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.
A million points of light
Ascending to the sky
Monuments in darkness
Standing watch
Until the sun will rise
Screaming to an emptiness
Of how we once defined ourselves
With our hands over our eyes
Claiming all of creation
What inspires in us this madness
That out existence should be defined
By a light that can't be seen by anyone
What inspires in us this madness
That out existence should be defined
By a light that we can't see
By a light that can't be seen
A million points of light
Ascending to the sky
Monuments in darkness
Standing watch
Until the sun will rise
I can't, I can't see this all as progress
How did we come this far?
When we see ourselves as deities
Claiming nature for ourselves
By our actions we betray
The instincts in our race
By our blindness and stupidity
We kill everything
We kill everything
Can someone see our self destruction?
Are we reminding ourselves
That our existence is so delicate
That without this light we are no more
That without this light we've made we are no more
A million points of light
Ascending to the sky
Monuments in darkness
Standing watch
Until the sun will rise
We torch this earth until it bleeds
Rain ashes from the sky
Just to make a light that no one can see
We cut this earth until it bleeds
Rain ashes from the sky
Just to make a light that no one can see
Just to make a light
Just to make a light
We kill everything
By our blindness and stupidity
We kill everything
In a thousand years, what will be our legacy?
A million lights that no one can see
A million points of light
Ascending to the sky
Monuments in darkness
Standing watch
Until the sun will rise
Screaming to an emptiness
Of how we once defined ourselves
With our hands over our eyes
Claiming all of creation
What inspires in us this madness
That out existence should be defined
By a light that can't be seen by anyone
What inspires in us this madness
That out existence should be defined
By a light that we can't see
By a light that can't be seen
A million points of light
Ascending to the sky
Monuments in darkness
Standing watch
Until the sun will rise
I can't, I can't see this all as progress
How did we come this far?
When we see ourselves as deities
Claiming nature for ourselves
By our actions we betray
The instincts in our race
By our blindness and stupidity
We kill everything
We kill everything
Can someone see our self destruction?
Are we reminding ourselves
That our existence is so delicate
That without this light we are no more
That without this light we've made we are no more
A million points of light
Ascending to the sky
Monuments in darkness
Standing watch
Until the sun will rise
We torch this earth until it bleeds
Rain ashes from the sky
Just to make a light that no one can see
We cut this earth until it bleeds
Rain ashes from the sky
Just to make a light that no one can see
Just to make a light
Just to make a light
We kill everything
By our blindness and stupidity
We kill everything
In a thousand years, what will be our legacy?
A million lights that no one can see
A million points of light
Lyrics submitted by EagleSword
Carbon Lyrics as written by Tori Ellen Amos
Lyrics © Downtown Music Publishing
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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This is no doubt my favorite song from the new album. It backround is so amazing and so is the melody. I was disscussing the lyrics with my mom and I figuered it out. The million points of light are the lights in the city. The next few lines talk about the light shining up towards the sky as a sign of how we have put our selves so high. The light he is talking about is electricity. When I first heard the song I thought it was about God, and being a christian I didn't like the song. The line "Monuments in darkness" is the lights are on at night. "Stadning watch untile the sun will rise" how our city lights go off during the day. The song is bout the fact that we have put all our dependance on electricty. Our very society is dependant on it. Y2k scared the dung out of people but that was just comps. Electricity has become the key to our being. And that is "blindess and stupidity". Because to power our houses and to contiue this we have to cut massive forests down and steal all the resources from the earth. This song rocks!!!!