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.
A cloud of eiderdown
Draws around me
Softening a sound
Sleepy time, and I lie
With my love by my side
And she's breathing low
And the candle dies
When night comes down
You lock the door
The book falls to the floor
As darkness falls
The waves roll by
The seasons change
The wind is warm
Now wakes the owl
Now sleeps the swan
Behold the dream
The dream is gone
Green fields, a cold rain
Is falling, in a golden dawn
And deep beneath the ground
The early morning sounds
And I go down
Sleepy time, and I lie
With my love by my side
And she's breathing low
And I rise, like a bird
In the haze, when the first rays
Touch the sky
And the night wings die
Draws around me
Softening a sound
Sleepy time, and I lie
With my love by my side
And she's breathing low
And the candle dies
When night comes down
You lock the door
The book falls to the floor
As darkness falls
The waves roll by
The seasons change
The wind is warm
Now wakes the owl
Now sleeps the swan
Behold the dream
The dream is gone
Green fields, a cold rain
Is falling, in a golden dawn
And deep beneath the ground
The early morning sounds
And I go down
Sleepy time, and I lie
With my love by my side
And she's breathing low
And I rise, like a bird
In the haze, when the first rays
Touch the sky
And the night wings die
Lyrics submitted by Demau Senae, edited by Mellow_Harsher, DougJones, Jaxion08
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Light Up The Sky
Van Halen
Van Halen
Standing On The Edge Of Summer
Thursday
Thursday
In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“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.
ok I'm completely astounded that no one has said anything about this song! wow....this is one of the best songs I've ever heard in my fucking life. could a song be more beautiful and dreamy??? I think I would even go as far as to say that this is my favorite Pink Floyd song
I have a ritual with my 5 year old daughter, where I comb her hair and play a few Pink Floyd songs of the Discovery box set I got her and sing along softly. This is one of Mt favorites and most memorable of songs to sing to her. One of my most pleasing moments as a father sorry far is not only doing that with her, but that she's totally receptive to it and just sits there enjoying her dad sing to her.
Today, I lost my precious dog of 13.5 years who's been with me and got me through everything. She instantly took to my little girl when I first brought her home from the hospital. My dog would not leave her side, ever. My daughter has grown up with her, viewing her as a true member of the family.
As I sit and try to find just the right music tonight, I came across Pillow of Winds, and it's hit the spot just right, in a whole new light. All these memories with the two most dear to me girls in my life have been gliding softly through my mind with this song playing.
All that said, this is one of the most beautiful songs ever created, and I have a whole different outlook on it today.
"Sleepy time, and I lie. With my love by my side, and she's breathing low. "
Rest in peace, my love.
I apologize for the typos. Auto correct and had to rush.
@Floyd4Life <br /> I'm really so very sorry to hear about your dog. I also lost my sweet 13.5 year-old dog in September. I have two young sons who loved her very much as well. I hope you and your daughter are doing well. Take care. Music helps a lot, it's true.
@Floyd4Life
@Floyd4Life I will not take my dog for granted then, I’m sorry for your loss. Granted it was 3 years ago but I have an almost 15 year old dog who has been coming down with fevers for a while now. I love this song but I think San Tropez is better :)
"A Pillow Of Winds"
"A cloud of eider down Draws around me softening the sound"
A 'cloud of eiderdown' is a pillow. The right-sized pillow tends to bunch up a little around your ears, muting the outside world. The song is very much about the otherworldliness of sleep.
"Sleepy time when I lie With my love by my side And she's breathing low And the candle dies."
A candle's dying can be both comforting and ominous.
"When night comes down you lock the door The book falls to the floor"
Or 'boot.' Either way, the daytime world is being put away and they are preparing for the night. Presumably they don't lock the door until they sleep. Otherwise they feel safe with the door unlocked as long as they are home and awake, even at night. But the time of sleep is different as one is truly defenseless against the night. The change to the minor key reminds us of the dual nature of night, it is life-giving but death-like and there is never a guarantee you will wake up.
"As darkness falls the waves roll by The seasons change The wind is warm."
Now they are truly asleep. But for long? When you are asleep you don't really have any sense of time passing. When we fall asleep are we prepared to hibernate? How much time passes when we are dreaming? In any case the wind's being warm is nice and it jumps back up to the earlier chord which sounds quite different in this minor context.
"Now wakes the owl, now sleeps the swan"
The natural order of opposites, day/night. wake/sleep, life/death etc.
"Behold a dream, the dream is gone"
The German word DunstEwigkeitZug (vapor + eternity +whiff) describes the moment when you wake up and you can still for a brief second remember the meaning of your dream and understand everything, and then quickly forget it.
"Green fields A cold rain is falling in a golden dawn."
The 'golden dawn' here is metaphorical because they have not yet woken up. The 'golden dawn' is the dreamscape and it has an implication of being an eden-like afterlife or a post-rapture world.
"And deep beneath the ground The early morning sounds and I go down"
The key change means they are now waking up.
"Sleepy time in my life With my love by my side And she's breathing low And I rise like a bird In the haze and the first rays touch the sky And the night winds die."
Having communed with death he rises like a Phoenix. The ominous night winds are gone.
@MCDIII I like your interpretation. Nice initials. Im also MCD although the II
@MCDIII I think you’ve hit the nail on the head there
dreamy.............in the realms of sleep...n back again into consciousness..back n forth till u finally enter the dream world
True this is another great song, relaxing, ot sort of spaves you out.
As noted by my comment on "One of these days" I believe that this is song is about the release most of us have at the end of an extremely stressful day. The stressful day is played out in "One of these days"
To me, its about laying down, falling asleep, and dreaming. I know there's more to it, but i just love playing this song in bed, it makes my imagination go wild for awhile, then relaxes me...
A GORGEOUS song - I fall to sleep by it (and 'Echoes') almost nightly.
I think it's simply a nice slice of cozy life, someplace we'd all like to be or have been - in a beautiful world you've conjured up in your head because you're in love. The world is magical and sensual and sleepy. It's an idealistic little painting of how perfect the world seems at that moment when you're happy. It's almost like a snapshot of contentment.
'Meddle' is a great album.
i do adore this song most of all on the Meddle album. although echoes is wonderfully written, this song is more instrumentally beautiful. listening to this song reminds me of that wonderful time right before you go to sleep with the person you love right next to you. a complete release of stress from the mind. i love you pink floyd
I don't know where to start. I can't put this feeling into words. I love this song.