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.
Felonius my old friend
Step on in and let me shake your hand
So glad that you're here again
For one more time
Let your madness run with mine
Streets still unseen we'll find somehow
No time is better than now
CHORUS:
Tell me where are you driving
Midnight cruiser
Where is your bounty
Of fortune and fame
I am another
Gentlemen loser
Drive me to Harlem
Or somewhere the same
The world that we used to know
People tell me it don't turn no more
The places we used to go
Familiar faces that ain't smilin' like before
The time of our time has come and gone
I fear we been waiting too long
CHORUS
Step on in and let me shake your hand
So glad that you're here again
For one more time
Let your madness run with mine
Streets still unseen we'll find somehow
No time is better than now
CHORUS:
Tell me where are you driving
Midnight cruiser
Where is your bounty
Of fortune and fame
I am another
Gentlemen loser
Drive me to Harlem
Or somewhere the same
The world that we used to know
People tell me it don't turn no more
The places we used to go
Familiar faces that ain't smilin' like before
The time of our time has come and gone
I fear we been waiting too long
CHORUS
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings, edited by amigi
Midnight Cruiser Lyrics as written by Walter Carl Becker Donald Jay Fagen
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Royalty Network
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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.
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
This song is about passing your prime without accomplishing anything.
The first verse is really about the singer hoping to rediscover old avenues of fortune and inspiration from his younger days, when he was in his prime and all avenues seemed open to him.
The chorus rips on the people who should have been famous for being so artistic and with it and hip all that. The singer self-identifies as one of these "gentlemen losers", with all the posture and none of the necessary substance of action. So he asks to be taken to Harlem or wherever the hip place is now so he can attempt his great reconnection.
Last verse is talking about how all the stuff that was going on when it was cool to be doing what the singer is still doing - i.e. that whole world - is gone. The people, the sense of fortune, etc. It wasn't just a matter of the singer choosing to take part in the world, it was about the juxtaposition of the opportunities with the willingness to take them.
The coup de gras, the killer line of it all, is: "The time of our time has come and gone/I fear we been waiting too long." Like, literally, the years of the singer's invincibility and inspiration are behind him, and all those doors are closed to him now, and he squandered it because he never thought those doors would close.
@idunnowhat I know this may sound a bit obtuse, but the song is about a car - nothing really existential, just a car cruising through NYC.
@idunnowhat
@idunnowhat New here but, after reading your interpretation of Midnight Cruiser, I thought how ironic that, as good as your take sounds, this is actually SD’s first album and they had so many excellent ones. But maybe Fagen is just an excellent songwriter that it’s his character’s stories. <br />
@idunnowhat I created an account just to say that your comment is exceptionally perceptive and well-written.
Your painfully bad YourGoldTeeth, a real SD fan would recognize that Can't Buy A Thrill is one of the best albums
It is Felonius not Thelonius as in Monk ~ buy the album the lyrics are on it. Geez
I think the song is pretty self explanatory guys meet up and have a good time or what they perceive to be a good time......maybe a bit sarcastic in the lyrics
Felonious vs. Thelonius is a mini-controversy in itself. <br /> Thelonius immediately brings associations of the jazz musician and jazz culture, while "Felonious" connotes crime and low-grade thuggery. Cognate with "felony".<br /> The problem is that not everyone buys the album - and the singer slurs and lisps a lot so that Felonious sounds like Thelonius the way he pronounces it.
"I am another gentleman loser". Fagan is the kind of guy who would make me honored to call me that. To be a loser is easy -- to be a gentleman loser is to know the sweet and the bitter.
is it?
This song has such a great guitar solo and duet.We used to listen to this riding the back roads back in the day all smoked up, late at night, young and thinking we were bullet proof party animals.
this is clearly about a Cab driver in NYC
god this was one of my favorite SD songs growing up...stil is =)
but yeah i agree with A_Mick - can't buy a thrill is amazing
It could be that it's about a man who returns to a life of crime.
"Felonius" is the criminal intent and the name of this archetypcal friend
Maye a prequel to "turn that heartbeat over again' ?
But then again it could just mean that he's just reunited with his old buddy that he used to hang with in the old days (a fellow Deacon Blues)
@TribeVoice Thelonius is likely Thelonious Monk, a famous jazz musician.
Fagan idolized Thelonious Monk. He even played on a 1984 tribute album for this amazing jazz artist. Midnight Cruiser is absolutely about Monk....don't let the spelling fool you.
@4everautumn I agree, I believe its refering to "Thelonius Monk" Round Midnight was his biggest Hit I believe, But with most songs it's what you associate it with in your life.