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.
Oh, oh oh
Death, she must have been your will
A bone beneath the reaper's veil
With your voice my belly sunk
And I began to feel so drunk
Candle, candle, on my clock
Oh Lord, I must have heard you knock me out of bed
As the flames licked my head
And my lungs filled up black in their tiny little shack
It was real and I repent
All those messages you sent, clear as day, but in the night
Oh, I couldn't get it right
Oh, oh oh
Here is a church and here is a steeple
Open the doors there are the people
And all their little hearts at ease
For another week's disease
And eagle, eagle, talon, scream
I never once left in between
I was on the fence and I never wanted your two cents
Down my throat, in to the pit, with my head upon the spit
Oh Reverend, please, can I chew your ear?
I've become what I most fear
And I know there's no such thing as ghosts
But I have seen the demon host
Ooh, ooh ooh
Death, she must have been your will
A bone beneath the reaper's veil
With your voice my belly sunk
And I began to feel so drunk
Candle, candle, on my clock
Oh Lord, I must have heard you knock me out of bed
As the flames licked my head
And my lungs filled up black in their tiny little shack
It was real and I repent
All those messages you sent, clear as day, but in the night
Oh, I couldn't get it right
Oh, oh oh
Here is a church and here is a steeple
Open the doors there are the people
And all their little hearts at ease
For another week's disease
And eagle, eagle, talon, scream
I never once left in between
I was on the fence and I never wanted your two cents
Down my throat, in to the pit, with my head upon the spit
Oh Reverend, please, can I chew your ear?
I've become what I most fear
And I know there's no such thing as ghosts
But I have seen the demon host
Ooh, ooh ooh
Lyrics submitted by PunkD, edited by barbmckinley
Demon Host Lyrics as written by Taylor Kirk
Lyrics © ARTS & CRAFTS MUSIC INC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Little Feat
Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
Holiday
Bee Gees
Bee Gees
@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday".
I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
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.
The feeling I get from this one is that it's about literal damnation; a lament from a person who believes in religion, but can't straighten out, and therefore knows they're hellbound. It's either some great storytelling, or a killer metaphor, all delivered in a stunningly eerie 3:38.
This is about a man who is on the precipice of death. He regrets the choices he made in life and is agnostic. The church has never really been appealing to him, with their constant threats of eternal damnation and suffering to the wicked. Unsure of his fate, he wonders what will happen to him as he sees the reaper, an entity he never really believed in.
@kgamm I agree. The agnostic theory works as well, with him "sitting on the fence"
This song is about a man who belives in God but was abused in the Church and/or struggling with his (homo)sexuality.
I always thought this was about a man who gets the order to murder a woman: "Death, she must have been your will" and "With your voice my belly sunk". As if death has told him to murder this woman.
The person didn't want to do this and he needed all the messages (being told to, his house bursting into flames) he repented to eventually do it. Torn apart by regret he can't live with himself anymore and once an agnost or atheïst he now turns to religion to redeem himself.
This is probably one of the most beautifully told stories I have ever heard...
Although I'm not sure about "Eagle, eagle, talon scream".
@CoenLeuven when he says "Death, she must have been your will" i think hes referring to death as "she" as death is soon going to fall upon him and "With your voice my belly sunk" the voice is the voice of death and it is calling him as he is about to die
I think the first line is actually, "Death she wants to bend your will".
This man has had an epiphany.
He understands the spiritual realm and that there is more to life than just life itself.
He has obviously been luke warm and hedonisitic throughout his life thus far.
A life changing event has occurred whereby he faced death but was spared, resulting in said epiphany.
This man now searches for salvation through a life changing experience.
I stumbled upon this incredible song randomly and it's been lingering in my mind ever since.
Tragedy of a man who has a devastating realization of his sins, but perhaps a little too late.
My take is. He's not religious, and lost his lady, in doing so he believes he has seen evil and in his mind has taken her for its will. The people in church blindly have faith and are oblivious to the demons.
Idk. Great song either way .
Could also be a man, who falls deeply in addiction, after very close person death. He s calling a potential holy spirit, and had a feeling of revelation. Destroying himself, body and mind, would be a big sin against life. (Black lungs, flames "progressively but painfully " licked his mind). He keeps doubting after apparently clear signs, because everything happened when he was not clear himself (couldnt get it right in the night). Then would compare his proper disease, with Christian believers, who sold their soul to church to get easy consolation. Himself, has convictions and never betrayed them, even if price is death (head on the spit ).