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.
Well there's one thing you can't lose
It's that feel
Your pants, your shirt, your shoes
But not that feel
Throw it out in the rain, you can whip it like a dog
You can chop it down like an old dead tree
You can always see it
When you're coming into town
Once you hang it on the wall you can never take it down
But there's one thing you can't lose
And it's that feel
You can pawn your watch and chain
But not that feel
Always comes and finds you, it will always hear you cry
I cross my wooden leg and I swear on my glass eye
It will never leave you high and dry
Never leave you loose
It's harder to get rid of than tattoos
But there's one thing you can't lose, it's that feel
But there's one thing you can't lose, it's that feel
You can throw it off a bridge, you can lose it in the fire
You can leave it at the altar, it will make you out a liar
Fall down in the street, you can leave it in the lurch
Well, you say that it's gospel but I know that it's only church
And there's one thing you can't lose
And it's that feel
It's that feel
You can't lose, and it's that feel, oh yeah
One thing you can't lose, and it's that feel
You can't lose, and it's that feel
It's that feel
Your pants, your shirt, your shoes
But not that feel
Throw it out in the rain, you can whip it like a dog
You can chop it down like an old dead tree
You can always see it
When you're coming into town
Once you hang it on the wall you can never take it down
But there's one thing you can't lose
And it's that feel
You can pawn your watch and chain
But not that feel
Always comes and finds you, it will always hear you cry
I cross my wooden leg and I swear on my glass eye
It will never leave you high and dry
Never leave you loose
It's harder to get rid of than tattoos
But there's one thing you can't lose, it's that feel
But there's one thing you can't lose, it's that feel
You can throw it off a bridge, you can lose it in the fire
You can leave it at the altar, it will make you out a liar
Fall down in the street, you can leave it in the lurch
Well, you say that it's gospel but I know that it's only church
And there's one thing you can't lose
And it's that feel
It's that feel
You can't lose, and it's that feel, oh yeah
One thing you can't lose, and it's that feel
You can't lose, and it's that feel
Lyrics submitted by yuri_sucupira
That Feel Lyrics as written by Keith Richards Thomas Alan Waits
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, JALMA MUSIC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
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This is one of my favourite songs of all time. The lyrics are diamond-sharp & halfway through Keef comes in & the voices harmonize heartbreakingly. The lines "well you say that it's gospel/ but I know that it's only church" give me an authentic gooseflesh moment. A friend of mine says it sounds like two old drunks tumbling out of a pub caterwauling! I wish we had drunks like that round here...
There's something in life that's bigger that any meaning or scope that we give to it. We live and do our things but this something keep knocking at our door and it cant let us just live.
I cross my wooden leg And I swear on my glass eye
he cut off his leg and gorged out his eye trying to get rid of it. the wooden leg and glass eye are tokens of his failure
maybe not<br />
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iktf
this song could apply really to well to a drug addiction, i think, but it is too multifaceted to really pin down like that.
I think this song is the final point of The Bone Machine. Throughout the album we're painted a grim picture of death: We're all gonna be dirt in the ground, we don't wanna grow up and have our lives fall apart, the Ocean will eventually want to claim us...
But we're left with a bittersweet happy and sad revelation - the one thing you can't lose in this life is the feelings you feel.
Don't know exactly what it means but I'm glad to see two of my all-time favs working together. I was thrilled to find out that these two guys not only knew each other, but made music together.
Man, I found the rest of this album impressive, but it had nothing on this. Gives me that heartachy feel.
I am not quite sure, always thought it might be "that feel" which everybody has... Well to someone it's being happy, as they know their sun will shine someday again, for some it's feeling worthless and empty, which comes always back to them, or whatever. But today when I heard "You can leave it at the altar" I thought it might be love, this feel. When you truly love someone it won't ever let you alone, neither when you're sad nor happy, lose all your things or leave the person. I like that way of thinking about it very much. Sadness, happiness, whatever - it passes by but what stays forever is true love for someone. However, the longer I think about it the more it seems to fit in.
excellent song. excellent