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.
Sitting on a fence is a man who sees no sense in fighting
Sitting on a fence is a man who sees no sense at all
Sitting on a fence is a man who strokes his twenty beards
Sitting on a fence is a man who drink real ale
But the real problem with this man
Is he says he can't when he can
He'd rather not get his hands dirty
He'll still be there when he's thirty
I told myself to keep my mouth shut
But I still end up saying if and but
I lied to myself right from the start
And I've just worked out that I'm falling apart
Sitting on a fence
Sitting on a fence is a man who looks up to his guardian
Sitting on a fence is a man who swings from poll to poll
Sitting on a fence is a man who sees both sides of both sides
Sitting on a fence is a man who looks down on opinion
But the real problem with this man
Is he says he can't when he can
He's rather not get his hands dirty
He'll still be there when he is thirty
I told myself to keep my mouth shut
But I still end up saying if and but
I lied to myself right from the start
And I've just worked out that I'm falling apart
Sitting on a fence
Sitting on a fence is a man who sees no sense at all
Sitting on a fence is a man who strokes his twenty beards
Sitting on a fence is a man who drink real ale
But the real problem with this man
Is he says he can't when he can
He'd rather not get his hands dirty
He'll still be there when he's thirty
I told myself to keep my mouth shut
But I still end up saying if and but
I lied to myself right from the start
And I've just worked out that I'm falling apart
Sitting on a fence
Sitting on a fence is a man who looks up to his guardian
Sitting on a fence is a man who swings from poll to poll
Sitting on a fence is a man who sees both sides of both sides
Sitting on a fence is a man who looks down on opinion
But the real problem with this man
Is he says he can't when he can
He's rather not get his hands dirty
He'll still be there when he is thirty
I told myself to keep my mouth shut
But I still end up saying if and but
I lied to myself right from the start
And I've just worked out that I'm falling apart
Sitting on a fence
Lyrics submitted by BrownBabu84
Sitting On A Fence Lyrics as written by Paul Heaton Ian Peter Cullimore
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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