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.
How lovely a find
That's entered my mind
Along this mossy trail
How coiley it hides
The truth about how it is
We can't ask how
Crowds jump to their death
From the bridge as I drive by tonight
And they've missed out on it all
The whole gist there as they fall
You're not expected to know why it's such a short time
And there are stanzas never meant to rhyme
Far better I find
It is when we try to span
The weird divide
With no real notion
We step out of bounds
And think and escape their lies
We've marched so long
And we've much farther than we've got to go
We're making a new ship
Christen it for the trip
With a toddler at the helm this time
And there are things we will never will define
Crowds jump to their deaths
From the bridge as I drive by tonight
And they missed out on it all
The whole gist there as they fall
You're not expected to know why it's such a short time
And there are things we will never will define
That's entered my mind
Along this mossy trail
How coiley it hides
The truth about how it is
We can't ask how
Crowds jump to their death
From the bridge as I drive by tonight
And they've missed out on it all
The whole gist there as they fall
You're not expected to know why it's such a short time
And there are stanzas never meant to rhyme
Far better I find
It is when we try to span
The weird divide
With no real notion
We step out of bounds
And think and escape their lies
We've marched so long
And we've much farther than we've got to go
We're making a new ship
Christen it for the trip
With a toddler at the helm this time
And there are things we will never will define
Crowds jump to their deaths
From the bridge as I drive by tonight
And they missed out on it all
The whole gist there as they fall
You're not expected to know why it's such a short time
And there are things we will never will define
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Light Up The Sky
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Fast Car
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"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.
The Night We Met
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Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
Here are the correct lyrics to this brilliant song:
Sphagnum Esplanade
sphag·num (sf?g'n?m)
n. Any of various pale or ashy mosses of the genus Sphagnum, the decomposed remains of which form peat.
es·pla·nade (?s'pl?-näd', -n?d')
n. A flat open stretch of pavement or grass, especially one designed as a promenade along a shore.
How lovely i find what's entered my mind along this mossy trail how coyly it hides the truth about how it is we can't ask how crowds jump to their deaths from the bridges i drive by tonight they miss out on it all, the whole gist there as they fall you're not expected to know why in such a short time and there are stanzas never meant to rhyme
Far better i find it is when we try to span the weird divide with no real rationale we step out of bounds and think and escape their lie
We've marched so long and we've much farther than we've gone to go we'll make a new ship and christen it for the trip with a toddler at the helm this time and there are things we never will define
crowds jump to their deaths from the bridges i drive by tonight they missed out on it all, the whole gist there as they fall you're not expected to know why in such a short time and there are things we never will define
A few minor lyric corrections to what the person above me wrote: Crowds jump to their deaths from the bridge AS I drive by tonight; and We've marched so long and we've much farther THAT WE"VE GOT to go
With that said... I just gave this song my first close, careful listen tonight, and it is striking me so hard right now that it might just be my new favorite song. To me, this song is about how everyone tries to find an answer to everything in life, what they're supposed to do, how things are supposed to turn out for them and why, why we're here, etc. but there is no way to really know and that's what's beautiful about life: maybe we're not supposed to know or maybe even we CAN'T figure those things out and shouldn't try, and by accepting this we can truly be free. I find this song truly liberating. In my own life, I've been kinda feeling like the speaker in Spilt Needles, someone who is growing up and is being asked to decide on a direction in life and just feels lost, "like I'm perched on the handlebars, of a blind man's bike." Maybe instead of trying so hard to figure out why and how certain things in my life happened the way they did and instead of trying to come up with an answer now to what my life is going to be, I should just live life and not stress out about those things. That's the effect this song is having on me right now.
its about discovering the meaning of life
this song is SO beautiful (i know, i know, how cliche is that?) but seriously. it gives me goosebumps. I think its about trying to find a way to get through life "successfully"
that and pink bullets. the shins have some strange infatuation with moss :)
"You're not expected to know why in such a short time" This is exactly how I feel. I love this song, even though it sounds a little weird.
Well it seems like it has a transcendentalist notion to it. And among an old natural setting the singer realizes people spend too much time analyzing things in life and life itself to fully enjoy it. And that maybe you're not supposed to figure it out. People kill themselves over things that will only matter to them in their short lifetime or maybe thats metaphorical for obsessing over something or somone. While we try to find a new way of figuring things out we may let someone or something with innocence guide us. (toddler at the helm) and help us acheive a certain enlightenment.
James Mercer, I think, is somewhat of a transcendentalist; an example would be this song and also the saint simon video(walking through a forest)
I definitely heard this song played (probably more than once) at the Cirque Du Soleil show Corteo a few weeks ago.
otherworldly
and unique