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.
Sun goes down
Sun comes up
Days can drown in a plastic cup
In this town, in this town
Don't know how
Don't know when
Something came but it left again
And I'm down, on this town
'Cause no matter what I see
People love to disagree
Every time I say what I wanna be
Someone says that's not how its gonna be
Come on baby quit your demon
Grab your things the train is leavin'
Time to pick that somewhere you wanna go
Get there quick or drown in the undertow
Come on baby, time is wasting
Choose a wheel and get to racing
Sun goes up
And down again
Its hard to stop feeling broken in
And worn down, by this town
All the same
You find me here
Placing blame and escaping fear
And self doubt, in this town
But no matter where I go
People love to tell me no
Every time I say what I wanna be
Someone says that's not how its gonna be
Come on baby quit your dreaming
Grab your things the train is leaving
Time to pick that somewhere you wanna go
Get there quick or drown in the undertow
Come on baby time is wasting
Choose a wheel and get to racing
Every time I say what I wanna be
Someone says that's not how its gonna be
Come on baby quit your dreaming
Grab your things the train is leaving
If you feel like nobody understands you
Just smile and pray that they clap their hands
Come on baby drown your sorrow
Work today and live tomorrow
Time to pick that somewhere you wanna go
Get there quick or drown in the undertow
Come on baby time is wasting
Choose a wheel and get to racing
Sun comes up
Days can drown in a plastic cup
In this town, in this town
Don't know how
Don't know when
Something came but it left again
And I'm down, on this town
'Cause no matter what I see
People love to disagree
Every time I say what I wanna be
Someone says that's not how its gonna be
Come on baby quit your demon
Grab your things the train is leavin'
Time to pick that somewhere you wanna go
Get there quick or drown in the undertow
Come on baby, time is wasting
Choose a wheel and get to racing
Sun goes up
And down again
Its hard to stop feeling broken in
And worn down, by this town
All the same
You find me here
Placing blame and escaping fear
And self doubt, in this town
But no matter where I go
People love to tell me no
Every time I say what I wanna be
Someone says that's not how its gonna be
Come on baby quit your dreaming
Grab your things the train is leaving
Time to pick that somewhere you wanna go
Get there quick or drown in the undertow
Come on baby time is wasting
Choose a wheel and get to racing
Every time I say what I wanna be
Someone says that's not how its gonna be
Come on baby quit your dreaming
Grab your things the train is leaving
If you feel like nobody understands you
Just smile and pray that they clap their hands
Come on baby drown your sorrow
Work today and live tomorrow
Time to pick that somewhere you wanna go
Get there quick or drown in the undertow
Come on baby time is wasting
Choose a wheel and get to racing
Lyrics submitted by BleedorBreathe, edited by MrPerson
The Faster the Treadmill... Lyrics as written by Brian Kenig Mazzaferri
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
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"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
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I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
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Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Think this song is about how some parts of society like to crush dreams so as to keep the status quo. and that if you try you can still reach your dreams.
I agree, and so does their official music video for this song.
Beautiful song, very inspirational message. The message is that Life is antagonistic, and society will always be ready to hold you back. If you keep yourself down, you are setting yourself up to be depressed. Life is happening and you need to see it. Time is slipping away and before you know it you may become engulfed by it, "drown in the undertow" Take your chances, go live out your dreams - do it before you miss your chances. Live it and enjoy yourself.
I think its about escaping the rat race. Anyone who has ever had a mundane office job will be able to relate to this track Oh, and its awesome.