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.
Spent my days with a woman unkind
Smoked my stuff and drank all my wine
Made up my mind to make a new start
Going To California with an aching in my heart
Someone told me there's a girl out there
With love in her eyes and flowers in her hair
Took my chances on a big jet plane
Never let them tell you that we're all the same
Oh, the sea was red and the sky was grey
Wondered how tomorrow could ever follow today
The mountains and the canyons started to tremble and shake
The children of the sun began to awake, watch out
Seems that the wrath of the Gods
Got a punch on the nose and it started to flow
I think I might be sinking
Throw me a line if I reach it in time
I'll meet you up there
Where the path runs straight and high
To find a queen without a king
They say she plays guitar and cries and sings
La la la
Ride a white mare in the footsteps of dawn
Tryin' to find a woman who's never, never, never been born
Standing on a hill in my mountain of dreams
Telling myself it's not as hard, hard, hard as it seems, mmh oh
(Ahh, ahh, ahh)
Smoked my stuff and drank all my wine
Made up my mind to make a new start
Going To California with an aching in my heart
Someone told me there's a girl out there
With love in her eyes and flowers in her hair
Took my chances on a big jet plane
Never let them tell you that we're all the same
Oh, the sea was red and the sky was grey
Wondered how tomorrow could ever follow today
The mountains and the canyons started to tremble and shake
The children of the sun began to awake, watch out
Seems that the wrath of the Gods
Got a punch on the nose and it started to flow
I think I might be sinking
Throw me a line if I reach it in time
I'll meet you up there
Where the path runs straight and high
To find a queen without a king
They say she plays guitar and cries and sings
La la la
Ride a white mare in the footsteps of dawn
Tryin' to find a woman who's never, never, never been born
Standing on a hill in my mountain of dreams
Telling myself it's not as hard, hard, hard as it seems, mmh oh
(Ahh, ahh, ahh)
Lyrics submitted by kevin, edited by Mellow_Harsher, giedre, LHGL
Going to California Lyrics as written by James Patrick Page Robert Anthony Plant
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Tratore, Songtrust Ave, Peermusic Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
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In regards to the meaning of this song:
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.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
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This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
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I agree with the previous sentiment. I think this has nothing to do with LotR, though many Led Zeppelin songs do. This is, in fact, a very sad song. It does sound optimistic at first; OK, I've just been dumped by my bitch of a girlfriend ("a woman unkind"), I'm smoking and drinking myself to death ... wait on, maybe I'll start anew!
The media has a tendency to idealise California, and particularly the Californian girl. Take the Beach Boys' song, for example. Quite simply, he thinks that there is the woman for him, this perfect woman that he's been seeking all his life, so off he goes.
The poor bastard is dreaming. The woman he seeks ... a girl "with love in her eyes and flowers in her hair", has "never, never been born." THAT'S the crucial line in the song. It's just a roundabout way of saying that she doesn't exist ... a sexist statement, maybe, but there it is.
But he'll go on looking, spurred on by all of these false hopes and dreams he's built around (and under) himself, and is telling himself that in the end he'll find the woman of his dreams. He won't. But he's so caught up in his own optimism that he can't see it ... and he won't accept it when people try to tell him that "they're all the same." It's actually a highly cynical song, if you look at the lyrics in a certain way.
Jordan plays back! Swoosh! And that's the game! Nothing further, your Honour.
MadTom has made the most sense so far. And haveing ' a women thats never been born' be imaginary is much more probable then her being an elf, not to bash the lotr guy
@MadTom Best comment so far. To add, Robert Plant and Jimmy Page had crushes on Joni Mitchell, and she's the "queen without a king" mentioned (referencing her song "I Had a King"). Additionally, the song itself was intended to be about earthquakes, and was originally titled "Guide to California".