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.
This is how it works
It feels a little worse
Than when we drove our hearse
Right through that screaming crowd
While laughing up a storm
Until we were just bone
Until it got so warm
That none of us could sleep
And all the Styrofoam
Began to melt away
We tried to find some worms
To aid in the decay
But none of them were home
Inside their catacomb
A million ancient bees
Began to sting our knees
While we were on our knees
Praying that disease
Would leave the ones we love
And never come again
On the radio
We heard November Rain
That solo's really long
But it's a pretty song
We listened to it twice
'Cause the DJ was asleep
This is how it works
You're young until you're not
You love until you don't
You try until you can't
You laugh until you cry
You cry until you laugh
And everyone must breathe
Until their dying breath
No, this is how it works
You peer inside yourself
You take the things you like
And try to love the things you took
And then you take that love you made
And stick it into some
Someone else's heart
Pumping someone else's blood
And walking arm in arm
You hope it don't get harmed
But even if it does
You'll just do it all again
And on the radio
You hear November Rain
That solo's awful long
But it's a good refrain
You listen to it twice
'Cause the DJ is asleep
On the radio
(Oh, oh, oh)
On the radio
On the radio, uh oh
On the radio, uh oh
On the radio, uh oh
On the radio
It feels a little worse
Than when we drove our hearse
Right through that screaming crowd
While laughing up a storm
Until we were just bone
Until it got so warm
That none of us could sleep
And all the Styrofoam
Began to melt away
We tried to find some worms
To aid in the decay
But none of them were home
Inside their catacomb
A million ancient bees
Began to sting our knees
While we were on our knees
Praying that disease
Would leave the ones we love
And never come again
On the radio
We heard November Rain
That solo's really long
But it's a pretty song
We listened to it twice
'Cause the DJ was asleep
This is how it works
You're young until you're not
You love until you don't
You try until you can't
You laugh until you cry
You cry until you laugh
And everyone must breathe
Until their dying breath
No, this is how it works
You peer inside yourself
You take the things you like
And try to love the things you took
And then you take that love you made
And stick it into some
Someone else's heart
Pumping someone else's blood
And walking arm in arm
You hope it don't get harmed
But even if it does
You'll just do it all again
And on the radio
You hear November Rain
That solo's awful long
But it's a good refrain
You listen to it twice
'Cause the DJ is asleep
On the radio
(Oh, oh, oh)
On the radio
On the radio, uh oh
On the radio, uh oh
On the radio, uh oh
On the radio
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Light Up The Sky
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Van Halen
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
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"
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
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
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
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.
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
I think this song is about figuring out what life is all about. The first verse, is about being young, careless, angry and maybe even confused. It's kind of about a bunch of different things because at first you don't really know what life is about and you don't care until someone you love is dying and that's when you start really caring. The second verse is when she gets to a point where she seems to have thought more about it and thinks she's figured out the meaning of life. The second verse is basically saying that life is what it is and there's nothing you can do about it all you do is live it. Sometimes it's happy and sometimes it's sad. You just take what you get, do your best and go with it and that is what life is all about (atleast that's what she's figured out at this point) The third verse she says "No this is how it works!" She's finally figured out the real meaning and purpose of life and it is love. You love something or someone and then you share that love with someone else and hope that they learn to love the same way you did and even if they don't you'll still keep loving and passing on that love.
That's what this song means to me at least.
@ipyalia LMFAO. mkay
Here’s my interpretation, although it is just one of my many. As with all ReSpekt songs, it takes on new meanings depending on where you are in life, what you need. This song is helping get through a rough period in my life right now, because of the message and gentle way of giving it- in complete childlike innocence.
