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.
In the middle of the summer
I'm not sleeping cold wind blowing
In the middle of the night they
Try to find me but I'm still driving
If you're going to San Francisco
Lay some flowers on the grave stone
There's music on the station
And I'm just listening to cold wind whistling
And if they ever find me
Tell the papers
Cold wind, cold wind, cold, cold wind blowing
Cold wind blowing
Hey, hey, hey
Something ain't right
Something ain't right
And if they ever find me
Tell the papers
Cold wind, cold wind, cold, cold wind blowing
Cold wind blowing
Cold wind blowing
Cold wind blowing
Cold wind blowing
I'm not sleeping cold wind blowing
In the middle of the night they
Try to find me but I'm still driving
If you're going to San Francisco
Lay some flowers on the grave stone
There's music on the station
And I'm just listening to cold wind whistling
And if they ever find me
Tell the papers
Cold wind, cold wind, cold, cold wind blowing
Cold wind blowing
Hey, hey, hey
Something ain't right
Something ain't right
And if they ever find me
Tell the papers
Cold wind, cold wind, cold, cold wind blowing
Cold wind blowing
Cold wind blowing
Cold wind blowing
Cold wind blowing
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I love this song. The meaning? Diffcult. Maybe the author talks about himself committing suicide in the near future. The place of his grave will be San Francisco. But I don't really understand the symbolism of the cold wind and especially the line "And if they ever find me tell the papers cold wind".
this is probably reaching, but i'm gonna say it's about sadness. and the part about "if they find me, tell the papers..." he's saying that there won't even be a body anymore, just that paralyzing breeze. in the summer, it's freezing. there's music playing, and you don't hear it. happiness has become locked out.
I love this song...especially the way the tempo picks up at the end right out of the blue: "Awwww, hey hey hey!" in the middle of all that sadness. It leaves the listener with the feeling that things may be okay in the end.
So I have no idea if this is true but i heard somewhare that the cold wind is in reference directly to the cold wind that blows past a thermometer to make the temperature drop. This is such an amazing song and it fits the scene in SFU so perfectly. I Love It.
"A Pretty Mystery hidden in a cracked-voice,sad-guitar ode to the air that makes mercury drop, sung by a narrator who's breathing it for the last time." Sorry About posting again, It is just that I was looking through The new spin with DCFC on front and finaly remembered whare I had read the explanation for this song.
This song is one of the fire arcade fire songs i bought. It's also my favorite. I pretty much agree with everything thats been said, if you look at the lyrics on a lighter note though, it could just be enjoying the cold wind breeze of summer nights while driving in san fransisco and that he has the radio on but isn't listening to that, just the wind?
he's already dead and he's pretty much writing from the grave "And if they ever find me Tell the papers Cold wind cold wind cold cold wind blowing Cold wind blowing". im probably wrong though
Love this song, but the meaning is pretty tricky to figure out. for some reason it made me think of a really horrible car accident that leaves the body completely unidentifiable ("...try to find me but I'm still driving...")... and then the part where "There’s music on the station/And I’m just listening to cold wind whistling..." is like, the radio in the car is still playing or something...I don't know. Maybe that's just me.
This is going to sound morbid, but when I hear this song, I think that its about a guy who is locked in the trunk of a car of a serial killer. The police are looking for him. He can hear the radio playing from the trunk, but is concentrating on the sound of wind blowing around the car. If they (the police/his family) ever find his body, tell the newspapers that his last thoughts were about the beautiful sound of the cold wind whistling.
wow... That sounds so dead on to me. No pun intended.