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.
You named me judge the day that I was born
You asked too much to fix what you had torn
Things got out of hand, now I understand
And I'm out of your range
Now it's kind of strange
How we change orbit in our lives
You were kind of a moon outside of my room
I could just feel you nearby
Now I feel you gone
'Cause I know what side you're on
And it's not mine
I walk the line between now and then
It's deep sea diving with no oxygen
Guess I went somewhere to hide
Far behind my eyes
I willed you there to see
But you never came for me
You asked too much to fix what you had torn
Things got out of hand, now I understand
And I'm out of your range
Now it's kind of strange
How we change orbit in our lives
You were kind of a moon outside of my room
I could just feel you nearby
Now I feel you gone
'Cause I know what side you're on
And it's not mine
I walk the line between now and then
It's deep sea diving with no oxygen
Guess I went somewhere to hide
Far behind my eyes
I willed you there to see
But you never came for me
Lyrics submitted by bluefish
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This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
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I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Magical
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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.
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
When I first heard this song, I started crying and almost had to pull the car over. I realized suddenly who she was singing this to, because I could have written it - to my own mother, especially in this time of my life when I have separated myself from her and her toxic crap. Listen to it again, as an adult woman who was once a little girl, neglected and abused by your mother, not protected and allowed to be abused by someone else. Walking the line between now and then, that's the memories coming back, having to face them is like deep sea diving...I've never heard it put this way and it's so freakin' accurate...hiding behind her eyes, that's going inside (or out of) your head when it's too hard to take, needing mom there to save you...but she never came. I understand this one, because I lived it. Thank you, Deb, for sharing something so personal and difficult. I hope that it will help other survivors to sever the bonds with family still locked in toxic patterns, as well as to recognize that we're not alone.
Seven years after @truemidge offered this interpretation, Deb Talan confirmed the essence of it. In a 2021 piece on Deb (and the dissolution of The Weepies) in Saratoga Living, journalist Will Levith wrote, "Two years later [in 2015], during an interview I conducted with her for a Refinery29 story about her band The Weepies’ latest album and her bout with cancer, she revealed for the first time publicly that she had been a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, and for that reason, had been estranged from her family for a decade. All of that was captured in her song \'Orbiting.\'"
I found the 2015 interview with Deb Talan referenced in my earlier comment. Here\'s an excerpt about "Orbiting":\r\n\r\n[I]t’s the band’s downhearted numbers that offer the most fodder for interpretation. One such song is “Orbiting” from 2008’s Hideaway, in which the song’s narrator confronts an anonymous subject: “You named me judge/the day that I was born/You asked too much/to fix what you had torn.” More than any other song in the band’s catalog, it will haunt you. When asked what it’s about, Deb starts to answer then freezes. After talking with her husband, she summons the courage to continue. “So, I’m a double-survivor now,” she says. “I survived cancer, and before that, I survived sexual abuse in my family.” She explains that a number of the songs she’s written throughout her career — including “Orbiting,” written for her mother — have contemplated this dark period in her life, one that all but destroyed her relationship with her family. (She hasn’t been in contact with them for 10 years.)
When I first heard this song, I started crying and almost had to pull the car over. I realized suddenly who she was singing this to, because I could have written it - to my own mother, especially in this time of my life when I have separated myself from her and her toxic crap. Listen to it again, as an adult woman who was once a little girl, neglected and abused by your mother, not protected and allowed to be abused by someone else. Walking the line between now and then, that's the memories coming back, having to face them is like deep sea diving...I've never heard it put this way and it's so freakin' accurate...hiding behind her eyes, that's going inside (or out of) your head when it's too hard to take, needing mom there to save you...but she never came. I understand this one, because I lived it. Thank you, Deb, for sharing something so personal and difficult. I hope that it will help other survivors to sever the bonds with family still locked in toxic patterns, as well as to recognize that we're not alone.
This song is definitely about being abused as a child. No one came to help her. Now as an adult she does not excuse her mother's behavior and lack of protection. She is finally coming to terms with it.
I think the parental interpretation is probably right on. Especially given the first line, "You named me judge the day that I was born," referring to the Biblical judge named Deborah (Deb Talan)
@Masonite Yes, and interesting, though maybe not surprising that the other commenters missed it, entirely. It's ok that people interpret your songs according to their own life experiences- that's what makes them universally appealing- but, this song is devastating beyond any breakup song. I'm glad at least some people get that, because they're the ones whose hearts need this, yes?<br />
I think that this song was written about a couple that grew apart from each other and have 2 strong and different opinions about something.
For me, the song has to do with friends and how you just grow up and sometimes apart from a person. My favorite lyric from the song is "Now it's kind of strange/How we change orbit in our lives"
This song to me is how close people (couples, friends) just change and grow apart. It's sad but it happens sometimes.
SO so SO clever...deb can really write lyrics! such a sad song though, ive felt like this before but its just amazing the way shes put it :'(
I think that this song was written about a couple that grew apart from each other and have 2 strong and different opinions about something.
For me, the song has to do with friends and how you just grow up and sometimes apart from a person. My favorite lyric from the song is "Now it's kind of strange/How we change orbit in our lives"