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.
I came to see you up there in intensive care
They had handcuffed you to your bed
There were tubes going into you and out from you
Bright white gauze bandages at your head
I am a mole
Sticking his head above the surface of the earth
I am a mole
Sticking his head above the surface of the earth
And they said "Lights out"
And it was lights out
And they gave you your medication
I know what you want and you know what I want
Information
Information
I am a mole
Sticking his head above the surface of the earth
I am a mole
Sticking his head above the surface of the earth
Out in the desert we'll have no worries
Out in the desert just you and me
I came to see you up there in intensive care
Out in the desert we'll live carefree
I am a mole
Sticking his head above the surface of the earth
I am a mole
Sticking his head above the surface of the earth
They had handcuffed you to your bed
There were tubes going into you and out from you
Bright white gauze bandages at your head
I am a mole
Sticking his head above the surface of the earth
I am a mole
Sticking his head above the surface of the earth
And they said "Lights out"
And it was lights out
And they gave you your medication
I know what you want and you know what I want
Information
Information
I am a mole
Sticking his head above the surface of the earth
I am a mole
Sticking his head above the surface of the earth
Out in the desert we'll have no worries
Out in the desert just you and me
I came to see you up there in intensive care
Out in the desert we'll live carefree
I am a mole
Sticking his head above the surface of the earth
I am a mole
Sticking his head above the surface of the earth
Lyrics submitted by I'm a Pirate
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In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
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"
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
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This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
actually. his friend's in the ICU because their meth lab exploded. (your belgium things is about when it exploded and the police raided the house) that's why he's handcuffed.
The first stanza sets up the scene. John (or the Narrator) visited a friend in the ICU. I assmue he was there because of an overdose of Meth (which is why he's handcuffed). He must have also hurt his head or something, perhaps when he was high.
I don't exactly know what the chorus means, but maybe that John is coming out of his normal place of "the underground" (where he lives with fellow users, or so) and comes to the real world, risking everything to see his friend.
They then medicate him, and maybe the information they want is whether the person will live.
I always thought the title/chorus was the key to the song. Yes he's visiting a friend in the ICU who'se handcuffed. Clearly in trouble with the law. And John (narrator) is 'the mole' he's fishing for information.
There's a bootleg of a concert from 2004 on archive.org where John explains the song is actually about an incident he experienced where he woke up handcuffed to a hospital bed. If you search there for a gid at The Earl on 18/10/2004 its free and legal.
I did not name myself after this song. It's actually just a coincedence, i've used this name for years. but I think it's a great song.
Does anyone else feel a slight reference to "The Prisoner" in the "information information" line?
It's definitely something to The Prisoner; I find it very difficult to believe that he would repeat that word, in that tone, and it not being a reference. Wether it's just a quick quip or a more thorough allusion, I'm unsure of.
JD's friend is in the emergency room because his meth lab exploded (The explosion was what "Your Belgian Things" was about). In a hospital, there are places where nobody is allowed beyond the lobby except for the patients, the doctors, and the nurses. Friends and family are not allowed to visit the patient while he's in critical condition. JD somehow gets in there anyway to get a sneak peek at his friend, hence "I am a mole sticking his head above the surface of the earth." JD is desperate to know if his friend is okay.
I'm guessing that JD wants to take his friend to the desert because only there will they find nobody who knows that they made illegal drugs.
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