be a perfect woman in the perfect setting. He's in a sort of euphoric state when he thinks of her.
"On a distant shoreline, she waves her arms to me" Like she's a person he hasn't met but is out there waiting/waving to him. And the ocean and the beach is a pretty serene setting for the imagination of where that person is.
"To the fringes gladly, I walk unadored with gods and their creations with filth and disease" This is kind of like saying Billy has dealt with the realities of the destructive nature of humans and he "gladly" walked "unadored" in the sense that he proudly tries to keep himself separate of the standard way of life that contributes to the perils of human existence for which he has been mocked because it is not the norm.
"porcelina, she waits for me there with seashell hissing lullabyes and whispers fathomed deep inside my own hidden thoughts and alibis my secret thoughts come alive" So he has an alternate world in his mind to escape from the current reality that disgusts him. And in that world there's a beautiful woman who understands the deeper hidden parts of his mind and thoughts which is essentially something that would make him feel a soothing release to find someone who truly understands him.
"without a care in this whole world..." basically hes saying that when he's in this euphoric ocean dreamworld thinking of this woman he doesn't really give a shit about the bane of reality that plagues his mind.
anyways, thats my take on it. And the song sure as hell makes me feel like im in a euphoric dreamworld with a beach hottie waiting for me : )
anyone ready for an alternative interpretation? good.
Its been argued/confirmed/denied again multiple times over the years that Mellon Collie is a concept album based on a day in the life on a teenager. Personally, I'm inclined to agree, and as such songs like these take on a meaning to me probably a lot different to what was intended.
This song conjures up a very strong image of a typical day out for me in London. A group of mates drinking in a park, getting very sloshed and telling loads of weird and wonderful stories (there seems to be a romantic slant to this concept album idea; a teen's life mixed in with an almost medieval set of beliefs)
Basically, to me the song is one of these teens conjuring up a very weird and wonderful tale for their friends while drunk, a love poem to the toilet. Yup. He's drunk, he needs to go badly, and so he makes up a song about the 'ol porcelain. The line, "Without a care in this whole world," amusingly creates an image of him relieving himself in various public places (a fountain, a bush etc.)
Very wrong and abstract, but hey, this is what it means to me, and I know I'm a sick sick person ;)
Porcelina is a beautiful word, but I wouldn't name a child that because it sounds too much like porcelin, which sounds like toilet to me.
However, in the way it is used in this song, it doesn't make me think of a toilet. Pyrrhic has an interesting theory, but I am pretty much 100% sure that's not what the song was written about.
I like how you guys like to pick out certain lines from a song that fit your description, but you never take the entire song into account, you only mention the lines that fit your idea. It doesn't work that way. They wouldn't write a song with only half of the lyrics meaning something.
What I get from this song is that he's met a girl... yes a girl, you've all seemed to be missing the fact (or leaving it out) that he seems to mention a person, or a girl waving at him... anyhoo he's met a girl who changed his life. And then she's gone. I'm probably wrong, but that's kind of the way I see it.
And please... to everyone who uses this site... stop thinking that every effing song is about drugs. They aren't.
i see what youre saying, but a lot of songwriters actually do basically write songs where only half the lines mean something. sometimes you just have to make it rhyme or enhance the atmosphere of the song, not every line is packed with a single meaning. that doesnt make the song any less great or meaningful, its just what you have to do a lot of the time when youre writing. and yeah it pisses me off too when people think every song is about drugs (especially alice in chains songs) but now im starting to think this one actually is, drugs usually get personified as a woman in music
Porcelina is the cowrie shell: A sea-shell -- as wikipedia explains: "Indeed the term "porcelain" derives from the old Italian term for the cowrie shell (porcellana) due to their similar translucent appearance."
Does anyone else get chills from the guitar during the "You make it right. It's all alright." part of the song?
This is so obviously a love song. I don't think Porcelina is a name, so much as being kind of serene. It makes me think that this girl makes him calm like the ocean when there are no waves. He has no cares, because she makes him calm and he trusts in her. He may have no idea why he trusts her, but the feeling she gives him is beyond anything he's ever felt. Porcelina of the vast ocean seems to be the way he describes his feelings for her, or something to that sense.
I think this song is about Billy's fear of inheriting his mother's mental illness. As is evident to me in some other writings of his.
beautiful song...i don't know what the meaning is exactly but it's flowers for my ears.
i love this song. my old boyfriend used to sing it to me all the time. he said that i was his porcelina. pyrrhic's theory is intresting. i like it! i just hope my ex wasn't having images about someone relieving himself in public while he was singing it to me. but it's definately a cool interpretation of the song.
If I ever had a daughter would it be wrong to name her Porcelina?
you can never get rid of the connection to toilets in the word "porcelain"
I have a friend who wanted to name her daughter Porcelina. She had another couple of names, Pumpkin-related, that she was going to use too.
That's an interesting theory, Pyrrhic - a day in the life of a teenager. I'm going to think about that next time I listen.