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 come out at night
That's when the energy comes
And the dark side's light
And the vampires roam
You strut your rasta wear
And your suicide poem
And a cross from a faith that died
Before Jesus came
You're building a mystery
You live in a church
Where you sleep with voodoo dolls
And you won't give up the search
For the ghosts in the halls
You wear sandals in the snow
And a smile that won't wash away
Can you look out the window
Without your shadow getting in the way?
You're so beautiful
With an edge and charm
But so careful
When I'm in your arms
'Cause you're working
Building a mystery
Holding on and holding it in
Yeah you're working
Building a mystery
And choosing so carefully
You woke up screaming aloud
A prayer from your secret God
You feed off our fears
And hold back your tears, oh
Give us a tantrum
And a know-it-all grin
Just when we need one
When the evening's thin
You're a beautiful
A beautiful fucked up man
You're setting up your
Razor wire shrine
'Cause you're working
Building a mystery
Holding on and holding it in
Yeah, you're working
Building a mystery
And choosing so carefully
Ooh, you're working
Building a mystery
Holding on and holding it in
Yeah you're working
Building a mystery
And choosing so carefully
Yeah, you're working
Building a mystery
Holding on and holding it in
Oh, yeah, you're working
Building a mystery
And choosing so carefully
You're building a mystery
That's when the energy comes
And the dark side's light
And the vampires roam
You strut your rasta wear
And your suicide poem
And a cross from a faith that died
Before Jesus came
You're building a mystery
You live in a church
Where you sleep with voodoo dolls
And you won't give up the search
For the ghosts in the halls
You wear sandals in the snow
And a smile that won't wash away
Can you look out the window
Without your shadow getting in the way?
You're so beautiful
With an edge and charm
But so careful
When I'm in your arms
'Cause you're working
Building a mystery
Holding on and holding it in
Yeah you're working
Building a mystery
And choosing so carefully
You woke up screaming aloud
A prayer from your secret God
You feed off our fears
And hold back your tears, oh
Give us a tantrum
And a know-it-all grin
Just when we need one
When the evening's thin
You're a beautiful
A beautiful fucked up man
You're setting up your
Razor wire shrine
'Cause you're working
Building a mystery
Holding on and holding it in
Yeah, you're working
Building a mystery
And choosing so carefully
Ooh, you're working
Building a mystery
Holding on and holding it in
Yeah you're working
Building a mystery
And choosing so carefully
Yeah, you're working
Building a mystery
Holding on and holding it in
Oh, yeah, you're working
Building a mystery
And choosing so carefully
You're building a mystery
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In the lyrics a woman voices her complaints about her lover. The text not only expresses a complaint, however. At the same time it is an analysis of the reason why she finds herself attracted to him. She describes him as a man who is hiding his inner self behind a careful constructed image, letting nobody look at his emotions deep down inside. The poetic lyrics of the first verse seem a direct inversion of the ironic Suzanne of the old master of Canadian folk-rock, Leonard Cohen (the first track of his 1968 album The Songs of Leonard Cohen). Instead of the rags and feathers of Cohen's Jesus hippy Suzanne, Sarah's nameless character is dressed in Rasta wear. The Christian cross of Suzanne is replaced by a Celtic one. Cohen's sun, which "shines like honey on our lady of the harbor", has gone down under the horizon; in McLachan's song the only light comes from the street lamps of a city at night, where "the vampires roam".
All this man is doing, is aimed at one and the same thing: building a mystery. The way it is sung, makes it sound like a conclusion too. And again the person that McLachlan addresses, is the opposite of Cohen's Suzanne. Where Cohen pictures his Suzanne as acting really authentic, McLachlan's lover is constructing his identity to give an impression of mysteriousness to the outside world.
As the song nears its apotheosis there is a decisive end in last line of the lyrics: "You're building a mystery". This time the progression leads toward the A chord without any added or changed tones. It sounds like ending with an exclamation mark! The last chord is an A chord, which seems to make the concluding end into a direct confrontation of the singer with her lover. The mystery has become a double mystery: the mystery he is building and the mystery why she loves him.
eneral Comment:<br /> It also reflects a personality type that is described in astrology. If you know anything about astral birth charts which is the placement of all other planets, moon, and asteroids. It goes more in depth then your sun sign which would just be the month of your birth. <br /> There is a specific placement known as Mars in Scorpio it is the strongest Scorpio position even greater then your sun being in Scorpio. astrophilosophy.tumblr.com/post/50939820513/mars-in-scorpio<br /> This is a link that discribes the mars in Scorpio man and woman. In the video it describe the traits of a mars in Scorpio man and the mars in Scorpio woman who loves him singing about him. There is even they symbolic scene where he casts his shadow across the moon in the resemblance of Scorpio as dose she. When just one mars in Scorpio is in love it is an intense and life changing experience that your may never find again in another unless they have this placement. But when two of these people are in love with each other there raw sexual energy dark mysterious personalitys and strick obsessive devotion to one another is a love that blows all others out of the water. <br /> I just recently because of my studies in astrology and into my own relationship being mars in Scorpio in luv with another mars in Scorpio helped me discover the meaning behind my favorite song of Sarah's that seemed to parallel my feels. It made me love this song even more and it goes to show you. There is always something new to discover even about thing you thought u already thought u did.<br /> <br /> astrolocherry.tumblr.com/post/58118281825/mars-in-scorpio-the-sea-storm-those-born-with<br /> <br /> This is one more link I thought you guys out there might enjoy
@melbolt65 Wrong..
