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.
There are certain times when I wished I wasn't so alive,
and I would take it out on people like they were dead
I blow them away with words so red,
it chops their skulls from their shoulders,
and they run circles till they fall off the face of the earth
it only works if I know enough about you to pierce your heart,
your soul, and if you've pierced mine
It only works if you've touched me soft with patterns of trust
I disengage the bond if my paranoia seeps to the surface like vomit
Why do you even bother?
It happens when I hate myself to the bone
Broken mirror I feel alone
Did you ever wonder if I smiled at home away from your prying eyes?
Did you ever wonder if I smiled at home away from my worldly disguises?
Deep thought crushes me with bombs and ill-will feeds on
interpretation until I'm inhuman, a beast
I resent you for your cold streak
Backwards I walk, talk, and think
I lose myself in a cradle of a sadistic hate
I slowly shake
It rings in my blood, and I salivate like a chorus of cats in heat,
for the slightest contact, with my sharp long looks and calls
I starve for attention
I run from myself towards a wall
There's no escaping me, I jump and stall
Your hand still clutching my ankle,
I viciously let go with thoughts, yells, rivers, translations of my life from hell,
in the split second before the concrete smashes my face
They cut you deeply I smell your blood like a fiend, and reach even deeper,
I masturbate mentally with the strange power pain has blessed me with
I can't stop until you hit the floor
My arms I hold out, I let you fall thru them
Secretly smiling I bring you down to my level of broken-ness
We're such dragons
Maybe if I loved myself more I could stand to look myself in the eyes
and wipe away those sharp tears
I could blow you away, for how you hurt me
You lock yourself in a path, if you feel I don't translate into your language at the time
I needed you immensely
Stuck to your guns, you watched from outside
I was melting
Now shuffled by the world you reach out for sympathy?
With my eyes I remind you of scars only seen by God,
who keeps account of each souls pain by weighing the bags that have grown so big,
they almost block my vision
I want to fuck you over with each decision
I'm an animal when I feel unnoticed, unaccepted by those I build homes for in my heart
Wrecked I check myself into your mind, and you do the same at the same time
We recklessly crash thru memories spilling them in bursts, like long-held desire
We hesitate then reach for each other
Time instantly pauses
Stuck leaning forward, our position slowly spins 360 degrees
I see the thoughts in the back of your mind,
the same way I see my crimes against your spirit
I smell you bloody as guilt tints my vision towards reality,
I see the one of your tears inches from the floor
I lunge, grab it, it glistens stuck in the air
Then hide it from the world's stare
We're such dragons
(You know I love you)
We're such dragons
and I would take it out on people like they were dead
I blow them away with words so red,
it chops their skulls from their shoulders,
and they run circles till they fall off the face of the earth
it only works if I know enough about you to pierce your heart,
your soul, and if you've pierced mine
It only works if you've touched me soft with patterns of trust
I disengage the bond if my paranoia seeps to the surface like vomit
Why do you even bother?
It happens when I hate myself to the bone
Broken mirror I feel alone
Did you ever wonder if I smiled at home away from your prying eyes?
Did you ever wonder if I smiled at home away from my worldly disguises?
Deep thought crushes me with bombs and ill-will feeds on
interpretation until I'm inhuman, a beast
I resent you for your cold streak
Backwards I walk, talk, and think
I lose myself in a cradle of a sadistic hate
I slowly shake
It rings in my blood, and I salivate like a chorus of cats in heat,
for the slightest contact, with my sharp long looks and calls
I starve for attention
I run from myself towards a wall
There's no escaping me, I jump and stall
Your hand still clutching my ankle,
I viciously let go with thoughts, yells, rivers, translations of my life from hell,
in the split second before the concrete smashes my face
They cut you deeply I smell your blood like a fiend, and reach even deeper,
I masturbate mentally with the strange power pain has blessed me with
I can't stop until you hit the floor
My arms I hold out, I let you fall thru them
Secretly smiling I bring you down to my level of broken-ness
We're such dragons
Maybe if I loved myself more I could stand to look myself in the eyes
and wipe away those sharp tears
I could blow you away, for how you hurt me
You lock yourself in a path, if you feel I don't translate into your language at the time
I needed you immensely
Stuck to your guns, you watched from outside
I was melting
Now shuffled by the world you reach out for sympathy?
With my eyes I remind you of scars only seen by God,
who keeps account of each souls pain by weighing the bags that have grown so big,
they almost block my vision
I want to fuck you over with each decision
I'm an animal when I feel unnoticed, unaccepted by those I build homes for in my heart
Wrecked I check myself into your mind, and you do the same at the same time
We recklessly crash thru memories spilling them in bursts, like long-held desire
We hesitate then reach for each other
Time instantly pauses
Stuck leaning forward, our position slowly spins 360 degrees
I see the thoughts in the back of your mind,
the same way I see my crimes against your spirit
I smell you bloody as guilt tints my vision towards reality,
I see the one of your tears inches from the floor
I lunge, grab it, it glistens stuck in the air
Then hide it from the world's stare
We're such dragons
(You know I love you)
We're such dragons
Lyrics submitted by black_cow_of_death
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Wow, this is a great song. It makes me sad that not many people know of this band or have even heard this song. Chaka Malik is an awesome lyricist and vocalist. There is so much detail into these lyrics that I dont even know where to begin. There is so much meaning that I feel that only Chaka would be able to tell you exactly what this song is about.
The parts that grab me are the visuals in these lyrics, such as " I see the one of your tears inches from the floor I lunge, grab it, it glistens stuck in the air" I can see that image perfectly in my head. I have always been drawn to this song when I am experiencing a hurtful relationship with a significant other. It talks a lot about how painful he feels and how he takes it out on others. I just love this song, the way he fits the words into the song like spoken word is really impressive. Check out the song if you haven't already.