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 were the mother of three girls so sweet
Who stormed through your turnstile and climbed to the street
But after conception your body lay cold
And withered through autumn and you found yourself old
Can you tell me why have been so sad?
He took a lover on a far away beach
While you arranged flowers and chose color schemes
Can you tell me why you have been so sad?
Can you tell me why you have been so sad?
The girls were all there, they traded their vows
The youngest one glared with furrowed brows
They tenderly kissed then cut the cake
The bride then tripped and broke the vase
The one you thought would spend the years
So perfectly placed below the mirror
Arriving late, you clean the debris
And walked into the angry sea
It felt just like falling in love again
And it felt just like falling in love again
Can you tell me why you have been so sad?
Can you tell me why you have been so
Who stormed through your turnstile and climbed to the street
But after conception your body lay cold
And withered through autumn and you found yourself old
Can you tell me why have been so sad?
He took a lover on a far away beach
While you arranged flowers and chose color schemes
Can you tell me why you have been so sad?
Can you tell me why you have been so sad?
The girls were all there, they traded their vows
The youngest one glared with furrowed brows
They tenderly kissed then cut the cake
The bride then tripped and broke the vase
The one you thought would spend the years
So perfectly placed below the mirror
Arriving late, you clean the debris
And walked into the angry sea
It felt just like falling in love again
And it felt just like falling in love again
Can you tell me why you have been so sad?
Can you tell me why you have been so
Lyrics submitted by heartattack
Death of an Interior Decorator Lyrics as written by Benjamin Gibbard
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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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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I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
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There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
I have heard the song is about Woody Allen's movie Interiors. Just to fill in some of the blanks (and oversimplify for sake of the song meaning): The movie is about three sisters ("You were the mother of three girls so sweet"), and their sad/crazy mother ("Can you tell me why have been so sad") who is an interior decorator ("While you arranged flowers and chose color schemes"). THe mother keeps waiting for their father to take her back after a separation. Eventually the father moves on and remarrys a new woman who he (kinda) met on a beach ("He took a lover on a far away beach, "). So the father gets married, and the night of the wedding, which the youngest sister did not approve of ("The girls were all there; they traded their vows. The youngest one glared with furrowed brow"), the new woman trips and breaks a vase that was a symbol of their mother and her interior decorating career ("The bride then tripped and broke the vase, The one you thought would span the years, So perfectly placed below the mirror "). Then the mother crashes the party after everyone has gone to bed ("Arriving late, you clean the debris") and after a heated discussion with one of the daughters, decides to commit suicide by walking into the ocean ("And walked into the angry sea")