This is about a man who is untouchable, it is impossible to capture his soul. He is unique, he shines and he is captivating. He is also confused & careless... composed...and appears to be happy and free on the outside-"a smile that won't wash away" he is building the mystery of him, this is what makes him so intriguing....he is so beautiful b/c she can see his soul and cares deeply for him, even through his carelessness and confusions...and he is fucked up b/c he can't see what is in front of him, and will not let her in except for when she his in his arms....
Note the eclectic elements of this guy's posturing. His "suicide poem" is Japanese and he has no intention of killing himself, he isn't a rastafarian but dresses like one, and he's wearing a celtic cross as he sleeps with voodoo dolls in a church. Those are five different religions and he believes in none of them His "secret god" is his own self image
Insightful comment. I like it and I agree with you. The lines "can you look out the window without your shadow getting in the way" make me think of the myth of Narcissus, he is distracted and enamoured by his own reflection. The church he "lives in" is the carefully constructed facade he created for himself where, like you said, he is the secret god. <br />
This song is great to listen to when you are in a mellow mood, it helps me so much..try singing this on the interstate at night...its great..but be by yourself unless someone understands you really well
Sarah McLachlan is such a dynamic writer, not only does the melody suit the mood of the song but it induces a curiousity about the song, building her own mystery.
The goal is to be a poet, and a carpenter. To be one who loves, to be one who works. -311
Yeah he's an eccentric, seemingly aloof artist (her drummer/husband), but deep down beyond the facade, he's a salt of the earth blue collar man's man...putting in work, to keep Sarah interested and attracted. He's "building a mystery" FOR HER...and she is loving it.
eneral Comment:<br /> It also reflects a personality type that is described in astrology. If you know anything about astral birth charts which is the placement of all other planets, moon, and asteroids. It goes more in depth then your sun sign which would just be the month of your birth. <br /> There is a specific placement known as Mars in Scorpio it is the strongest Scorpio position even greater then your sun being in Scorpio. astrophilosophy.tumblr.com/post/50939820513/mars-in-scorpio<br /> This is a link that discribes the mars in Scorpio man and woman. In the video it describe the traits of a mars in Scorpio man and the mars in Scorpio woman who loves him singing about him. There is even they symbolic scene where he casts his shadow across the moon in the resemblance of Scorpio as dose she. When just one mars in Scorpio is in love it is an intense and life changing experience that your may never find again in another unless they have this placement. But when two of these people are in love with each other there raw sexual energy dark mysterious personalitys and strick obsessive devotion to one another is a love that blows all others out of the water. <br /> I just recently because of my studies in astrology and into my own relationship being mars in Scorpio in luv with another mars in Scorpio helped me discover the meaning behind my favorite song of Sarah's that seemed to parallel my feels. It made me love this song even more and it goes to show you. There is always something new to discover even about thing you thought u already thought u did.<br /> <br /> astrolocherry.tumblr.com/post/58118281825/mars-in-scorpio-the-sea-storm-those-born-with<br /> <br /> This is one more link I thought you guys out there might enjoy
@flayerhater I could be wrong but I tend to think the song is not what it appears to you. There are no pictures of him dressing like the character described in the song. Just pictures of him in Suits and ties. Sweet Surrender is more likely about him but I would not take that to the bank. She is a cross between the girl next door and an indie rock queen but chose a stable man to marry. Later they divorced a year after having a 2nd child in 2008. And Ashwin Sood Grew up in a Brahmin caste family from India hardly a blue collar guy.
Fantastic song from the peerless Sarah McLachlan.
I took the song as to be about facades. "Wear sandals in the snow/Smile that won't wash away" evidence a superficiality to an absurd degree. On one hand the man dons "Rasta wear" (invoking carefree hippy culture) and "Struts a suicide poem" (a will to express existential crisis). In the song the man's greatest struggle is to maintain the facade but reality shows through at times so he prevents an air of confusion hence the "mystery" he builds onto with his lies and unavoidable truths.<br /> <br /> The "window" is a representation of how others see him. The mans inner conflicts "cast a shadow" or block how others truly perceive him and his perceptions of them. The conflicts is between the image the man wishes to present vs the man that really shows. I think the concluding lines are perhaps intending to say with a facetious air: "You really you know everything... Oh, you're a beautiful one. You f***ed up man.". up man Externally, the mystery remains "Who are you really?" internally the question is "Have I forgotten who I am?". <br /> <br /> <br />
it sounds to me like she's in love with some kind of gothic weirdo ...
but, yeah. I agree with the pervious comment, mostly. she loves a pretty out-of-the-ordinary guy.
I've always loved the lines "oh you're so beautiful with an edge and a charm but so careful when I'm in your arms"
I agree with you catherineks, those are my favorite lines in the whole song
I heard this song was about The Vampire Lestat...but it sounds more like Armand to me...especially the part about living in a church and a secret god...That's totally Armand.