‘This is how it works It feels a little worse Than when we drove our hearse Right through that screaming crowd While laughing up a storm Until we were just bone Until it got so warm That none of us could sleep’
Okay, this is life; it can sometimes feel like we are driving our own death through a crowd full of screaming, laughing people. It can be mortifying, painful and hard, so much so that it’s as though we are naked in front of that crowd, to an extent where even our bare skin feels like it has been ripped of us. Yet even with this brash nakedness, we still get 'hot under the collar' and heated over it, so much so, that we literally lose sleep over it. She says 'us' not me, because she’s saying this happens to everyone, not just you, or me.
‘Then all the Styrofoam Began to melt away We tried to find some worms To aid in the decay But none of them were home Inside their catacomb A million ancient bees Began to sting our knees’
Okay I think this bit can really be interpreted more or less two ways, I’ll choose one for now: when all the Styrofoam, all the fakeness, everything we wrap around us to make us seem like we cant be damaged, to protect ourselves, begins to fall away, when feel closer to people, we look to them to help us. Yet sometimes, we just can’t find them, an instead we get stung by these ancient bees, these ‘negatives’ that are so common, they have got to be ancient by now. I think saying that the knees are stung is like saying, yes it hurts, but it’s such an absurd place, such silly things we get upset from.
‘While we were on our knees Praying that disease Would leave the ones we love And never come again’
Yet with all our personal hurt, we know inside how much we’d crush that pain, just to protect the ones we love from the real devastation that happens in our world.
‘And on the radio We heard November rain The solo's really long But it's a pretty song We listened to it twice Cause the dj was asleep’
I think someone else posted this and it was the inspiration for this interpretation, but sometimes in life there are situations where we have no control, all we can do is sit back, listen, and even if it’s long, or hard, you find the beauty.
‘This is how it works You’re young until you're not You love until you don't You try until you can't You laugh until you cry You cry until you laugh And everyone must breathe Until their dying breath’
This is just a simple message: you are until you are no longer. Keep doing, until you can’t do no more. This made me understand how little control I have over things, but how everyone is like that in the end, so we must put everything into whatever we do, until we cant anymore, and then once we can no longer ‘cry’ and we ‘laugh’ instead, we have no choice but to ‘laugh’ until we can ‘cry’ again, or anything else. (Substitute cry/laugh for absolutely anything in life.) And also- in the end, we all die, so just breathe (live life! Carpe diem!) Until then
‘This is how it works You peer inside yourself You take the things you like And try to love the things you took And then you take that love you made And stick it into some-- Someone else's heart Pumping someone else's blood’
Everyone likes this part. Ever heard that what you hate in others you hate in yourself? Well, I think it’s the same the other way around. A love between two people is based on both valuing both’s virtues. Love is made of an extreme mutual acceptance of the very essence of a person, and it forms a bridge between the two which allows each to cross over to either side. This can teach you many things: 1) you have to love/value yourself to be able to fully love/value another person 2) being loved by another person makes you love yourself even if you don’t 3) understanding who you are and who the other person is tells you a lot about how to love 4) we know the building of a bridge doesn’t happen over night- it takes man power and effort, here is a good place to remember that I like how this part is quite a literary palindrome (I think I just made that up). If you think of it backwards and forwards it means the same thing in effect. Inside/pumping blood, take the things you like/stick into someone, love the things/love you made. Think broadly. What is the other person here doing, backward? Taking in something cherished. In an opposite way. Just theorising here, but you get my drift.
‘And walking arm in arm You hope it don't get harmed But even if it does You’ll just do it all again’
Again, you just do whatever is right in your life. If it’s walking arm in arm, or if it’s going to school, having a job, writing a novel, standing up for what you believe in. Yet all we can do is hope it doesn’t end, or get ruined — and if it does- then do it all again, not necessarily the same thing, but IT, living life, new adventures.
‘On the radio You hear November rain That solo's awful long But it's a nice refrain You listen to it twice Cause the dj is asleep’
Maybe it sounds like I’m over reaching, but if you’ve read till here, you evidently see some value in what I’ve put- hope you’ve learnt something!
This is the song that made me a Regina Spektor fan.
