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.
Frankie died just the other night
Some say it was suicide
But we know how the story goes
With a six string knife and his streetwise pride
The boy was a man before his time
And she knew all their dreams would come true
See Frankie was fast, he was too fast to know
He wouldn't go slow until his lethal dose
And she knows he'd finally come too close
Well on with the show, going on with the show, come on baby no no no
Well on with the show, going on with the show, come on baby no no no
He was bad he was never good
But one thing that he understood
And she knew all these lies would come true
The time has come and he paid his dues
And Suzie finally got the news
She always knew this day would come soon
Well it's on with the show, going on with the show come on baby no no no
Going on with the show, going on with the show, come on baby no no no
Stopped on a dime with a switchblade knife
Some damn punk went and took Frankie's life
And she knew she'd have to pull through
Broken down with his broken dreams
With a wink of an eye he said listen to me
You must go on with the show
On with the show going on with the show, come on baby no no no
On with the show going on with the show, come on baby no no no
On with the show, going on with the show, come on baby no no no
Ooo baby!
Some say it was suicide
But we know how the story goes
With a six string knife and his streetwise pride
The boy was a man before his time
And she knew all their dreams would come true
See Frankie was fast, he was too fast to know
He wouldn't go slow until his lethal dose
And she knows he'd finally come too close
Well on with the show, going on with the show, come on baby no no no
Well on with the show, going on with the show, come on baby no no no
He was bad he was never good
But one thing that he understood
And she knew all these lies would come true
The time has come and he paid his dues
And Suzie finally got the news
She always knew this day would come soon
Well it's on with the show, going on with the show come on baby no no no
Going on with the show, going on with the show, come on baby no no no
Stopped on a dime with a switchblade knife
Some damn punk went and took Frankie's life
And she knew she'd have to pull through
Broken down with his broken dreams
With a wink of an eye he said listen to me
You must go on with the show
On with the show going on with the show, come on baby no no no
On with the show going on with the show, come on baby no no no
On with the show, going on with the show, come on baby no no no
Ooo baby!
Lyrics submitted by soapboxracer
On With The Show Lyrics as written by
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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This song seems to be about someones love that was killed and the other who should be the most broken is the strongest. This is a song about moving on and being strong.
This is a Motley Crue cover...
this song is awesome! its sad if u listen to the lyrics, but it's so real. it's also awesome cuz it reminds me of the outsiders, which is the best book ever.
I liek the ataris version
I personally like this version better then The Ataris..the Ataris are great, but not at this song. They don't seem to have the right beat to it. The Get Up Kids do it so much better with vocals and beat.
This is definitely from The Motley Crue, but I do believe its about life on the streets and what its like to live on the streets.
This Crue cover is talking about Frank Feranna
I havent heard the other versions, but I loved the get up kids version as soon as I heard it!