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"
Friday night I crashed your party
Saturday I said I'm sorry
Sunday came and trashed me out again
I was only having fun
Wasn't hurting anyone
And we all enjoyed the weekend for a change
I've been stranded in the combat zone
I walked through Bedford Stuy alone
Even rode my motorcycle in the rain
And you told me not to drive
But I made it home alive
So you said that only proves that I'm insane
You may be right
I may be crazy
Oh, but it just may be a lunatic you're looking for
Turn out the light
Don't try to save me
You may be wrong for all I know
But you may be right
Well, remember how I found you there
Alone in your electric chair
I told you dirty jokes until you smiled
You were lonely for a man
I said take me as I am
'Cause you might enjoy some madness for a while
Now think of all the years you tried to
Find someone to satisfy you
I might be as crazy as you say
If I'm crazy, then it's true
That it's all because of you
And you wouldn't want me any other way
You may be right
I may be crazy
Oh, but it just may be a lunatic you're looking for
It's too late to fight
It's too late to change
You may be wrong for all I know
But you may be right
You may be right
I may be crazy
Hey, but it just may be a lunatic you're looking for
Turn out the light
Oh, don't try to save me
You may be wrong for all I know
You may be right
You may be wrong but you may be right
You may be wrong but you may be right
You may be wrong but you may be right
You may be wrong but you may be right
You may be wrong but you may be right
You may be wrong but you may be right
You may be wrong but you may be right
You may be wrong but you may be right
You may be wrong but you may be right
Saturday I said I'm sorry
Sunday came and trashed me out again
I was only having fun
Wasn't hurting anyone
And we all enjoyed the weekend for a change
I've been stranded in the combat zone
I walked through Bedford Stuy alone
Even rode my motorcycle in the rain
And you told me not to drive
But I made it home alive
So you said that only proves that I'm insane
You may be right
I may be crazy
Oh, but it just may be a lunatic you're looking for
Turn out the light
Don't try to save me
You may be wrong for all I know
But you may be right
Well, remember how I found you there
Alone in your electric chair
I told you dirty jokes until you smiled
You were lonely for a man
I said take me as I am
'Cause you might enjoy some madness for a while
Now think of all the years you tried to
Find someone to satisfy you
I might be as crazy as you say
If I'm crazy, then it's true
That it's all because of you
And you wouldn't want me any other way
You may be right
I may be crazy
Oh, but it just may be a lunatic you're looking for
It's too late to fight
It's too late to change
You may be wrong for all I know
But you may be right
You may be right
I may be crazy
Hey, but it just may be a lunatic you're looking for
Turn out the light
Oh, don't try to save me
You may be wrong for all I know
You may be right
You may be wrong but you may be right
You may be wrong but you may be right
You may be wrong but you may be right
You may be wrong but you may be right
You may be wrong but you may be right
You may be wrong but you may be right
You may be wrong but you may be right
You may be wrong but you may be right
You may be wrong but you may be right
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The Night We Met
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No Surprises
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Punchline
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I always get a kick out of the line that he walked thru Bedford Stuy alone. (Bedford Stuy (BedStuy) is a neighborhood in Brooklyn. It definetly ain't the greatest neighborhood and what he's saying is that its dangerous for a white guy to walk thru there. and therefore he's "crazy" for doing it. LOL! (Bedstuy is featured in many of Spike Lee's movies.)
The full name of the neighborhood is "Bedford—Stuyvesant", but thank you for getting that information out there. Black people moved there mostly from Harlem for the more plentiful housing "[f]ollowing the construction of the subway line between Harlem and Bedford in 1936." [Wikipedia].
This is my all-nighter study song. "I told you dirty jokes until you smiled"
Ever notice how he says "You told me nots to drive"? Is that a New York City thing, like addressing more than one person as "youse"? (Hey, youse two! C'mere!)
I want this guy. :)
I agree Karl...a real toe tapping beat...but then again so are all the other '80s songs
"And you told me not to drive But I made it home alive So you said that only proves that I'm insane"--Fantastic! And "It just may be a lunatic you're looking for"... I love this song.
Brilliant song. The 80's.
looooove this song! such an awesome beat to it
Brilliant in it's simplicity. No hidden messages here, it's a hard drinkin', devil-may-care wild boy trying to seduce a more cautious, straight laced girl. See also: "Only The Good Die Young".
I am this guy and I find myself in this situation, but not with the same coyness and success of Billy. But yeah, It's a fun guy trying to get a girl to like him for his kookiness. It's actually a nice message when you think about it