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.
Talking in her sleep again
Reciting lines start to end
But she's not crazy
(Knock on wood)
Just a little misunderstood
She takes a walk at 4 AM
Wakes the neighborhood again
And I find myself recalling
Everything she used to tell me
Aw yeah, alright,
Truth hurts inside
Aw yeah, that's right,
You go around once in life
Everybody wants to be a part
Everybody loves a situation
Who would ever want to play the part
Of anonymous numbers
On a governmental chart
She's waiting tables the next day
She pulls a double then on her way
To an audition in Hollywood, yeah,
A little misunderstood
We sit around the house
Waiting for the phone to ring
And I know she alone holds the key
To everything I want to be
Aw yeah, alright,
Truth hurts inside
Aw yeah, that's right,
You go around once in life
Everybody wants to be a part
Everybody loves a situation
Who would ever want to play the part
Of anonymous numbers
On a governmental chart
Everybody wants to be your friend
When you've got something you can give them
All I've seen, bad and good,
She's not crazy
Just a little misunderstood.
Aw yeah, all good,
She's not crazy,
Just a little misunderstood
Two years later you're a star
Who'd have thought we'd get this far?
But I'd give it all away if I
Could see you on that day again
When you quit work
And threw that coffee
At the manager jerk
You said, "Close your eyes
I've got a surprise
A house in the hills
And a car that drives by."
Aw yeah, alright,
Truth hurts, don't it?
Inside
Aw yeah, that's right,
You go around once in life
Everybody wants to be a part
Everybody loves a situation
Who would ever want to play the part
Of anonymous numbers
On a governmental chart
Everybody wants to be your friend
When you've got something you can give them
All I've seen, bad and good,
She's not crazy
Just a little misunderstood
Aw yeah, all good,
She's not crazy,
Just a little misunderstood
Reciting lines start to end
But she's not crazy
(Knock on wood)
Just a little misunderstood
She takes a walk at 4 AM
Wakes the neighborhood again
And I find myself recalling
Everything she used to tell me
Aw yeah, alright,
Truth hurts inside
Aw yeah, that's right,
You go around once in life
Everybody wants to be a part
Everybody loves a situation
Who would ever want to play the part
Of anonymous numbers
On a governmental chart
She's waiting tables the next day
She pulls a double then on her way
To an audition in Hollywood, yeah,
A little misunderstood
We sit around the house
Waiting for the phone to ring
And I know she alone holds the key
To everything I want to be
Aw yeah, alright,
Truth hurts inside
Aw yeah, that's right,
You go around once in life
Everybody wants to be a part
Everybody loves a situation
Who would ever want to play the part
Of anonymous numbers
On a governmental chart
Everybody wants to be your friend
When you've got something you can give them
All I've seen, bad and good,
She's not crazy
Just a little misunderstood.
Aw yeah, all good,
She's not crazy,
Just a little misunderstood
Two years later you're a star
Who'd have thought we'd get this far?
But I'd give it all away if I
Could see you on that day again
When you quit work
And threw that coffee
At the manager jerk
You said, "Close your eyes
I've got a surprise
A house in the hills
And a car that drives by."
Aw yeah, alright,
Truth hurts, don't it?
Inside
Aw yeah, that's right,
You go around once in life
Everybody wants to be a part
Everybody loves a situation
Who would ever want to play the part
Of anonymous numbers
On a governmental chart
Everybody wants to be your friend
When you've got something you can give them
All I've seen, bad and good,
She's not crazy
Just a little misunderstood
Aw yeah, all good,
She's not crazy,
Just a little misunderstood
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Light Up The Sky
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I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
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"'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."
No Surprises
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Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Magical
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How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
I love this song. The meaning is pretty easy to dervice... don't give up on your dreams even if people around you tell you that they are crazy and you're in a rut for the time being.
If you put in the hard work (reciting lines in this case) then eventually you will succeed, maybe it won't come right away, but eventually.