He reuses the verse melody from the previous album's "Dirty Little Religion", the topics of the verses are all over the place, and he packs too many words into one line (goes to show...) and too few in another (it's pretty hard to find), and rhymes "Henley Regatta" with "Persona non grata", but gets away with it all as only he could.
Just a kid, just a fool
Always trying to play it so cool
So he did what he knew
He left home and he dropped out of school
He wanted fame, fame, fame
Even just a little bit of shame, shame, shame
He would sell his soul over in
Changed his name, never going to get it back, no
He's got money, but he's way off track
So lonely that it makes him think back
To his family and his friends and the lady he left back home
He's loaded and alone
He's loaded and alone
Still a kid, still a fool
Still trying to break all the rules
A big house, with too many rooms
An ego, to go with it too
He got his fame, fame, fame
More than just a little bit of shame, shame, shame
That he sold his soul over in
Changed his name, never going to get it back, no
He's got money, but he's way off track
So lonely that it makes him think back
To his family and his friends and the lady he left back home
He's loaded and alone
He's loaded and alone
He got his fame, fame, fame
Such a shame, shame, shame
He's got money, but he's way off track
So lonely that it makes him think back
To his family and his friends and the lady he left back home
He's got money, but he's way off track
So lonely that it makes him think back
To his family and his friends and the lady he left back home
He's loaded and alone
He's loaded and alone
He wanted fame, fame, fame
And such a shame, shame, shame
He got his fame, fame, fame
Such a shame, shame, shame
Yeah,
Lonely, lonely, lonely, lone
Lonely, lonely, lonely, lone
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Always trying to play it so cool
So he did what he knew
He left home and he dropped out of school
He wanted fame, fame, fame
Even just a little bit of shame, shame, shame
He would sell his soul over in
Changed his name, never going to get it back, no
He's got money, but he's way off track
So lonely that it makes him think back
To his family and his friends and the lady he left back home
He's loaded and alone
He's loaded and alone
Still a kid, still a fool
Still trying to break all the rules
A big house, with too many rooms
An ego, to go with it too
He got his fame, fame, fame
More than just a little bit of shame, shame, shame
That he sold his soul over in
Changed his name, never going to get it back, no
He's got money, but he's way off track
So lonely that it makes him think back
To his family and his friends and the lady he left back home
He's loaded and alone
He's loaded and alone
He got his fame, fame, fame
Such a shame, shame, shame
He's got money, but he's way off track
So lonely that it makes him think back
To his family and his friends and the lady he left back home
He's got money, but he's way off track
So lonely that it makes him think back
To his family and his friends and the lady he left back home
He's loaded and alone
He's loaded and alone
He wanted fame, fame, fame
And such a shame, shame, shame
He got his fame, fame, fame
Such a shame, shame, shame
Yeah,
Lonely, lonely, lonely, lone
Lonely, lonely, lonely, lone
Yeah, yeah, yeah
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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.
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In regards to the meaning of this song:
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.
Fast Car
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"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him.
There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
I am a musician, and I have a band that I cofounded back in 2010, and right now...we just enjoy playing together, and we are working on a demo, but we suffered a setback this summer...our lead guitarist tore his ACL...so he was sidelined. We are just getting back to the point that we want to hit a studio.