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.
Don't leave us
They said that you had gone astray
Don't lead us
Away from the light
We stood behind the veil and watched you walk away from us
You shattered all our dreams in one fatal mistake
You fractured every piece of life that we cared about, remember how
You breathed in us new life and then you took it away, you'll never live that down
I gave you every guiding word to cut it off, cut it off, cut it off, cut it off
Now you hand me back the blade to make that first incision for you
[Chorus]
Wait and see
The weight of life may be the end of me; the tension, break me
We held you up on high so why did you abandon us?
We never thought you'd be the one to fall so far
You fractured every piece of life that we cared about, remember how
You breathed in us new life and then you took it away, you'll never live that down
I gave you every guiding word to cut it off, cut it off, cut it off, cut it off
Now you hand me back the blade to make that first incision for you
For you
[Chorus]
They said that you had gone astray
Don't lead us
Away from the light
We stood behind the veil and watched you walk away from us
You shattered all our dreams in one fatal mistake
You fractured every piece of life that we cared about, remember how
You breathed in us new life and then you took it away, you'll never live that down
I gave you every guiding word to cut it off, cut it off, cut it off, cut it off
Now you hand me back the blade to make that first incision for you
[Chorus]
Wait and see
The weight of life may be the end of me; the tension, break me
We held you up on high so why did you abandon us?
We never thought you'd be the one to fall so far
You fractured every piece of life that we cared about, remember how
You breathed in us new life and then you took it away, you'll never live that down
I gave you every guiding word to cut it off, cut it off, cut it off, cut it off
Now you hand me back the blade to make that first incision for you
For you
[Chorus]
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
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
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,
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
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.
I think it might be about idolizing people or material things, not God, and how you'll always be let down by it.
I think that this song is stating a veiw of someone that you hold as the perfect Christian and seems to be sheding light on life but in the end they turn out to be just another hypocrite in a stained-glass masquerade and they dont even have the ability to help themselves much less someone else.
Indeed. Aggree partialy. It's about someone who was quite the believer and was leading the others, he was very influencial and stuff. Now he walked away, but I don't think it's about how helpless he is now. ;)
The verses do seem to be talking about someone people have put much faith in only to be disappointed or lied to, but then when it gets to the chorus it seems to change.
I gave you every guiding word to cut it off; And now you hand me back the blade to make the first incision for you
This sounds like it's from God's perspective, like he's saying: If you want to be rid of your sin, you have to be the one to "cut it off", in other words, "handing us the blades". But then we chicken out and hand him back the blade to make the first incision.
That's what I've always thought about the song, but could never find a link between the verses and chorus.
What I have come to believe this song is about is that it is about Lucifer (Satan, The Devil, The Deciever, etc.) being cast out of Heaven and into Hell, but it is told, for the most part, through the point of view of the angels in Heaven
Lucifer was God's most beautiful angel. What has led me to the conclusion that this song is about Lucifer is that Lucifer was cast down into Hell for trying to rebel against God (the part about falling so far). Lucifer was held on high by the angels, the angels looked up to him, but then when he tried to rebel against God, the angels saw Lucifer for who he truly was, a deciever. The angels soon realized that the one angel that they had thought was the greatest of them all had gone astray and had abandoned them for what he had done.
This is the conclusion that I have come to due to the lyrics of this song, and I am not saying that my interpretation is correct, but this is just what I believe is the correct meaning due to the conclusions I have made due to the song lyrics.
Here's the song meaning from Ryan Clark from: bandsonfire.com/spip.php
"Incision deals with putting people on a pedestal. Often times, people like to think of certain others as immovable or unfailing, and they look to these people for a perfect example at all times. No human, aside from Jesus, should ever be looked at in that way. That kind of thinking will only bring disappointment and confusion.
This song explores two different perspectives. The perspective of someone who has been disappointed by someone that they thought was supposed to live a perfect life, and that person who might have failed them. The pressure that may accumulate from a situation like this is bound to break a person. True hope should only be placed in Christ, and no man. Christ will never fail you. Man will always fail you.
"It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man." - Psalms 118: 8"
Agreed in a kinda different way as everyone else. Someone or a group of people following someone as a good Christian or good Christian figure and than that person turns around and leads them "astray" or in the wrong direction.