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.
There's a picture on my kitchen wall
Looks like Jesus and his friends involved
There's a party getting started in the yard
There's a couple getting steamy in the car parked in the drive
Was I too young to see this with my eyes?
By the pool last night, apparently
The chemicals weren't mixed properly
You hit your head and then forgot your name
And then you woke up at the bottom by the drain
And now your altitude and memory's a shame
What about taking this empty cup and filling it up
With a little bit more of innocence
I haven't had enough, it's probably because when you're young
It's okay to be easily ignored
I like to believe it was all about love for a child
And when the house was left in shambles
Who was there to handle all the broken bits of glass
Was it mom who put my dad out on his ass or the other way around
Well I'm far too old to care about that now
What about taking this empty cup and filling it up
With a little bit more of innocence
I haven't had enough, it's probably because when you're young
It's okay to be easily ignored
I like to believe it was all about love for a child
It's kinda nice to work the floor since the divorce
I've been enjoying both my Christmases and my birthday cakes
And taking drugs and making love at far too young an age
And they never check to see my grades
What a fool I'd be to start complaining now
What about taking this empty cup and filling it up
With a little bit more of innocence
I haven't had enough, it's probably because when you're young
It's okay to be easily ignored
I like to believe it was all about love for a child
It was all about love
Looks like Jesus and his friends involved
There's a party getting started in the yard
There's a couple getting steamy in the car parked in the drive
Was I too young to see this with my eyes?
By the pool last night, apparently
The chemicals weren't mixed properly
You hit your head and then forgot your name
And then you woke up at the bottom by the drain
And now your altitude and memory's a shame
What about taking this empty cup and filling it up
With a little bit more of innocence
I haven't had enough, it's probably because when you're young
It's okay to be easily ignored
I like to believe it was all about love for a child
And when the house was left in shambles
Who was there to handle all the broken bits of glass
Was it mom who put my dad out on his ass or the other way around
Well I'm far too old to care about that now
What about taking this empty cup and filling it up
With a little bit more of innocence
I haven't had enough, it's probably because when you're young
It's okay to be easily ignored
I like to believe it was all about love for a child
It's kinda nice to work the floor since the divorce
I've been enjoying both my Christmases and my birthday cakes
And taking drugs and making love at far too young an age
And they never check to see my grades
What a fool I'd be to start complaining now
What about taking this empty cup and filling it up
With a little bit more of innocence
I haven't had enough, it's probably because when you're young
It's okay to be easily ignored
I like to believe it was all about love for a child
It was all about love
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I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
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I think the picture of "Jesus and his friends" is actually "the last supper". It symbolizes betrayal and abandonment, so this represents the betrayal between his parents.
"taking drugs and making love at far too young an age" seems to correspond to the drug abusing problem and infidelity of his parents.
But I don't understand the meaning of "work the floor"... can anyone explain its meaning?
@heygirl You usually "work the floor" as the host of a party – making sure that everyone is introduced, has plenty of food and drink and is just generally comfortable and having a good time. I think in comparing himself to the host of a party, he's saying that it's left to him to try to patch up the weird new family dynamics that come with a divorce. Everything is different now and he's trying to make the most of it ("...both my Christmasses and my birthday cakes").<br /> <br /> The rest of the verse is him listing things that outwardly look like awesome things to the average kid, but he now looks back on and can see that they were pretty destructive (getting away with taking drugs and his parents being too preoccupied to check his grades).<br /> <br /> This song is probably the most real and honest song dealing with what it's like to be a kid in the middle of a divorce. I love it so much.
@heygirl it means talking to, and flirting with, every attractive girl that looks at him with the intent to pick them up and connect.
divorce, divorce, divorce
The obvious theme of this song definetly relates to Mraz's childhood and his parents' divorce. The chorus "empty cup....a little bit more of innocense" could refer to him looking back now on his childhood, and realizing that in a lot of areas, he grew up too fast. And because of his parents' divorce, it was easy for Mraz to get into drugs and stuff("easily ignored). He was forced to deal with things far beyond his maturity level and because of that got involved with drugs and such very young. Now that he acknowlages this, it's like in the chorus he's almost wishing he hadn't been exposed to all of it, and he want's his life(empty cup)- which has priorly been filled with not so innocent experiences- to now be filled with richer, more fufilling experiences.
