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.
When you came jumpin' down the stairs
Screamin' bloody awful
You woke up God & everyone
Screamin' bloody awful
So we took you to the doctor
He said yeah it's a bad one
& there's such a shame about it
'Cause she's so pretty
& then the earth sarted shakin'
& yeah it was crazy
& heaven & hell came crashing down
& then the earth sarted shakin'
& yeah it was crazy
& heaven & hell came crashing down
It was beautiful & terrible
So beautiful & terrible
The phone call
You never expect
Did somebody get it yet
It's a sound you never forget
Because the earth starts shakin'
& yeah it's crazy
Heaven & hell come crashing down
& then the earth starts shakin
& yeah it's so crazy
Heaven & hell come crashing
They come crashing
It's so beautiful & terrible
So beautiful & terrible
It was something of an end
Of a lovely & a wild thing
So beautiful in the morning
You're beautiful
So beautiful
You're beautiful in the morning
& I can't seem to get it through your head
No matter what I do
I can't seem to get it through your head
That I always love you
Screamin' bloody awful
You woke up God & everyone
Screamin' bloody awful
So we took you to the doctor
He said yeah it's a bad one
& there's such a shame about it
'Cause she's so pretty
& then the earth sarted shakin'
& yeah it was crazy
& heaven & hell came crashing down
& then the earth sarted shakin'
& yeah it was crazy
& heaven & hell came crashing down
It was beautiful & terrible
So beautiful & terrible
The phone call
You never expect
Did somebody get it yet
It's a sound you never forget
Because the earth starts shakin'
& yeah it's crazy
Heaven & hell come crashing down
& then the earth starts shakin
& yeah it's so crazy
Heaven & hell come crashing
They come crashing
It's so beautiful & terrible
So beautiful & terrible
It was something of an end
Of a lovely & a wild thing
So beautiful in the morning
You're beautiful
So beautiful
You're beautiful in the morning
& I can't seem to get it through your head
No matter what I do
I can't seem to get it through your head
That I always love you
Lyrics submitted by WoodenPirate
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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This is beautiful.
I absolutely love the melody, atmosphere and words chosen in this amazingly well-crafted song.
If someone has been suffering from a mental illness for the biggest part of his/her life and commits suicide I can understand how it would be seen as beautiful and terrible at the same time. Someone is taking the power back, after years of trying to feel better, maybe years of therapy, years of falling and getting up, dissapointing yourself, taking power to stop their own suffering, trying to safe themselves from more hurt and lift up to the sky where there's no more pain. For any human being to find back their own streingh is beautiful. Though when it comes out in the shape of suicide it's horrible as well.
I love how the lyrics also show that the people around keep telling the person they're beautiful and worthy and so on.... And it's such a shame that with people with mental illness (myself included) we seem unable to store this information in our heads long enough and remember it at times when we're at our lowest. You can't get it through our heads, it doesn't stick and that is a shame. It makes me sad that so many of us hear the positive feedback/compliments of the people that love us but a minute later we already don't believe we are worthy of love or just beautiful human beings.
We are all beautiful... maybe we should tell eachother this even more often. It might save someone one day.
Perhaps inspired by Remedios the Beauty, a character from the Gabriel García Márquez novel One Hundred Years Of Solitude?
How does the beginning relate to the rest of the song? "when you came jumping down the stairs, ...screaming bloody awful" this is before the "end" starts to happen. I'm guessing the end of the world started--because what happened to her?
The "end" is just a metaphor. It's talking about your world getting turned upside down by something unfortunate, such as a death of a loved one. The world isn't truly ending in the song. The first two stanzas are about someone coming down with some terminal illness, I believe. Just a story to go along with the theme of the song.(Your world getting turned upside down by an extremely unfortunate happening)
WoodenPirate, if it's just a metaphor, then why is it beautiful too?
It was beautiful & terrible So beautiful & terrible
what's beautiful about someone close to you getting an illness?
Tragedy and disaster have a beauty all their own, to some.
thetorturegarden.blogspot.com/2006/07/my-brightest-diamond-interview.html
About a third of the way down the page. I probably explained it not-so-great. But there it is from the source.
Pari26, its a recurring theme in literature that destruction is a form of creation. death= rebirth of life, etc. And the way she describes Heaven and Hell come crashing down is awe-inspiring, like it would be beautiful if it wasnt so awfully terrible... thats my impression anyway
The person about whom the song is written committed suicide. Many of the songs on the album have the same subject matter.
I still like the Remedios idea.