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.
Lady Godiva here dressed so demurely
Pats the head of another curly haired boy, just another toy
Sick with silence she weeps sincerely
Saying word that have oh so clearly been said
So long ago
Draperies wrapped gently 'round her shoulder
Life has made her that much bolder now
That she's found out how
Dressed in silk, Latin lace and envy
Pride and joy of the latest penny faire
Pretty passing care
Hair today now dipped in the water
Making love to every poor daughter's son
Isn't it fun
Now today propping grace with envy
Lady Godiva peers to see if anyone's there
And hasn't a care
Doctor is coming the nurse thinks sweetly
Turning on the machines that neatly pump air
The body lies bare
Shaved and hairless what once was screaming
Now lies silent and almost sleeping
The brain must have gone away
Strapped securely to the white table
Ether caused the body to wither and writhe
Underneath the white light
Doctor arrives with knife and baggage
Sees the growth as just so much cabbage
That now
Must be cut away
Now come the moment of Great! Great! Decision!
The doctor is making his first incision
One goes here - one goes there
The ether tube's leaking says someone who's sloppy
The patient it seems is not so well sleeping
The screams echo up the hall
Don't panic someone give him pentathol instantly
Doctor removes his blade
Cagily slow from the brain
By my count of ten
The head won't move
Pats the head of another curly haired boy, just another toy
Sick with silence she weeps sincerely
Saying word that have oh so clearly been said
So long ago
Draperies wrapped gently 'round her shoulder
Life has made her that much bolder now
That she's found out how
Dressed in silk, Latin lace and envy
Pride and joy of the latest penny faire
Pretty passing care
Hair today now dipped in the water
Making love to every poor daughter's son
Isn't it fun
Now today propping grace with envy
Lady Godiva peers to see if anyone's there
And hasn't a care
Doctor is coming the nurse thinks sweetly
Turning on the machines that neatly pump air
The body lies bare
Shaved and hairless what once was screaming
Now lies silent and almost sleeping
The brain must have gone away
Strapped securely to the white table
Ether caused the body to wither and writhe
Underneath the white light
Doctor arrives with knife and baggage
Sees the growth as just so much cabbage
That now
Must be cut away
Now come the moment of Great! Great! Decision!
The doctor is making his first incision
One goes here - one goes there
The ether tube's leaking says someone who's sloppy
The patient it seems is not so well sleeping
The screams echo up the hall
Don't panic someone give him pentathol instantly
Doctor removes his blade
Cagily slow from the brain
By my count of ten
The head won't move
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More Featured Meanings
Light Up The Sky
Van Halen
Van Halen
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.
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
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.
I love how the song starts out very sweet and gentle, and then suddenly Lou comes in with his loud, half-sung words ruining the whole mood of the song. Haha, that cracks me up every time.
Yes! Love that!
This is what the song means. The dude wants a sex-change operation. But his parents really hate him, they think he's crazy to want that. So they slyly pay the doctor to give him a LOBOTOMY instead. Imagine his chagrin! The climate was extremely hostile to such operations in the Sixties, not at all like now.
@kassie1124 Now it could be that the Doctor gave him a sex-change first. Then his parents sprung their surprise on him, and the Doctor followed this up with an unexpected lobotomy. The guy emphatically was not down with this unexpected development, but he was in no condition to complain about it afterwards. The Doctor was a maniac, something went wrong. Not only did he make no complaint, he never moved his head again. His parents wheeled him, uh, HER, around in a wheelchair with an odd smile on their faces. They had done their parental duty! The Doctor probably got into big trouble, he got a little too avid in his brain-cutting. Maybe he was a Homophobe! Aha! It was the Sixties, after all!
Interesting song. It does sound like a lobotomy. Pentathol (sodium pentathol, actually) is also used as a thruth serum, as its a fast acting barbiturate.
Lady godiva was censored heavily by her husband and to protest, rode the streets of her city naked on horseback. This could be what she was penalized with; a labotomy, or a murder.
That's what I've imagined. Lady Godiva of the song is such a libertine that she's given a labotomy to keep her "in her place". The ether leaks, she wakes, her screams echo on the walls and a gruesome portrait of a botched operation is painted.
Drag Queen gets a lobotomy, simple as that. The screaming definitely makes it sound like an involuntary operation.
Familial betrayal and hatred of the different. Your family is angry that that the neighbors are laughing about their son who wants his stuff cut off. So they tell the Doctor to chop up his brain too, so he won't date men after the operation. But they don't know that the Doctor secretly hates gays with a livid fury, and they wouldn't have much cared if they had known. The Doctor spitefully paralyzes his neck as well. He is sued for malpractice, but he is happy. The creature in the wheelchair says nothing any more, but it's face is a frozen rictus of fury over its Betrayal!
The journey of a strange operation.
sounds like a lobotomy
Hmm. The VU mostly wrote about people they knew. Could this be an abortion? is it about an operation at all?
I can't say why, particularly, but this has to be one of my Favorite VU songs.
A great song, easily the most underrated and lesser known of the VU. Not totally sure what the operation being referred to is though...