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.
Pick up the phone I know you're there it's almost closing time
& we can toss down one more shot before last call are you ok?
I swear to God I gotta get out of this house I miss the days when I'd just
not come home at all...
Now don't you cry, it'll give you lines
around your eyes
you gotta try not to live so much of
life alone
& if I see you getting crazy by the bottom
of the bottle I'll
take you home, take you home, take you home
Remember when we used to stumble down the boulevard
from bar to bar until we couldn't stagger straight
we felt like we would live forever,living life was not so hard
we felt nothing much at all but it felt great
Now don't you cry, it'll give you lines
around your eyes
you gotta try not to live so much of
life alone
& if I see you getting crazy by the bottom
of the bottle I'll
take you home, take you home, take you home
I gotta tell you, it gets better every day you stay alive
& I'm amazed every day that the sun decides to rise
every minute, every hour, is another chance to change
Life is beautiful & terrible & strange
Now don't you cry, it'll give you lines
around your eyes
you gotta try not to live so much of
life alone
& if I see you getting crazy by the bottom
of the bottle
Take me home, Take me home, Take me home
& we can toss down one more shot before last call are you ok?
I swear to God I gotta get out of this house I miss the days when I'd just
not come home at all...
Now don't you cry, it'll give you lines
around your eyes
you gotta try not to live so much of
life alone
& if I see you getting crazy by the bottom
of the bottle I'll
take you home, take you home, take you home
Remember when we used to stumble down the boulevard
from bar to bar until we couldn't stagger straight
we felt like we would live forever,living life was not so hard
we felt nothing much at all but it felt great
Now don't you cry, it'll give you lines
around your eyes
you gotta try not to live so much of
life alone
& if I see you getting crazy by the bottom
of the bottle I'll
take you home, take you home, take you home
I gotta tell you, it gets better every day you stay alive
& I'm amazed every day that the sun decides to rise
every minute, every hour, is another chance to change
Life is beautiful & terrible & strange
Now don't you cry, it'll give you lines
around your eyes
you gotta try not to live so much of
life alone
& if I see you getting crazy by the bottom
of the bottle
Take me home, Take me home, Take me home
Lyrics submitted by la blue kitty, edited by dradis84
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Great version of a great song,
i can't believe no one has written anything about this song, it's so gutwrenchingly beautiful.... it makes my heart bleed every time i hear it....
Life is beautiful & terrible & strange
Red October nailed it.
The song hurts in fantastic ways. The line about "we felt nothing much at all, and it felt great" is amazing, remembering either nights in drunken numbness or the way we act invincible when we're younger. I've been there both ways, often.
A great song that's gotten me through some very rough times.
Agreed. It is definitely very poignant and simple.
Also, this is probably the best conceptual video they've done to date (definitely check it out).
The lyrics do most of the explaining for themselves... It is a simple, sometimes sad but long-held love, perhaps with an old lover or a long-time friend, and the support you give each other at the end of the day. Absolutely beautiful song.
These lyrics are not quite correct (at least to the version I have) -at the end of my cut she sings the chorus again changing it to herself "If you see me getting crazy... take me home..." My version also changes the last verse to "if things get better every day you stay alive, then I'm amazed every day that the sun decides to rise".
Anyway, regardless of how she sings it, it's about how at the end of the day, there's always that one person who you can come back to, share a drink with, tell your worries to, and wake up next to, because they truly care about you -and sometimes you're that person to someone else.