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.
And always there is a picture of you and her
Coming home happy from a vacation on the seas
And you looked like a sailor
With a tattoo of an anchor on your arm
Your hair greased back
Face weathered by places and days I'd never seen
Sometimes I read and reread
The birthday card you sent me
When I turned seven
And I know that they will never shine
The way it did that day
When we threw paper airplanes at your head
And sat on your knees laughing
Coming home happy from a vacation on the seas
And you looked like a sailor
With a tattoo of an anchor on your arm
Your hair greased back
Face weathered by places and days I'd never seen
Sometimes I read and reread
The birthday card you sent me
When I turned seven
And I know that they will never shine
The way it did that day
When we threw paper airplanes at your head
And sat on your knees laughing
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My interpretation is not the right one per se, but it means something to me. I kissed a girl for the first time in the past couple weeks. I will not see her for over a month because we will both be out of town for Christmas break. It is impossible for me to forget her, even though I am torturing myself until then. I feel such strong despair because she has been in love before, and there is no way I can stack up to that.
Anyway, this song so strongly reminded me of her because she has a tattoo of an anchor on her arm. The first paragraph spoke directly to this inadequacy I felt compared to her first love:
"And always there is a picture of you and her Coming home happy from a vacation on the seas And you looked like a sailor With a tattoo of an anchor on your arm Your hair greased back Face weathered by places and days I'd never seen"