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.
You can scrutinize my actions, you can break me into fractions, you can walk away
You can polarize my friends, destroy the letters that I send or you can run away
You can terrorize my neighbors with your Mr. Hyde behavior, you can drink away
You can exorcise your demons, bite and scratch and kick and scream, you can act away
And if you ever open your eyes, you won't find me standing in line
You can cauterize my feelings with your flaming tongue leave me reeling you can talk away
You can compromise my passion, call me fake and call me fashion, you can write away
You can rationalize a purchase with my money and say it's worth it
You can tear me up or tie me down and kick me on the ground
And if you ever open your eyes, you won't find me standing in line
Caroline, it's a waste of time
Don't you want me to come back Caroline?
Don't you want me to fly back Caroline?
You can scrutinize my actions, you can break me into fractions, you can walk away
You can idolize your drum machine, say the Beatles suck and dis the King and walk away
You can finalize the ending, break the rules that you've been bending
You can find a brand new lover, run away and then discover
You can't outrun your actions, you can't get no satisfaction
And if you ever open your eyes, you won't find me standing in line
Caroline, it's a waste of time
You can polarize my friends, destroy the letters that I send or you can run away
You can terrorize my neighbors with your Mr. Hyde behavior, you can drink away
You can exorcise your demons, bite and scratch and kick and scream, you can act away
And if you ever open your eyes, you won't find me standing in line
You can cauterize my feelings with your flaming tongue leave me reeling you can talk away
You can compromise my passion, call me fake and call me fashion, you can write away
You can rationalize a purchase with my money and say it's worth it
You can tear me up or tie me down and kick me on the ground
And if you ever open your eyes, you won't find me standing in line
Caroline, it's a waste of time
Don't you want me to come back Caroline?
Don't you want me to fly back Caroline?
You can scrutinize my actions, you can break me into fractions, you can walk away
You can idolize your drum machine, say the Beatles suck and dis the King and walk away
You can finalize the ending, break the rules that you've been bending
You can find a brand new lover, run away and then discover
You can't outrun your actions, you can't get no satisfaction
And if you ever open your eyes, you won't find me standing in line
Caroline, it's a waste of time
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Light Up The Sky
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There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
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Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
Plastic Bag
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“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
Sounds like my roommate from sophomore year