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 livin' in a devil town
Didn't know it was a devil town
Oh lord it really brings me down
About the devil town
And all my friends were vampires
Didn't know they were vampires
Turns out I was a vampire myself
In the devil town
I was livin' in a devil town
Didn't know it was a devil town
Oh lord it really brings me down
About the devil town
Didn't know it was a devil town
Oh lord it really brings me down
About the devil town
And all my friends were vampires
Didn't know they were vampires
Turns out I was a vampire myself
In the devil town
I was livin' in a devil town
Didn't know it was a devil town
Oh lord it really brings me down
About the devil town
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Light Up The Sky
Van Halen
Van Halen
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him.
There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
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.
If you've seen The Devil and Daniel Johnston, a documentary about his life, it talks about his problems. He was Manic Depressive (Bi Polar) and had delusions of Gradiose. He also suffered the paranioa that comes with such disorders and he believed that the devil was out to get him, that the devil was in the city of Austin, where he spent much time performing. He also was only able to write songs when he was not on medication, thus I take this song very literally. He believed demons were in everyone but him. Thus we have the vampires. xoxo
Yeah man, this is how I see this song. People are interpreting this as a song about drugs, but from what I've learned about his life, his devout Christianity and the frame of mind he was in around the creation of this song, I believe it's about the devil and how he believed the devil played so much influence on him and his music career and the demons he believed plagued and chased him
ive got a really good cover of this song that i like much more than the orginal but dan's lyrics say it all. i think its about realizing that drugs and your drug friends arent the best sort of people and that theres consequences to such hedonism.
^saladfingers^ u said it all. but are you talking about the bright eyes cover? i love them both. but u could never ever beat daniels vocals and the soul that he puts in his music
Right. Everyone but him. Exactly why he says "turns out I was a vampire myself." He wasn't being paranoid of everyone else, he was being paranoid of everything equally. I think. Maybe. I think.
That film also speaks of an incident in which daniel ran into a woman's house, and was arrested. He believed Satan had possesed him.
This is a beautiful song. Personally, i far prefer it to the bright eyes cover. Another of my very favourite songs.
using and taking from each other for our own evil benefit
"All this automatic writing, I have tried to understand..." I love Bright Eyes' cover of Devil Town. I believe Conner is a fan of that style of writing (as reflected in his own writing). To be honest it means a different thing for evey person. Every town is a Devil Town, for its own unique fucked up reason. And all of us and all our friends are "vampires" with our secret agendas and secret lives. We all have our secrets, every town every person. --- Trisha Lynn
cartoon cat's got it right on. agreed. the only reason i can think to why he'd say "turns out i was a vampire myself" is, i don't know. realization of things that hes done, i mean he slammed a lead pipe on his best friends head. he certainly could feel guilty and as he'd say "possessed" from doing these things.
I think Daniel was trying to reflect on a mixed bipolar episode he had experienced. I don't know that for sure, but that is how I connect with this song. For me, "They Live" was for real, the world was dark, and everyone was soulless. It wasn't a political statement, it was just an altered state of spiritual perception, that eerily still fit reality.
The song is about the bloodgroup Rhesus Negative, he was RH-, so were all his friends.
for more info and an insight into what Daniel is talking about goto wakeup.to/themeaningoflife