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.
No, I'm not color blind
I know the world is black and white
I try to keep an open mind
But I just can't sleep on this, tonight
Stop this train
I want to get off and go home again
I can't take the speed it's moving in
I know I can't
But, honestly, won't someone stop this train?
Don't know how else to say it
I don't want to see my parents go
One generation's length away
From fighting life out on my own
Stop this train
I want to get off and go home again
I can't take the speed it's moving in
I know I can't
But, honestly, won't someone stop this train?
So scared of getting older
I'm only good at being young
So I play the numbers game
To find a way to say that life has just begun
Had a talk with my old man
Said, "Help me understand"
He said, "Turn sixty-eight
You'll renegotiate"
"Don't stop this train
Don't for a minute change the place you're in
And don't think I couldn't ever understand
I tried my hand
John, honestly, we'll never stop this train"
Once in a while, when it's good
It'll feel like it should
When you're all still around
And you're still safe and sound
And you don't miss a thing
'Till you cry when you're driving away in the dark
Singing, stop this train
I want to get off and go home again
I can't take the speed it's moving in
I know, I can't
'Cause now I see I'll never stop this train.
I know the world is black and white
I try to keep an open mind
But I just can't sleep on this, tonight
Stop this train
I want to get off and go home again
I can't take the speed it's moving in
I know I can't
But, honestly, won't someone stop this train?
Don't know how else to say it
I don't want to see my parents go
One generation's length away
From fighting life out on my own
Stop this train
I want to get off and go home again
I can't take the speed it's moving in
I know I can't
But, honestly, won't someone stop this train?
So scared of getting older
I'm only good at being young
So I play the numbers game
To find a way to say that life has just begun
Had a talk with my old man
Said, "Help me understand"
He said, "Turn sixty-eight
You'll renegotiate"
"Don't stop this train
Don't for a minute change the place you're in
And don't think I couldn't ever understand
I tried my hand
John, honestly, we'll never stop this train"
Once in a while, when it's good
It'll feel like it should
When you're all still around
And you're still safe and sound
And you don't miss a thing
'Till you cry when you're driving away in the dark
Singing, stop this train
I want to get off and go home again
I can't take the speed it's moving in
I know, I can't
'Cause now I see I'll never stop this train.
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The first time I heard this song was just a few days ago, just after a good friend of mine died at the age of 18. This song is just so emotional for me and means so much. The line "so scared of getting older, i'm only good at being young" hits me the hardest. I'm leaving for college in 2 weeks and even though I've hardly lived, I have lived in such a deep way by having to experience the loss of a friend. It's an awkward position to be in, but this song sums it up so, so well.
Around the time I heard this song, a Japanese exchange student introduced me to another song "Yell" - <br /> <br /> "Goodbye isn't a sad word<br /> It's a YELL that connects us to our respective dreams<br /> I'll hold the days we spent together in my heart<br /> And fly towards my own sky."<br /> <br /> youtube.com/watch (video)<br /> oneesama.blogspot.com/2009/10/ikimono-gakari-yell.html (English lyrics)<br /> <br /> PERSEVERE ON THIS AND BE REWARDED
@nwc13 You said "the line 'so scared of getting older, i'm only good at being young' hits [you] the hardest" and you posted that as you were entering college, presumably in your 20s.<br /> <br /> Well, I'm here to tell you that it also hits me hard, and I'm 66! I still think of myself as young, still exploring, and still growing... even though the rest of the world assumes I'm waaay past that!<br /> <br /> I've shared this song with my two adult sons, age 31 and 34, and asked them if they related to the line "I don't want to see my parents go / One generation's length away<br /> / From fighting life out on my own." They really don't sense that yet, but I know I may only have a decade left, when that will hit them. I remember how my life changed when my parents passed ~12 years ago. It was a mixed bag of emotion, but the break in my sense of continuity and security was undeniable, as JM tells us in this song.<br /> <br /> This song can sometimes make me mist up, which surprises my sons. To them, it's just another kinda interesting song among the thousands that flit across their thoughts. Some day it may boomerang back into their consciousness and make them realize they've also crossed the generational divide and that the passage of time is relentless... Truly, "we'll never stop this train."
once in a while when it's good it'll feel like it should and they're all still around and you're still safe and sound and you don't miss a thing so you cry when you're driving away in the dark.
singing stop this train i want to get off and go home again i can't take this speed it's moving in i know i can but now i see we'll never stop this train
These lines in the song immediately make me think of my children. They live with their Mum and I am now resinged to being a weekend Dad. Difficult breakup 6 years ago etc, etc. Each 2nd Sunday evening I take them back to their house and I act all brave and cool, dropping them off with a cheery smile etc, all false - but i dont want them seeing 'Dad' depressed or upset.
And I save the real feelings for the drive home, yes, sometimes crying, often just lost in the traffic.
When they come round to mine it's like being normal again, I get to be Dad again, fixing dinner, fixing bikes, fixing squabbles, I can see them , hear them , talk to them and they are safe again with me, -it feels like it should so to speak- and I dont miss them as they are right there....and then comes the inevitable drive back to their Mums and I drive home alone wishing it was different, knowing it cant be, and deep down wanting to get off the emotional train, but I stay on as it will take me to the next weekend when I see them....and we're all safe and sound once again.
