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.
Everybody's got something
They had to leave behind
One regret from yesterday
That just seems to grow with time
There's no use looking back, or wondering (or wondering)
How it could be now or might've been (or might've been)
All this I know
But still I can't find ways to let you go
I never had a dream come true
'Til the day that I found you
Even though I pretend that I've moved on
You'll always be my baby
I never found the words to say (found the words to say)
You're the one I think about each day
And I know no matter where life takes me to
A part of me will always be with you, yeah
Somewhere in my memory
I've lost all sense of time
And tomorrow can never be
'Cause yesterday is all that fills my mind
There's no use looking back or wondering (or wondering)
How it should be now or might've been (or might've been)
All this I know
But, still I can't find ways to let you go
I never had a dream come true
'Til the day that I found you
Even though I pretend that I've moved on
You'll always be my baby
I never found the words to say (never found the words to say)
You're the one I think about each day
And I know no matter where life takes me to
A part of me will always be
You'll always be the dream that fills my head
Yes, you will
Say you will
You know you will, oh baby
You'll always be the one I know I'll never forget
There's no use looking back or wondering (or wondering)
Because love is a strange and funny thing (and funny thing)
No matter how hard I try and try
I just can't say good bye
No, no, no, no
I never had a dream come true
'Til the day that I found you
Even though I pretend that I've moved on
You'll always be my baby
I never found the words to say (never found the words to say)
You're the one I think about each day
And I know no matter where life takes me to
A part of me will always be
A part of me will always be with you, ooh
They had to leave behind
One regret from yesterday
That just seems to grow with time
There's no use looking back, or wondering (or wondering)
How it could be now or might've been (or might've been)
All this I know
But still I can't find ways to let you go
I never had a dream come true
'Til the day that I found you
Even though I pretend that I've moved on
You'll always be my baby
I never found the words to say (found the words to say)
You're the one I think about each day
And I know no matter where life takes me to
A part of me will always be with you, yeah
Somewhere in my memory
I've lost all sense of time
And tomorrow can never be
'Cause yesterday is all that fills my mind
There's no use looking back or wondering (or wondering)
How it should be now or might've been (or might've been)
All this I know
But, still I can't find ways to let you go
I never had a dream come true
'Til the day that I found you
Even though I pretend that I've moved on
You'll always be my baby
I never found the words to say (never found the words to say)
You're the one I think about each day
And I know no matter where life takes me to
A part of me will always be
You'll always be the dream that fills my head
Yes, you will
Say you will
You know you will, oh baby
You'll always be the one I know I'll never forget
There's no use looking back or wondering (or wondering)
Because love is a strange and funny thing (and funny thing)
No matter how hard I try and try
I just can't say good bye
No, no, no, no
I never had a dream come true
'Til the day that I found you
Even though I pretend that I've moved on
You'll always be my baby
I never found the words to say (never found the words to say)
You're the one I think about each day
And I know no matter where life takes me to
A part of me will always be
A part of me will always be with you, ooh
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I think it's using "a part of me" as a metaphor to say that she'll never forget the guy (if that's how you choose to interpret it) because of all the experiences they've had together. Like basically, she chooses to keep the experience in her mind so that she can learn from it instead of just vapidly letting it go. Then again, it doesn't have to be about an ex-boyfriend at all. It could be about a crush, a particularly life-changing experience, a friend who moved away or that you've lost touch with, a deceased person, (a la Phantom of the Opera) Hmm, for me it's ironically about a particular song. It's been years and some of my friends say I should stop obsessing about it but I just can't help singing it and bringing up memories associated with it.
One complaint I'd say about this song, though, is that the chorus sounds very similar to Elliot Yamin's "Wait for You". I'm not sure who came first, though.