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.
Find it in you, raise your eyes
Look beyond the place you stand
Towards the furthest reaches
And to the smallest of things
The sound you are hearing
Is the symphony of what we are
Revelation will not come
With heart and mind closed and divided
No need of sun to light the way
Across the ages, we have reigned as we endured
Through the storm fronts we will ever surely pass
To stand as never ending light
Throw away the mantle
Awake from your uncertain hesitation
No way to describe or equate the feeling
No end to what is at your command
A million thoughts run through you
Concentric circles, ever greater
But you have always known
That this is not who you are
To your questions there'll be answers
Let there be, let there always be
Never ending light.
Look beyond the place you stand
Towards the furthest reaches
And to the smallest of things
The sound you are hearing
Is the symphony of what we are
Revelation will not come
With heart and mind closed and divided
No need of sun to light the way
Across the ages, we have reigned as we endured
Through the storm fronts we will ever surely pass
To stand as never ending light
Throw away the mantle
Awake from your uncertain hesitation
No way to describe or equate the feeling
No end to what is at your command
A million thoughts run through you
Concentric circles, ever greater
But you have always known
That this is not who you are
To your questions there'll be answers
Let there be, let there always be
Never ending light.
Lyrics submitted by interface2x
Perpetual Lyrics as written by Ronan Harris
Lyrics © Downtown Music Publishing
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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This is one of my VERY favorite songs. Ever. I love it...
(After concentric circles line, it should be \"But you have always known, this is not all there is\").
I should say now, I almost always interpret things spiritually. I guess I take the words and make them my own. I usually write novels when I post so I\'ll keep it short :)
But ok - to ME - it\'s about looking beyond the physical - beyond what is in front of your eyes and also within yourself - and realizing that the questions we seek answers to will not be found \'outside\', but inside. Through the storm fronts....throughout all the chaos we endure here on this plane - we will return to the form we arrived from - light beings that are eternal - always were and always will be.
i maybe shouldn't have said it like that........i dont' mean light beings as in your stereotypical 'new age' kind of light beings, i mean as in hope, as in oneness, etc, ......don't take everything i say literally.
I got very much the same impression as faye. This is definitely a spiritual song. Not necessarily in a Christian god way. More of a general "we are much more than our physical selves" thing.
When they did this song on tour, Ronan said, "The lyrics of this song are for each and every one of you" so it's obviously an important song to him. He also mentioned it being his favorite song to preform live. ^_^
he also always said it was up to each person whether or not they wanted to actually listen and understand them (lyrics) - that was always my favorite part :)
I still stand mostly by my original interpretation, but I think it is even more simplistic than what I described above. Basically, just find the strength within you and realize that you are the light, the hope, and the guide to your own life.
Revelation will not come with heart and mind closed and divided. Calls for the end of the schism between modernity and religion? Did we get lost somewhere by either chosing to be rational & enlightened, but throwing away our feelings on the way? Did the religious fundamentalists also lose by denying Reason?
I see this song as a promising hymn to humanity. One of my favorite stanzas:
"Across the ages, we have reigned as we endured Through the storm fronts we will ever surely pass To stand as never ending light"
To me, this song describes our constant struggle to better ourselves. Throughout history we have struggled through so so much hardship (storm fronts), and will surely experience more in the future, yet in the end, we will always endure, and stand as never ending lights.
Throwing away the mantle refers to disgarding our false symbols of authority and realizing that the power to change the world is in our hands. Yet this revalation will not come to us while our hearts and minds remain closed and divided--that is, divided as a race--humanity, as we continue to fight eachother over ridiculous things (if looked at from a broader perspective).
But that's just my humble opinion. =)
Daniel12:3, Matthew13:43, 1Thessa4:17. Nearly every thought I have can be linked to ancient writing. Match these with Isaiah42:16 (VNV Nation - Kingdom.) If there was a timeline to the story written by VNV Nation's songs, this song would follow Kingdom and Arclight. Revelations22:5, St John1:9,12, and Psalms82:6 (St John10:34) are interesting verses that spark imagination of what awaits us. Maybe I went overboard with the listing of scriptures but at least I have a passion and share it. Maybe you will see something useful there too...
i love this song especialy when i see the video
Daniel12:3, Matthew13:43, 1Thessa4:17. Nearly every thought I have can be linked to ancient writing. Match these with Isaiah42:16 (VNV Nation - Kingdom.) If there was a timeline to the story written by VNV Nation's songs, this song would follow Kingdom and Arclight. Revelations22:5, St John1:9,12, and Psalms82:6 (St John10:34) are interesting verses that spark imagination of what awaits us. Maybe I went overboard with the listing of scriptures but at least I have a passion and share it. Maybe you will see something useful there too...