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 was in heaven
I was in hell
Believe in neither
But fear them as well
This one's a doctor
This one's a lawyer
This one's a cash fiend
Taking your money
Back of the metro
Ride on the greyhound
Drunk on the Amtrak
Please shut up
Another rider
He was a talker
Talking about TV
Please shut up
This one's a crazer
Daydreaming disaster
The origin of junk food
Rutting through garbage
Tasty but worthless
Dogs eat their own shit
We're doing the cockroach yeah
Doin' the cockroach yeah
Doin' the cockroach yeah (alright, not bad)
Doin' the cockroach yeah (alright, not bad)
Doin' the cockroach yeah (alright, not bad)
One year
Twenty years
Forty years
Fifty years
Down the road in your life
You'll look in the mirror
And say, "My parents are still alive."
You move your mouth
You shake your tongue
You vibrate my eardrums
You're saying words
But you know I ain't listening
You're walking down the street
Your face
Your lips
Your hips
Your eyes
They meet
You're not hungry though
Well late last winter
Down below the equator
They had a summer that would make you blister
Oh my mind is all made up
So I'll have to sleep in it
So I'll have to sleep in it
So I'll have to sleep in it
I was in hell
Believe in neither
But fear them as well
This one's a doctor
This one's a lawyer
This one's a cash fiend
Taking your money
Back of the metro
Ride on the greyhound
Drunk on the Amtrak
Please shut up
Another rider
He was a talker
Talking about TV
Please shut up
This one's a crazer
Daydreaming disaster
The origin of junk food
Rutting through garbage
Tasty but worthless
Dogs eat their own shit
We're doing the cockroach yeah
Doin' the cockroach yeah
Doin' the cockroach yeah (alright, not bad)
Doin' the cockroach yeah (alright, not bad)
Doin' the cockroach yeah (alright, not bad)
One year
Twenty years
Forty years
Fifty years
Down the road in your life
You'll look in the mirror
And say, "My parents are still alive."
You move your mouth
You shake your tongue
You vibrate my eardrums
You're saying words
But you know I ain't listening
You're walking down the street
Your face
Your lips
Your hips
Your eyes
They meet
You're not hungry though
Well late last winter
Down below the equator
They had a summer that would make you blister
Oh my mind is all made up
So I'll have to sleep in it
So I'll have to sleep in it
So I'll have to sleep in it
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I think that this song is about how one life is no different than any other. A very negative existential point of view. It's important to note that a cockroach is a prehistoric insect that has been around forever just doing the same thing and just won't go away. He's saying that everyone is just "Doin the Cockroach" and just living for years and years never really changing what they're doing. When he says,
This one's a doctor This one's a lawyer This one's a cash feed
He's expressing that all these people are no different than eachother because life is meaningless and they're all going to end up in the same place.
the first line,
was in heaven I was in hell Believe in neither But fear them as well
This shows that he is unsure of the existence of these but tries to live as if they exist. This is an existential view that further proves that he believes life is meaningless.
I could go in more detail about the lyric with the years and the lyric when he says "he's not listenting" but it would basically be rehashing what I've already stated.
Oh my mind is all made up So I'll have to sleep in it
brillliant line
i love when he says "please shut up!" great song, makes me wanna get up and do the cockroach even tho i ahve no idea what the hell it is.
and yeah I like scalewagjim's interpretation...I didn't think of the cockroach part as anything significant, but now that I think about it it makes a lot of sense.
"I was in heaven I was in hell Believe in neither But fear them as well" Those are my favorite lines
def my current fav song. i can't get enough of MM. i really hope i'll see them live one day before i die
The "please shut up" part makes me think of Brak. I believe I'm seeing a pattern here.
TheoReo:
"One year Twenty years Forty years Fifty years Down the road in your life You'll look in the mirror And say, "My parents are still alive."
I think it means that even though your parents are dead and gone, and you're aging.. you're turning into your parents. You look in the mirror and your reflection isn't what you thought it would be, you're not different, you're just like everything was before you. Just like the point of the song.. no one is different, we all live the same, do the same things; that's the way it is now and that's the way it's going to be forever. Sorry, kinda wordy...
the cockroach is the lowest on the chain. the scum of the earth
amazing song.
Great song. No comments though...
This song is the best Modest Mouse song. It is the first one I heard and yeah, Modest Mouse is cool.