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.
A new day is born
In peace and in silence
Rays of the sun
Rip through the clouds
A new age is to come
The darkness decays
The heavens are shining
Golden and blue enlightening the dawn
A New World will move on
So many lives
Out in the fields oh so many have died
Now we will rise
The chains that have held us are broken
And now we are
Free, from the tyrant
The conqueror's been banished
Free, and united
The throne in the sky now is
Free, free from the tyrant
Relentless we fought to be
Free, free and united
We have outlasted the war
The shadows of war
They came from the stars
To search a forgotten land
Rescue they brought
With thunder they fought
The tide has turned as the appeared
So many tears
Oh, we will always remember the years
Earth has been burned
But then they returned
To save us and now we are
Free, from the tyrant
No more we'll fight
Return to the light
The conqueror's been banished
The savior has vanished
The mighty machine
A million life's dream
Outlasted the past
Out in the vast
Free, from the tyrant
After the war
The world is unchained
Freedom we've gained
The Savior's been banished
The fortress has vanished
In peace and in silence
The world will move on
Darkness and war
No more we'll fight
We have returned, returned to the light
In peace and in silence
Rays of the sun
Rip through the clouds
A new age is to come
The darkness decays
The heavens are shining
Golden and blue enlightening the dawn
A New World will move on
So many lives
Out in the fields oh so many have died
Now we will rise
The chains that have held us are broken
And now we are
Free, from the tyrant
The conqueror's been banished
Free, and united
The throne in the sky now is
Free, free from the tyrant
Relentless we fought to be
Free, free and united
We have outlasted the war
The shadows of war
They came from the stars
To search a forgotten land
Rescue they brought
With thunder they fought
The tide has turned as the appeared
So many tears
Oh, we will always remember the years
Earth has been burned
But then they returned
To save us and now we are
Free, from the tyrant
No more we'll fight
Return to the light
The conqueror's been banished
The savior has vanished
The mighty machine
A million life's dream
Outlasted the past
Out in the vast
Free, from the tyrant
After the war
The world is unchained
Freedom we've gained
The Savior's been banished
The fortress has vanished
In peace and in silence
The world will move on
Darkness and war
No more we'll fight
We have returned, returned to the light
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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"
Gentle Hour
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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,
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
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Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.