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.
Hello city, hey
Another night at the palace
'Cause there is nothin' else to do
Oh, oh, ah, ha
The same people, the same drinks and
The same music, the same quicksand
I think this harbor town is waist deep and sinkin' fast
Hello city, you've found an enemy in me
Whoa, oh, whoa, oh (ba, dum, tum, tum, hey, hum)
Hello city, hello city, hello city, hey
Second night at the warehouse
And my mock turtleneck just reeks
Whoa, oh, whoa, oh
From the liquor room to the change room
To the doom and gloom of the hotel room
I think this seaside beer hall should sink into the bay
Hello city, you've found an enemy in me
Whoa, oh, whoa, oh (ba, dum, tum, tum, ba, dum)
Hello city, hello city, hello city
Maybe I caught you at a bad time
Maybe I should call you back next week
Maybe half the fault is mine that the sun didn't shine on Barrington Street
It's 3 o'clock in the morning
And I'm hungry so let's eat
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa
Climb down three flights
Too the street lights
And the bar fights
We're just takin' in the sights
I hope tomorrow that I wake up in my own bed
Hello city, you've found an enemy in me
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa
Hello city, hello city, hello city, hey
What a good place to be
Don't believe them, cause they speak a different language
And it's happy hour again
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa
It's happy hour again
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa
Hello city, eh
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa
Hello city, eh
Another night at the palace
'Cause there is nothin' else to do
Oh, oh, ah, ha
The same people, the same drinks and
The same music, the same quicksand
I think this harbor town is waist deep and sinkin' fast
Hello city, you've found an enemy in me
Whoa, oh, whoa, oh (ba, dum, tum, tum, hey, hum)
Hello city, hello city, hello city, hey
Second night at the warehouse
And my mock turtleneck just reeks
Whoa, oh, whoa, oh
From the liquor room to the change room
To the doom and gloom of the hotel room
I think this seaside beer hall should sink into the bay
Hello city, you've found an enemy in me
Whoa, oh, whoa, oh (ba, dum, tum, tum, ba, dum)
Hello city, hello city, hello city
Maybe I caught you at a bad time
Maybe I should call you back next week
Maybe half the fault is mine that the sun didn't shine on Barrington Street
It's 3 o'clock in the morning
And I'm hungry so let's eat
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa
Climb down three flights
Too the street lights
And the bar fights
We're just takin' in the sights
I hope tomorrow that I wake up in my own bed
Hello city, you've found an enemy in me
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa
Hello city, hello city, hello city, hey
What a good place to be
Don't believe them, cause they speak a different language
And it's happy hour again
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa
It's happy hour again
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa
Hello city, eh
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa
Hello city, eh
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This is a song about Halifax.....before they got big they played Halifax and got booed out of the city. It is a fave of the city noe because of a number of reasons..."Another night at tha Palace, cuz there's nothing else to do". I dare you to find a 20 something person in Halifax who has never uttered this line at least once. It is one of the biggest bars in the city and boasts live bands and large crowds. The unofficial name of this bar is the last chance for romance, because if you can't pick up here then you may as well join the priesthood or a nunnery.
"Cause they speak a diferent language' The maritime lingo can be a bit difficult to decipher if you aren't used to it
"It's happy hour again" Halifax has the most bars per capita than any city in North America
"Maybe half the fault was mine that the sun didn't shine on barrington street." There are a lot of trees and tall buildings along Barrington in the heart of downtown and the sun hardly ever does shine there
This is a song about Halifax.....before they got big they played Halifax and got booed out of the city. It is a fave of the city noe because of a number of reasons..."Another night at tha Palace, cuz there's nothing else to do". I dare you to find a 20 something person in Halifax who has never uttered this line at least once. It is one of the biggest bars in the city and boasts live bands and large crowds. The unofficial name of this bar is the last chance for romance, because if you can't pick up here then you may as well join the priesthood or a nunnery.
"Cause they speak a diferent language' The maritime lingo can be a bit difficult to decipher if you aren't used to it
"It's happy hour again" Halifax has the most bars per capita than any city in North America
"Maybe half the fault was mine that the sun didn't shine on barrington street." There are a lot of trees and tall buildings along Barrington in the heart of downtown and the sun hardly ever does shine there
its a song about stevens fondness for montreal... silly canadians
i think that this song is about a band (possibly BnL themselves) getting really annoied with playing at the same place over and over again
Hello City is about one of the band's earlier days while still a duo and travelling with Corky and the Juice Pigs. They came to a city during the second length of the tour and nobody liked them. They were just miserable, and it was just a terrible experience. So they wrote a song about it to get back at them I guess.
The bit:
"what a good place to be, don't believe them, 'Cause they speak a different language And it's never been happy for me. It's Happy Hour again."
is taken from the song "Happy Hour" by the Housemartins which was the band which Fatboy Slim (Norman Cook), Dave Hemingway (Beautiful South) as well as Paul Heaton (Beautiful South) were all part of.
What Sanjuro said. More specifically, it's about Halifax, NS. I found Barrington Street when I was there a few years ago. :)
"You've found an enemy in me..." I love those lines!
Ah, Halifax. I lived there (and hated it) for two years. I had this song on constant replay. Then I moved back to Toronto and found out that Steve Page had moved onto my parent's street.
And the sun never shines ANYWHERE in Halifax, from all the fog and rain. Urk.
i think of it as a guy who moves to a big city (maybe for a new job or whatever) and just hates it. he spends his time wasting away his life, drinking and doing whatever (going home with women) just to pass the time in his horrible life and he blames it all on the city