@threetones Hi, I just made an account to reply to your comment because my heart went out for you. I cannot say I have been in your shoes but I just felt the need to reply to this because it was so heartfelt. I feel everyone now and then deserves to know they've been heard. I've been told suffering is for everyone, just the degree differs. Stay strong, I bet life will work out somehow.
Same here, Joanne of mine. I WANT to go to college and grow up. But at the same time I'm scared to death to leave the nice comfortable life that I have now. What if my life in the future never matches up to my hopes and dreams? Change is a scary thing.
this is probably the best song on the album i think. its so sad.... and i cna sort of relate to it, sometimes... it just makes me sad,.. but happy at the same time. i can't describe. i love john... he's the best
Greaaat song, the album is so good.
I think that on the album version he says "Don't for a minute chase this place you're in" rather than "Don't follow it moves the place you're in"
aww, john is so cute (in response to what wokeupinacar posted). this song is amazing. the way i look at it is this: life moves fast. sometimes you feel like it's moving too fast and you just wish you could hit the pause button. growing up is scary and a lot of changes come with it, and sometimes you just want to stay where you are.
but the "had a talk with my old man" stanza suggests that when you're older, you'll realize how much you learn and how much experience you get in the process of growing up. so don't quit, just live your life and enjoy it. be happy where you are.
i also love the end of this song when his voice gets higher...it makes me wanna cry.
i'm obsessed with continuum right now :)
"one generation's length away from fighting life out on my own"...it is the one line that sums up what I constantly feel. I feel that I've finally reached that point of accepting my life the way it is, and loving the way it is, but at the same time I cannot accept the eventuality of what my life would be like without my parents. It's beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time, to finally realize the unconditional love my parents have for me, and to wonder if I could ever have that capacity to do the same...I'm staying on this train.
This was tear-jerker No.3 for me. Especially the part where he says "Don't know how else to say it, don't want to see my parents go".I feel that way for my parents, especially mom. I don't know what life would be like without her. I don't want to know. John also says, "so afraid of getting older i'm only good at being young". I know how he feels. I'm so scared of being away from my mom, staying in one job for the rest of your life, getting laid off from that job, getting married, having kids, becoming the same parent my dad is or being less than what a great mom my mom is, fights with my kids...ALL THAT STUFF SCARES THE CRAP OUT OF ME. I wish I could just go back to the time dad and I were ok, and I was great in school and my cousins were here and my mom was happy and young...
We're all afraid of getting older. I know I am.
But I love the sudden realization "don't stop this train don't for a minute change the place you're in". He says, be fortunate with where you are now. Take advantage of this time. Don't wish that you were older or younger. (You know how children always want to grow up).
so cool to be sharing these words.. and yeah.. is like how he says on another song: the quarter life crisis, just before turning 30.. the feeling you can´t do other than accepting you are becoming a "grown up".. just when you are enjoying being young the most.. love the live version in Where the light is.. such an intimate message.. impossible not to empathize with such a statement..
To me this song is about the angst and unfamiliarity that comes with moving into unknown parts of life. The fact that no matter what, we can't stop a day from turning into a week, a year from turning into a decade, etc., can seem a little intimidating and disheartening. As humans we only know what we've experienced, and the idea of having to readjust and move forward without any regard for personal desire can be downright terrifying. While some people are just now "boarding the train" and beginning the human experience, others have been aboard for awhile and their "train ride" is gradually coming to a close as the natural cycle of life continues irrevocably.
“Stop This Train” is a song by John Mayer that captures the anxiety of a younger adult as they look forward in life. The opening lyric “no I’m not colorblind / I know the world is black and white” alludes to the naivety of the narrator, and with that, his young age as well. He feels that he lives in a world of right and wrong, with no grey areas. Despite his confidence in the world, he feels as though life is moving too quickly. “Stop this train,” he says, “I want to get off and go home again / I can’t take the speed it’s moving in.” The narrator is overwhelmed by the speed and process of growing up, wishing he could find life’s pause button and stop moving forward into a world of increased responsibility. Further, the narrator expresses his anxiety about seeing his parents grow older: “don’t know how else to say it / I don’t want to see my parents go.” He feels vulnerable, realizing that he is “one generation’s length away / from fighting life out on [his] own.” This train that is moving him perpetually forward is also carrying his parents, and he realizes that, some day soon, they will be leaving him behind to fend for himself. The narrator is “so scared of getting older,” because he’s “only good at being young.” His anxiety over the quick pace that life is moving forward inspires him to speak with his father for comfort and guidance. “Turn sixty-eight,” his dad replies, “you’ll renegotiate . . . don’t for a minute change the place you’re in.” In his older age, his father has come to terms with the uncontrollable passage of time, choosing to embrace the present and welcome the future. His father’s understanding stems from his own experiences. “. . . don’t think I couldn’t ever understand / I tried my hand . . . we’ll never stop this train,” says his father. It is evident that the anxiety felt by the narrator was once felt by his father as well, and that as he got older he was able to come to terms with life and it’s stubborn forwards path. Despite his father’s advice, the narrator continues his plea to “stop this train”: his anxiety about growing older is more than any advice from his father can fix.