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.
The weight of the world is on my shoulders
And it's just too much to bear.
It's not that I'm growing callous,
I'm just too tired to care.
So drop your expectations,
Let go of any dependencies,
Forget your disapproval
'Cause I’m setting myself free.
Looking up to me,
Looking down on me,
And hazarding those sidelong glances.
I'm not too sure of what they see.
All I know is their views are slanted.
So drop your expectations,
Let go of any dependencies,
Forget your disapproval
'Cause I’m setting myself free.
(All eyes on me.)
I can't take the pressure.
(All eyes on me.)
Breathe without making a sound.
(All eyes on me.)
Don't expect perfection
(All eyes on me.)
'Cause I won't fail to let you down.
(All eyes on me.)
I can't take the pressure.
(All eyes on me.)
Breathe without making a sound.
(All eyes on me.)
Don't expect perfection
(All eyes on me.)
'Cause I won't fail to let you down.
I won't fail to let you down.
I won't fail to let you down.
And it's just too much to bear.
It's not that I'm growing callous,
I'm just too tired to care.
So drop your expectations,
Let go of any dependencies,
Forget your disapproval
'Cause I’m setting myself free.
Looking up to me,
Looking down on me,
And hazarding those sidelong glances.
I'm not too sure of what they see.
All I know is their views are slanted.
So drop your expectations,
Let go of any dependencies,
Forget your disapproval
'Cause I’m setting myself free.
(All eyes on me.)
I can't take the pressure.
(All eyes on me.)
Breathe without making a sound.
(All eyes on me.)
Don't expect perfection
(All eyes on me.)
'Cause I won't fail to let you down.
(All eyes on me.)
I can't take the pressure.
(All eyes on me.)
Breathe without making a sound.
(All eyes on me.)
Don't expect perfection
(All eyes on me.)
'Cause I won't fail to let you down.
I won't fail to let you down.
I won't fail to let you down.
Lyrics submitted by a scar in the sky
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Light Up The Sky
Van Halen
Van Halen
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"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"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
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"
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
All eyes on me is a good song talks about pressure. deal with it..
This song is pretty much self-explanitory. Good song--not much more to it.
this song mentally draws the listener into its core. it's one of the few songs that we can all identify with and say, "yeah, i know what they're talking about- been there, felt that."
i've never heard of this song before...is it on their first impressions cd?
Yup, it's the first track on the First Impressions EP
Yup, it's the first track on the First Impressions EP
sounds like its about the pressure that parents put on you to do well in school and to keep your life in order.
this is just an amazing song. period. </3
I believe you can't truly know what exactly was going through the mind of the writer when they wrote this, but to me it means the exact description of the final days when i broke up with my G/F of 2 and a half years. she cheated on me once, i found out, and she convinced me it was my fault. she cheated one me a second time, convinced me it was my fault yet again. cheated on me a third time. this time around i didn't care about anything. i didn't care about school, or work, or my soccer team. i felt like the everything had been placed on my shoulders. like every problem i could have had had crashed down on me all at once. so i stopped caring and i dumped her. dumped her thinking i had failed the relationship, and her. i think somehow part of me still thinks i drove her away. thrice became my absolute favorite band i broke up with that girl. and i think it'll stay that way for a while.
yeah, i feel this is peer pressure for sure, kinda when u get that thing for acceptance happening, then later on u see ur not being true to urself, so u pretty much turn around, say screw this, and walk away.
beign presured to excel in life, and stuff..i can really relate. Don't expect perfection (All eyes on me.) 'Cause I won't fail to let you down. ..love that.
anyone can relate to this song. another good one by a good band. PUNX for LIFE