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.
[ILSE]
And all shall fade
The flowers of spring
The world and all the sorrow
At the heart of everything
But still it stays
The butterfly sings
And opens purple summer
With a flutter of its wings
[ALL]
The earth will wave with corn
The gray-fly choir will mourn
And mares will neigh
With stallions that they mate
Foals they've borne
And all shall know the wonder
Of purple summer
And yet, I wait
The swallow brings
A song to hard to follow
That no one else can sing
The fences sway
The porches swing
The clouds begin to thunder
Crickets wander, murmuring
The earth will wave with corn
The gray-fly choir will mourn
And mares will neigh
With stallions that they mate
Foals they've borne
And all shall know the wonder
I will sing the song of purple summer
And all shall know the wonder
I will sing the song of purple summer
All shall know the wonder of purple summer
And all shall fade
The flowers of spring
The world and all the sorrow
At the heart of everything
But still it stays
The butterfly sings
And opens purple summer
With a flutter of its wings
[ALL]
The earth will wave with corn
The gray-fly choir will mourn
And mares will neigh
With stallions that they mate
Foals they've borne
And all shall know the wonder
Of purple summer
And yet, I wait
The swallow brings
A song to hard to follow
That no one else can sing
The fences sway
The porches swing
The clouds begin to thunder
Crickets wander, murmuring
The earth will wave with corn
The gray-fly choir will mourn
And mares will neigh
With stallions that they mate
Foals they've borne
And all shall know the wonder
I will sing the song of purple summer
And all shall know the wonder
I will sing the song of purple summer
All shall know the wonder of purple summer
Lyrics submitted by manprettys_panties
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
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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.
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
we sang this song for graduation! aw! it's soooo beautiful!!
I've never seen this musical but my aunt has and she has the CD so I've heard the songs. I'm guessing this song is about their "spring awakening" but all I know is it's really pretty!!!
I can back up what Kajosa said, it's on some official website. Adolescent-adult=spring-summer and purple summer is a flower. All of that's referenced through the play a ton (flowers & seasons).
Some parts of this song I hate, but everytime they go into the harmony on "stallions" I ignore the random reference of corn because it's so beautiful.
This song is completely about bridging the gap between adolescence and adulthood, and good job on catching the season metaphor. But the lyrics are not just some random stew of vegetables. The idea of corn is that no matter what happens corn will stay standing, even if it is dead and there are no ears in it, creating an adamant figure in the subtext. And as you know, vegetables go in and out of season, just as everything else. And yes the Purple Summer is a flower that blooms in summer instead of spring. The main meaning behind this song is that although there are trials and tribulations throughout life, things will become good again, no matter how sad.
The "Mares will niegh/with stallions that they mate" refers to a line earlier in the play where one of the characters talks about how mares and stallions aren't ashamed of their sexuality.
I thought the mare will neigh with stallions that they mate, foals theyve born, refers to Melchior, Wendela, and their unborn child. How they will always be together, whether dead or alive.
I saw the musical with a class, so I got to attend a Talk-back, and one of the actors said that they found out that Purple summer is a flower purported to grow in graveyards. Fitting since two characters die and the musical ends in a graveyard.
the reference to corn is because even if you cut of the actual corn, the stalk will go on living and grow back again. i still dont kno what "gray-fly choir" is supposed to mean. does anyone? oh by the way, if you have never seen this musical, you definitely should at some point in your life. ive seen it like 5 times. its the best!
A song to hard to follow That no one else can sing
what does this line spesifically mean?
I think it's saying that no one can tell you when you are growing into adulthood; that it's something that you have to figure out on your own.
I got from that "A song to hard to follow" was the how difficult it was to know what would happen next in your growth from adolescence to adulthood. "That know one else can sing" means that it is something YOU have to experience, no one else can do it for you. It is different for every person.
Purple Summer is a common name for Phlox paniculata, also known as "The King" for some reason. It blooms from around July until sometime in the fall, unlike most flowers that bloom in the springtime. This probably helps to symbolize the idea that the characters are growing. Think about it... "Spring" Awakening, and then the last song talking about a flower that blooms in summer...
the purple flower you so often see Ilse holding is a purple summer flower