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.
Bengali, Bengali
Bengali, Bengali
No no no
He does not want to depress you
Oh no no no no no
He only wants to impress you
Oh...
Bengali in platforms
He only wants to embrace your culture
And to be your friend forever
Forever
Bengali, Bengali
Bengali, Bengali
Oh, shelve your Western plans
And understand
That life is hard enough when you belong here
A silver-studded rim that glistens
And an ankle-star that...blinds me
A lemon sole so very high
Which only reminds me; to tell you
Break the news gently
Break the news to him gently
"Shelve your plans; shelve your plans, shelve them"
Bengali, Bengali
It's the touchy march of time that binds you
Don't blame me
Don't hate me
Just because I'm the one to tell you
That life is hard enough when you belong here
That life is hard enough when you belong here
Oh...
Shelve your Western plans
Oh...
Shelve your Western plans
'Cause life is hard enough when you belong
Life is hard enough when you belong here
Oh...
Shelve your Western plans
Oh...
Shelve your best friends
'Cause life is hard when you belong here
Oh...
Life is hard enough when you belong
Bengali, Bengali
No no no
He does not want to depress you
Oh no no no no no
He only wants to impress you
Oh...
Bengali in platforms
He only wants to embrace your culture
And to be your friend forever
Forever
Bengali, Bengali
Bengali, Bengali
Oh, shelve your Western plans
And understand
That life is hard enough when you belong here
A silver-studded rim that glistens
And an ankle-star that...blinds me
A lemon sole so very high
Which only reminds me; to tell you
Break the news gently
Break the news to him gently
"Shelve your plans; shelve your plans, shelve them"
Bengali, Bengali
It's the touchy march of time that binds you
Don't blame me
Don't hate me
Just because I'm the one to tell you
That life is hard enough when you belong here
That life is hard enough when you belong here
Oh...
Shelve your Western plans
Oh...
Shelve your Western plans
'Cause life is hard enough when you belong
Life is hard enough when you belong here
Oh...
Shelve your Western plans
Oh...
Shelve your best friends
'Cause life is hard when you belong here
Oh...
Life is hard enough when you belong
Lyrics submitted by weezerific:cutlery
Bengali In Platforms Lyrics as written by Stephen Brian Street Steven Morrissey
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
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It's indeed possible that the song was meant to convey a sympathetic warning to a potential immigrant, either about still-existent racism or simply giving a "this place isn't so great, really" general sort of sentiment. But his explanation to Shaun Phillips in Sounds Magazine ("If you went to live in Yugoslavia tomorrow, you would find you didn't really belong there") didn't help clarify things. At the very least, he seems to suffer from a good bit of foot-in-mouth syndrome, however well-intentioned he and his works may be.
[The whole thing reminds me of Andrew Dice Clay's oft-contested claim that his humour was meant to be satirical; if so, it was pretty lousy satire, in that his main demographic found the material itself amusing rather than the attack on bigotry it supposedly conveyed.]