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.
To the crowd
To the world
You were so dry
And with a token bird I made
Sent it to fly
Right to your side
With a broken wing you sail
Oh like winter in July
A barren river wide
I'll pray for the flood
To wash on you
It's here, I'll be with you
Well if the birds
Can reach the sky
To this land
I'll be with you
Till the sun bursts from your side
With my hands
I reach to you
When you think your chance is passing by
When you blow your moon away
I'll bleed like the reed
Fall with your knife
It's here I'll be with you
Oh oh oh
Oh oh oh
Oh oh oh
Oh oh oh
To the crowd
To the world
You were so dry
And with a token bird I made
Sent it to fly
Right to your side
With a broken wing you sail
Oh like winter in July
A barren river wide
I'll pray for the flood
To wash on you
It's here, I'll stay with you
Oh oh oh
Oh oh oh
Oh oh oh
It's here, I'll be with you
Oh oh oh
Oh oh oh
I'll fall (oh oh oh)
I'll fall (oh oh oh)
I'll fall (oh oh oh)
I'll fall (oh oh oh)
I'll fall (oh oh oh)
I'll fall (oh oh oh)
I'll fall (oh oh oh)
I'll fall (oh oh oh)
(Oh oh oh) I'll fall
Oh oh oh oh
To the world
You were so dry
And with a token bird I made
Sent it to fly
Right to your side
With a broken wing you sail
Oh like winter in July
A barren river wide
I'll pray for the flood
To wash on you
It's here, I'll be with you
Well if the birds
Can reach the sky
To this land
I'll be with you
Till the sun bursts from your side
With my hands
I reach to you
When you think your chance is passing by
When you blow your moon away
I'll bleed like the reed
Fall with your knife
It's here I'll be with you
Oh oh oh
Oh oh oh
Oh oh oh
Oh oh oh
To the crowd
To the world
You were so dry
And with a token bird I made
Sent it to fly
Right to your side
With a broken wing you sail
Oh like winter in July
A barren river wide
I'll pray for the flood
To wash on you
It's here, I'll stay with you
Oh oh oh
Oh oh oh
Oh oh oh
It's here, I'll be with you
Oh oh oh
Oh oh oh
I'll fall (oh oh oh)
I'll fall (oh oh oh)
I'll fall (oh oh oh)
I'll fall (oh oh oh)
I'll fall (oh oh oh)
I'll fall (oh oh oh)
I'll fall (oh oh oh)
I'll fall (oh oh oh)
(Oh oh oh) I'll fall
Oh oh oh oh
Lyrics submitted by Soniccaffeine
I'll Fall With Your Knife Lyrics as written by Paul Statham Peter Murphy
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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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.
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Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Magical
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How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
Page
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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.
My favorite Peter Murphy song!! His voice is amazing and he has gorgeous eyes. This song is about forever staying by the side of someone he loves no matter what.
I listen to Peter Murphy's best albums quite a lot. Subway, Cuts You Up, Our Secret Garden, You're So Close, etc, etc. The music and lyrics flow together so well in the recordings that it is a bit disappointing to read the lyrics by themselves.
This is such an awesome song! Peter Murphy is such a talented singer. This song is really beautiful. It's this admission of undying love. He'll never leave his love, he'll "bleed like the reed, fall with your knife..."
Peter Murphy is a fricken god... just listen to the mans voice... this is probably his greatest song off of Cascade which is probably my favorite of his solo albums... (maybe of his whole career)
This song is unbelievably romantic.
Hopeful selflessness to gods fallen