"this is how it works you're young until you're not you love until you don't you try until you can't you laugh until you cry you cry until you laugh and everyone must breathe until their dying breath"
that part makes me think & feel a lot. it's like - things are the way they are. sometimes, you don't have control over things. you can only do so much.
that message is kind of repeated when she talks about the song being on the radio twice in a row because the DJ fell asleep. all you can do is listen to it over again.
The first few stanzas have references to dying and being cremated or being buried. I have this mental image of two happy ghosts laughing at their funerals....
Honestly, I am completely and totally enthralled by this song.
Every aspect is perfect: the phrasing, the lyrics, you name it. This song is incredible.
In my opinion, the first verse definitely references death and the journey into the afterlife. The talk constant talk about heat and melting reminds me of cremation, hence the line "until we were just bone." She also references the fact that worms are an important aspect of the decay of the buried human body.
I'm not entirely sure what to think about the million ancient bees line. Maybe it's a reference to the sins of their lives? If anyone has a good idea about that, it would be much appreciated.
Overall, brilliant song and brilliant performer. Regina continues to amaze me.
@halfpintlemon I read your analysis and many others on this page over a decade ago, but this song is one I keep coming back to and have never fully figured out. There are just so many things to extract, which is kind of the beauty of the metaphor of life in itself. <br /> <br /> To address a direct point you made though: I think the ancient bees part could be a deliberate homophone: on the surface, listening to the line “a million ancient bees began to sting our knees” draws an image and understanding of bees equating to bumble bees, flying insects with stingers that make honey and pollinate flowers. The other possibility is that “a million ancient bes” as in “a million ancient lessons; the omnipotent forces of powers that be; que cera; whatever will be will be”. This would reflect and parallel other main messages in the song - life is about accepting the inevitability of occurrences; even when things are obvious, we can still not get the message - even when it’s paired with pain signals. We don’t always learn the hardway or learn from history; we may get hurt but we still might not get the lesson and repeat the mistake. We have the input of experience to use as a past warning, but we don’t listen to it. “Walking arm and arm you hope it don’t get harmed, but even if it does, you’ll just do it all again” - learning from the past doesn’t mean we should refuse the future. Try again. <br /> <br /> <br /> Song ends with “the solos awful long, but it’s a good refrain” which is a change to earliest verses “the solos awful long but it’s a pretty song”. A refrain in lyrical definitions is “A refrain (from Vulgar Latin refringere, "to repeat", and later from Old French refraindre) is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in poetry; the "chorus" of a song.”<br /> <br /> She’s ending by saying that the lessons of the past night repeat, over and over, “ancient bes” are still stinging
@halfpintlemon
I get this message: those little things in life hurt us over and over again, but we engage in them anyway. we live and face dilemmas, but also learn to forget regret. it truly is a beautiful song with suck great meaning. regina is amazing!
This song hit me right in the gut the first time I heard it. Such a perfect sentiment at just the right moment.
It was the day before we had to put my childhood dog to sleep and I was having a great day. I had just gotten a raise and had a talk with the boss about plans for the future, which were coming along exactly as I hoped. Driving home from work on this beautiful, sunny day, I was doing my best to ignore the sadness waiting just under the surface, when this song came on a mix CD that a friend gave me.
The words and melody hit me like a ton of bricks. It wasn't long before I broke down and just started crying. I had been shutting out the reality of losing one of my best friends and the pain that comes along with it. The song beautifully mixes the pain of death and loss with hope for the future and love of life.
I wish I was half the wrtiter Regina is so I could properly express the impact this song has had on me.
That's a beautiful story. I'm sorry about your dog, there is nothing quite like having to say goodbye to a good dog.
She is a genious with the voice of an angel...
"This is how it works you peer inside yourself, you take the things you like and try to love the things you took, and then you take that love you made and stick it into some--someone else's heart, pumping someone else's blood, and walking in arm in arm and you hope it don't get harmed but even if it does, you'll just do it all again"
LOVE this part!