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.
When we, when we
Looking for a better home
Got me, got me
Burning out a light bulb
Cloudy, cloudy
Holding to a waste can
Yellow car, yellow car
Gather me inside there
Wake up, wake up
Nothing's gonna harm you
Glass wall, glass wall
Standing on the furniture
Little boy, little boy
Layin' in a sleeping bag
Watching, watching
Through the cracks in his eyelids
Stranger, stranger
Feeding on the broken snow
Lost head, lost head
Staring down the orange juice
Alphabet, alphabet
Can't afford a telephone
Blackhole, blackhole
Nothing's gonna harm you
Looking for a better home
Got me, got me
Burning out a light bulb
Cloudy, cloudy
Holding to a waste can
Yellow car, yellow car
Gather me inside there
Wake up, wake up
Nothing's gonna harm you
Glass wall, glass wall
Standing on the furniture
Little boy, little boy
Layin' in a sleeping bag
Watching, watching
Through the cracks in his eyelids
Stranger, stranger
Feeding on the broken snow
Lost head, lost head
Staring down the orange juice
Alphabet, alphabet
Can't afford a telephone
Blackhole, blackhole
Nothing's gonna harm you
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Light Up The Sky
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Fast Car
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"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him.
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.
The Night We Met
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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"
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
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.
A bunch of Mellow Gold's songs seem to revolve around being a low-income loser, barely able to pay the rent on time. This one, in my opinion, is about that too.
In this one (an awesome album closer, BTW), the narrator, driven three-quarters crazy by financial concerns (I mean, he's out of bulbs, and can't afford a phone) is trying to convince himself, or someone else, that everything will be all right. Things won't be, of course. The "black hole" is the safe, happy place the narrator retreats to when the real world is too much to bear.
@YanYan108 good analysis imo.
a poor person who is in touch with a universal force, maybe. finding comfort in little things.
i'm not sure and that's why i love it.
Great song... possibly best from this album.
To me this song is about gradually becoming homeless. The narrator at the beginning of the story is leaving his home and eventually winds up on the street without a clue of where to go next, but keeps his optimism that whatever happens next, can't hurt him.
Wow... only one comment on Blackhole shakes head
Yeah, I agree, I put this on repeat lots of times in my car... just makes me feel calm. Very cool tune.. sounds like its about not letting the little things bother you. You have to realize they are all, in fact, little things... the song repeats words too, make them seem simple, not a lot of lyrics... just real short images. Beck is the STUFF. Love Mellow Gold...
This is a great song and i agree with YanYan108 thats what i thought but what is the weird bonus track after the song. probably just a bunch of weird beck stuff but does it mean something?
Like most songs on Mellow Gold, I belive it concerns low income living, or living below the poverty line. Beck himself lived quite the shitty life before he made it big. He had to do things such as street perform and live in a shack before he made it big with his breakthrough hit "Loser". Blackhole simply pays homage to his old life style. I agree that the "Blackhole" is some kind of sanctuary, although whether it is physical or mental, I am not sure about. The musical arrangment is strange, to say the least. Double Tracked Guitar and vocals make it seem out of this world. This is definitly a five star song, but at the same time, it is strange and mysterious. The bonus track after the minute or two of silence is called "Analog Odyssey". By analog, it means the effects were recorded through analog methods off several video game machines and by odyssey, it is ment to be an epic, since it is rather long and unplesent to listin to. It is simply an experimental track that was made up by several different sounds from games like "Pacman".
this song reminds me of that feeling of hoplessness when everythings messing up and you just wish it would stop but dont do anything to help it
i honestly have no idea what beck is talking about, perhaps some abstract idea that has significance to him, but i still love this song.
its basically the same wistful tune over and over again that makes my heart feel heavy. maybe it's just me.
When we, when we...looking for a better home Got me, got me...burning out a light bulb Cloudy, cloudy...holding to a wastecan Yellow car, yellow car...put me inside there
Wake up, wake up...nothing's gonna harm you Glass wall, glass wall...standing on the furniture Little boy, little boy...layin' in a sleeping bag Watchin', watchin'...through the cracks in his eyelids
Stranger, stranger...feeding on the broken snow Lost head, lost tread...staring through the orange juice Alphabet, alphabet...can't afford a telephone Blackhole, blackhole...nothing's gonna harm you
whiskeyclone.net has these lyrics
i've had this album for fifteen years, and i JUST listened to this song for the first time today...i've been missing something really powerful.. i love this.