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 junkie walking through the twilight
I'm on my way home
I left three days ago, but no one seems to know I'm gone
Home is where the hatred is
Home is filled with pain and it,
Might not be such a bad idea if I never, never went home again
Stand as far away from me as you can and ask me why
Hang on to your rosary beads
Close your eyes to watch me die
You keep saying, kick it, quit it, kick it, quit it
God, but did you ever try
To turn your sick soul inside out
So that the world, so that the world
Can watch you die
Home is where I live inside my white powder dreams
Home was once an empty vacuum that's filled now with my silent screams
Home is where the needle marks
Try to heal my broken heart
And it might not be such a bad idea if I never, if I never went home again
Home again
Home again
Home again
Kick it, quit it
Kick it, quit it
Kick it, quit it
Kick it, can't go home again
I'm on my way home
I left three days ago, but no one seems to know I'm gone
Home is where the hatred is
Home is filled with pain and it,
Might not be such a bad idea if I never, never went home again
Stand as far away from me as you can and ask me why
Hang on to your rosary beads
Close your eyes to watch me die
You keep saying, kick it, quit it, kick it, quit it
God, but did you ever try
To turn your sick soul inside out
So that the world, so that the world
Can watch you die
Home is where I live inside my white powder dreams
Home was once an empty vacuum that's filled now with my silent screams
Home is where the needle marks
Try to heal my broken heart
And it might not be such a bad idea if I never, if I never went home again
Home again
Home again
Home again
Kick it, quit it
Kick it, quit it
Kick it, quit it
Kick it, can't go home again
Lyrics submitted by red_chords
Home Is Where the Hatred Is Lyrics as written by Gil Scott-heron
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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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.
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"Home is where the hatred is"
That is one incredible line, so much meaning there, and such a clever play on words...Respect, man, respect
i'm not at all into funk or anything like that, straight punkska and hardcore. but damn i love this song. so much damn meaning to it. "home is where the needle marks try to heal my broken heart." that line got me alot. i got a couple of my friends to listen to it and not try to criticize but to just listen. it was freakin' moving as hell. its amazing, i love this song. anyways, this song is just about how gil scott hated the city he lived in and didn't feel like he could go back, andi think he moved away from all the bad influences later.
This some is about how he was addicted to Herion
Fantastic poem about a junkie who came from a bad place and is now in an infinitely worse one. The last line is ambiguous, hopeful and doomed, likely on purpose - can he quit, or is he ready to give up and die?
You can't change things you might want to change, if you don't have the support structure around you to do that. It might be because you're surrounded by people who just don't support you no matter what, or it might be that you're surrounded by people who don't want to change themselves (like if you want to quit smoking but your whole family smokes). Change is hard and scary.
Thelastpunkkid, I think its a bit deeper than simply hating 'the city he came from'
Personally I think home is very specific to Gil's own parental home. I think it was a place of great misery to him, which perhaps led him to turn to drugs, which made the situation worse as he was then outcast by his parents and given no support.
" stand as far away from me as you can and ask me why hang on to your rosary beads close your eyes to watch me die you keep saying, kick it, quit it, kick it, quit it"
You dig?
His parents, perhaps conservative and religious, couldnt accept him, they looked on in fear from a distance and simply turned their backs on him until such time as he kicked the addiction.
No offence mate but I think you should probably do some research about Gil before you start typing rubbish about his family background and his childhood. Gil's parents seemed decent people - his dad played football for Glasgow Celtic FC! Anyway he actually lived with his Gran until she died and then moved back with his mother. He was granted a scholarship to a well known private school! Hardly a tough upbringing. <br /> <br /> Not all songs are written in the first person you know - perhaps he was trying to describe how things are for other people who are in that situation?
I believe his 'home' is his addiction.
"home is where i live inside my white powder dreams home was once an empty vacuum that's filled now with my silent screams home is where the needle marks try to heal my broken heart"
"and it might not be such a bad idea if i never, if i never went home again"
And while it's easy to say "kick it, quit it," physically it's not that simple, but he does know it would be best to quit.
But as iterated below... He can't kick it, can't go home again
These lyrics sound like they could have been written by some mopey, adolescent angst-fueled teenager.
BUT, this guy makes them sound real. Love it. It's always interesting when you find a song that reads like it could have been written in 2011. He sings it with this understated emotion, making it hard not to be moved...unlike some other bands lately that come off as whiny and attention-seeking.
Gil Scott Heron was an amazing writer and conveyer of words, and it's a fucking shame that the only reason I'm aware of him is by hearing the news of his death.