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.
I am holding half an acre
Torn from the map of Michigan
And folded in this scrap of paper
Is a land I grew in
Think of every town you've lived in
Every room, you lay your head
And what is it that you remember?
Do you carry every sadness with you
Every hour your heart was broken
Every night the fear and darkness
Lay down with you
A man is walking on the highway
A woman stares out at the sea
And light is only now just breaking
So we carry every sadness with us
Every hour our heart were broken
Every night the fear and darkness
Lay down with us
But I am holding half an acre
Torn from the map of Michigan
I am carrying this scrap of paper
That can crack the darkest sky wide open
Every burden taken from me
Every night my heart unfolding
My home
Torn from the map of Michigan
And folded in this scrap of paper
Is a land I grew in
Think of every town you've lived in
Every room, you lay your head
And what is it that you remember?
Do you carry every sadness with you
Every hour your heart was broken
Every night the fear and darkness
Lay down with you
A man is walking on the highway
A woman stares out at the sea
And light is only now just breaking
So we carry every sadness with us
Every hour our heart were broken
Every night the fear and darkness
Lay down with us
But I am holding half an acre
Torn from the map of Michigan
I am carrying this scrap of paper
That can crack the darkest sky wide open
Every burden taken from me
Every night my heart unfolding
My home
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@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday".
I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
Mountain Song
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Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
Plastic Bag
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“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
such an amazingly beautiful song...
This song is quite pretty. Am I correct that it is the one for the Liberty Mutual commercial where the people are doing nice things for others in a perpetuating circle?
@kaleidoscopeeyes8 ; You are correct! Most people don't remember that commercial.This song always stuck in my head.
i love this song and the artist. the singer has such a simple yet beautiful voice.
I love the progression of the verses and how the order of the subjects tells a part of the story. I like that she starts out describing herself and her own growth. And by the fifth verse, the subject changes from "I" to a collective "we", and everyone she's met along the way influences each subsequent verse.
I think that each group of people in each verse relate to one another in sort of the same way that the commercial depicts how people connect.
i think shes saying that people always seem to look far away for guidance and comfort, when thats never the right place to get them. its like the people in the song are looking outward for answers or happiness, looking to other places. but no matter where you go, your troubles will still be with you. and i think she says that its not some faraway place or thing that can comfort you when you go to sleep every night, it can only come from your home, from within. anyway, extremely powerful song. makes me all teary-eyed sometimes.
yes :)
Anyone have thoughts on what this song is about? It seems a little like she is saying that she always has a piece of her home with her, and that makes her feel better. Most of the song talks about thinking/dwelling on all the pain in our lives, but at the end, she brings up the map of Michigan (her home) and how it can open up a dark sky and take away burdens. I might be way off, but either way, I LOVE this song.
Beautiful. I like the faster version from Rabbit Songs more than the version from Birds, Beasts, and Flowers.
Is this the original version of these lyrics? There are a couple of other versions of this song mentioned in this thread, are the lyrics the same in those versions? I remember reading it as a poem in a news letter quite awhile ago and liked it so much I copied it down in a notebook. I heard it sung on the TV commercial and subsequently looked it up on the internet, but half the words that I copied from the poem version were missing, and what is really weird is that the idea that seems to be intended in the TV ad is more along the lines of the poem I copied down years ago. Does anyone know anything about this song and writer beyond what is already posted, specifically are the lyrics derived from a longer work. I still have the notebook but would like to wait to see if I can find any corroboration first, before posting the version that I have, as it is hand copied and from a very unofficial source to begin with. Thank you for any information.
My copy of Rabbit Songs predates the insurance commercial by several years. These are the lyrics as they appear on the album. The lyricist for the band, Dan Messe, said he wrote this song for his parents for their anniversary.
This is awesome poetry.
This is one of the best songs I've ever heard by a female singer.