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.
how long have you been free
in this world of hate and greed
is it black or is it white
let's find another compromise
and our future´s standing still
we're dancing in the spotlight
where is the leader who leads me
i'm still waiting ...
leaving home ...
and god is on your side
dividing sparrows from the nightingales
watching all the time
dividing water from the burning fire ... inside
and god is on your side
dividing cruelty from tenderness
watching all the time
dividing fiction from reality
move in circles walk on lines no human being in sight
calm the winds and calm the seas
let´s try another kind of peace
who fights this holy civil war
a million men in uniform
wo ist der führer der mich führt?
ich warte immer noch ...!
and god is on your side
dividing presence from our history
watching all the time
dividing deaf men from the listening ones
leave a light on in the night for me, that i can find you
remember when we both where young and reckless and so curious ...
now you're hiding from your child ... a new day's dawning
remember that you felt alive, sometimes ...
and god is on your side
dividing soldiers from the fisherman
watching all the time
dividing warships from the ferryboats
in this world of hate and greed
is it black or is it white
let's find another compromise
and our future´s standing still
we're dancing in the spotlight
where is the leader who leads me
i'm still waiting ...
leaving home ...
and god is on your side
dividing sparrows from the nightingales
watching all the time
dividing water from the burning fire ... inside
and god is on your side
dividing cruelty from tenderness
watching all the time
dividing fiction from reality
move in circles walk on lines no human being in sight
calm the winds and calm the seas
let´s try another kind of peace
who fights this holy civil war
a million men in uniform
wo ist der führer der mich führt?
ich warte immer noch ...!
and god is on your side
dividing presence from our history
watching all the time
dividing deaf men from the listening ones
leave a light on in the night for me, that i can find you
remember when we both where young and reckless and so curious ...
now you're hiding from your child ... a new day's dawning
remember that you felt alive, sometimes ...
and god is on your side
dividing soldiers from the fisherman
watching all the time
dividing warships from the ferryboats
Lyrics submitted by XorcistVAC
The Sparrows and the Nightingales Lyrics as written by Markus Reinhardt Carlos Peron
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Royalty Network, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
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Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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I think it's describing a kind of fascist world, where everything's unnatural. A warlike society built on lies where everything's flashy and showy (I think of Nazi parades, in the song you can hear the sound of marching soldiers) but people feel dead and empty inside. It seems like the narrator is comforting the people who resist this world, telling them that truth and beauty still exist and the people who made this dead world may be able to fool the people but they can't alter what is true reality, they can't fool god. History will show them for what they are.
(That probably sounds really dramatic, but hey, it's a dramatic song.)
Gorgeous song...incredible lyrics...breathtaking.
This song totally speaks to me. I believe everything about "God is on your side" isnt that uplifting and positive? I like it. Nice.
The german part of the song translated to English is...
"where is the leader me leads? I wait still…!"
wo ist der führer der mich führt? ich warte immer noch ...!
The German part is already translated in the main lyrics, second paragraph:
where is the leader who leads me i'm still waiting ...
I don't really know what this song is about, I think it is about seeing everything in balck and white, and the sadness of this. God is always a very predominant figure in Wolfheim lyrics.
i like this song but i have no clue what it means
I like LaLaLogic's interpretations. It is pretty militant at times (Who fights this holy civil war/ a million men in uniform). And the video is kind of at well, especially the intro (I think). To me, I hear him being lost, looking for someone to follow, someone who will lead him right. I noticed that when he sings it live, he really emphasises "Dividing presence from our history" (which is how he says it live), so I wonder if he's not thinking about his country's stigma even today and stuff? That's what it makes me think of anyway, but that's partly because it sounds like a direct response to the older people in my family yelling at me for listening to Germans.
"It is pretty militant at times (Who fights this holy civil war/ a million men in uniform). "
Yeah, I suppose the entire interpretation of the song will rest on whether or not you take that line to be sarcasm or ironic, or not.
Oh, this is a weird song and very sad. I don't know what it means but I want to throw in some new aspects. When you hear it and when you are German, than "where is the leader who leads me?" is a very.. vell.. a phrase like it is to everyone, whereas "wo ist der führer der mich führt" (which means exactly the same) sounds very negative, reminding of Hitler, who called himself Führer. I don't think that it is a coincidence, that the German term is used first after the war is mentioned. I think the song is about someone being lost, not knowing where to go, what to think, whom to follow. He is looking for someone to guide him, but we know, that this can absolutely go wrong (see Hitler). God doens't seem to be a big help. He watches and divides a lot of things from others but does not take the role of the leader.. nor does anyone else. It is all to ourselves to decide what is right and what is wrong.
Personally I think this song is an embrace to everyone who upholds intelligence, reason, empathy, love and understanding in life while not being religious. For me it feels like the song is saying: while you can pretend you're doing Him a favor and that He will reward you for your efforts in racism/fascism/wars in His name, you are completely missing His true point when you're suppressing/forcing or even worse; killing other people for the sake of it.
The song is saying, for me at least, that if there actually IS a God, the people who don't neccessarily believe in God but DO try to live an honest and good (as in: what you don't want to happen to you, don't do that to another-kind of way) eventually WILL get to heaven. Because God is on your side, dividing sparrows from the nightingales, cruelty from tenderness and warships from the ferryboats. God is on your side, in your personal quest for Good and Evil. Regardless. Because He loves you. If he exists, of course. :)