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She's a good girl, loves her mama
Loves Jesus and America, too
She's a good girl, crazy 'bout Elvis
Loves horses and her boyfriend, too
It's a long day livin' in Reseda
There's a freeway runnin' through the yard
And I'm a bad boy, 'cause I don't even miss her
I'm a bad boy for breakin' her heart
And I'm free, I'm free fallin'
All the vampires walkin' through the valley
Move west down Ventura Blvd.
And all the bad boys are standing in the shadows
And the good girls are home with broken hearts
And I'm free, I'm free fallin'
I wanna glide down over Mulholland
I wanna write her name in the sky
I wanna free fall out into nothin'
Gonna leave this world for awhile
And I'm free, I'm free fallin'
Loves Jesus and America, too
She's a good girl, crazy 'bout Elvis
Loves horses and her boyfriend, too
It's a long day livin' in Reseda
There's a freeway runnin' through the yard
And I'm a bad boy, 'cause I don't even miss her
I'm a bad boy for breakin' her heart
And I'm free, I'm free fallin'
All the vampires walkin' through the valley
Move west down Ventura Blvd.
And all the bad boys are standing in the shadows
And the good girls are home with broken hearts
And I'm free, I'm free fallin'
I wanna glide down over Mulholland
I wanna write her name in the sky
I wanna free fall out into nothin'
Gonna leave this world for awhile
And I'm free, I'm free fallin'
Lyrics submitted by oofus
Track duration: 04:14
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he's being sarcastic and loves a woman who left him.
The meaning of the chorus changes in the context of the verse that precedes it, starting rough and celebratory and growing darker and bittersweet as the character is explored.
Verse 1 - Setting - A wonderful girl
Verse 2 - Action - A bad boy has a short fling with her, leaves on the highway
Chorus - Meaning - This bad boy loves his freedom and independence
Verse 3 - Setting - Bad boys exploit girls and then leave break their hearts.
Chorus - Meaning - Bad boys' freedom is at the expense of the women they hurt
Verse 4 - Action - A bad boy realizes as he drives out of LA that he felt something for her
Chorus - Meaning - The bottom falls out as one bad boy realizes that in pursuing the ideal of freedom, he sacrifices meaningful connection
Allusions:
Reseda was a family-oriented suburb of LA when the song was written
Freeways in LA cut right through residential areas in some places
West down Venture leads out of the suburbs
Mulholland is a district of LA and a highway that leads west
Figurative Language:
Bad boys are vampires because they exploit women for sex, money, or experiences and then leave them hurt
Meaning of final verse:
The lines "I wanna free fall out into nothin' / Gonna leave this world for awhile" express escapism. His lifestyle is idealized as the pursuit of freedom and superficial experience, which he realizes through his fling with the good girl lacks meaningful connection. This realization hurts him, and these lines reveal the true face of his lifestyle: an escapist's addiction, an ephemeral place of loneliness and worthless experiences. But he lacks the courage to return to her (I'm gonna leave this world) and decides to continue his pursuit of freedom (fall out into nothing).
The final chorus is a bittersweet reaffirmation of his freedom, now that he realizes it isn't the high ideal he had thought it was.
Loves Jesus and America, too
She's a good girl, crazy 'bout Elvis
Loves horses and her boyfriend, too"
- Paints a picture of this girl, a perfect all-American who's never done wrong.
"It's a long day livin' in Reseda
There's a freeway runnin' through the yard
And I'm a bad boy, 'cause I don't even miss her
I'm a bad boy for breakin' her heart"
- He's a bad boy cause he took a perfect girl and broke her heart for no apparent reason. He knows it was wrong, yet he doesn't feel bad like everyone thinks he should.
"And I'm free, I'm free fallin'"
- He's glad that he got out of the relationship, because he couldn't bear to be tied down like that and now he feels free.
"All the vampires walkin' through the valley
Move west down Ventura Blvd.
And all the bad boys are standing in the shadows
And the good girls are home with broken hearts"
- The vampires are sort of undead, shadowy, mysterious characters. The 'bad boys' are hanging out on street corners, whilst the 'good girls' are staying in and having to bear the weight of the pain that the boys caused.
"And I'm free, I'm free fallin'"
"I wanna glide down over Mulholland
I wanna write her name in the sky
I wanna free fall out into nothin'
Gonna leave this world for awhile"
- He feels free, yet he still loves her. Writing someone's name in the sky is an awful grand gesture and shows he still has feelings for her, despite feeling so much more free without her.
"And I'm free, I'm free fallin'"
Overall, to me this song is about a boy who broke the heart of a "good girl" because he wasn't happy in a relationship. He's saying that the girl did nothing wrong, but he couldn't be with her. After breaking up with her, he feels free and independent.
The one line that seems a little off is, "I wanna write her name in the sky." Maybe he still loves her, or wants to commemorate her goodness. He's simply free--single. And free falling--falling out of love.
Oh, and vampires is just a name to call the bad boys--known for their trickery and seducing, taking what they want.
She is a good girl. She lives in a boring part of town (trust me I lived in Reseda, every day felt like a long day) When the 101 freeway was built they took just the land they needed. In some spots the freeway is on pillars 30’ above the ground and runs right over a yard or even part of a house.
Any slight against a young (good) girl is breaking her heart. She is mad at him for spending his time doing something other than visiting with her. You can almost hear her complain “Didn’t you even miss me?” “Don’t you know you’re breaking my heart?”
Ventura Blvd is in the middle of a city. There is no reason for a kid to be hanging around there during the day. But there were a lot of clubs on Ventura Blvd and at night the place would be littered with kids. Like Vampires they come out at night. You park your car at your favorite club and then start working your way downhill (Which is West) hitting all the other clubs. At the end of the night the person who is most sober walks uphill all the way back to the car (Trust me it is a long walk) and drives back to pick everyone else up and take them to in-and-out burger or home.
At the top of Mulholland you can see a big chunk of the city. The city is (or was) far enough away that there is a lot of darkness between you and the tiny twinkling lights. He is not screaming “I’m free” he is screaming “I’m free falling” He is happy. He is falling in love with the girl. More and more of his thoughts are about her and despite the danger of suffering a broken heart he cannot stop himself and does not want to stop himself from falling in love with her. (This is the kind of girl you should marry)