How he would like to believe it was all about love for a child means, I think, that a lot of decisions parents make when they're getting divorced revolve around their children. A lot of couples stay together just for their kids, but also a lot of times they separate because they think that's what's best for their children. I'm relating to this from experience -- how it's easy to be ignored, especially when you're younger and your feelings are not exactly taken that seriously. The parents are all like, "We're doing this for you, we both love you so much and we just want you to always be happy," that it makes the kid feel guilty, and then confused when the parents kind of ignore the kid because they're dealing with their own divorce issues, legal and emotional. "Working the floor" is totally what happens during divorces, especially at the very beginning. Two Christmases, two birthday cakes, and the ability to keep a lot of things private because there aren't as many people involved in your life as consistently. You're left to your own devices and encounter a lot of things that are above your maturity level, and looking back, even though it was nice to get away with shit, what you dealt with at such a young age seems really unfair and almost inappropriate. And in the end, people say it's for the best because they made certain decisions, like moving out, or custody rules, or paying for everything 50/50, because they want to be happy but most of all they want you to be happy because they love you. It would be nice to think that, that it all revolved around you because they both loved you so much, but in the end you realize that although they wanted you to be happy, a lot of the decisions were made for themselves and they unfairly affected you.
for those of you confused with the beginning lyrics :here's a picture on my kitchen wall Looks like Jesus and his friends involved There's a party getting started in the yard There's a couple getting steamy in the car parked in the drive Was I too young to see this with my eyes?....
He is having a flashback..he is recalling his childhood..and he happens to be remembering certain details. He is basically setting up the story for the listener
this is completely my interpretation but i think the first verse is a little vague because he is understanding it from a child's perspective. i think the first line about the picture on his kitchen wall is referring to the irony that they display religious symbols but his parents are doing immoral things.
i think the next part about the people in the car is him seeing as a little boy, one of his parents cheating with someone.
also, i the next part about the chemicals and the pool is him recalling one of his parents explanations for drunkenness. the way he says "apparently" in the song makes me think that this is him recalling the story later in his life and realizing how ridiculous it is. i think one of his parents was drunk and passed out, hit his head, and passed out in the pool.
then the rest of the song is pretty self explanatory, but i also think he is being sarcastic when he is talking about the two christmases and birthday cakes.
yh i think u're totally right.Jason is being sarcast.he also does it when he says "i'd like to believe it's all about love for a child". he simply means that he didn't get that special love kids get from their parents.
So here is my interpretation
There's a picture on my kitchen wall Looks like Jesus and his friends involved (The Last Supper, just like Jesus's last day, its his last day of innocence.) There's a party getting started in the yard (His parent fighting) There's a couple getting steamy in the car parked in the drive (a parent I think mother cheating) Was I too young to see this with my eyes?
By the pool last night, apparently The chemicals weren't mixed properly (His mother wasn't thinking clearly) You hit your head and then forgot your name (a sarcastic satement of how the mother forgot her name and how her last name means she is married to his dad) And then you woke up at the bottom by the drain (hitting rock bottom) And now your altitude and memory's a shame (He learns his mom isn't all what he thought she was)
What about taking this empty cup and filling it up With a little bit more of innocence (he lost a lot of innocence when all these events happend) I haven't had enough, it's probably because when you're young It's okay to be easily ignored (I think can go two ways either the parents just simply ignored him and worried about their own problems or they kept information from them because he was too young) I like to believe it was all about love for a child (he likes to believe it was a round about way to take care about him)
the rest is pretty explicit
wow. i just realized what this song was about. i didnt really pay that much attention to it until now.
its pretty sad. my parents divorced so i know how it feels. but it wasnt that dramatic.
but i really dont understand like lyrics. i know what the song is about. but i dont understand the lyrics. like "theres a picture on my wall..." and "by the pool last night..."
"There's a picture on my kitchen wall...Looks like Jesus and his friends involved" just refers to the "Last Supper" portrait. Everything else talks about what kids go through a divorce....
maybe the couple getting steamy was one of his parents with someone else. the pool thing i don't really get. the chorus seems so happy and cute. the last verse is about how his parents were so caught up in their own issues they didn't pay any attention to him. and secretly kids want their parents to check up on them and what not because they know it shows that they care.