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.
Real human being and a real hero (hero, hero, hero, hero, hero)
Back against the wall at odds
With the strength of a will and a cause
Your pursuits are called outstanding
You're emotionally complex
Against the grain of dystopic claims
Not the thoughts your actions entertain
And you have proved to be
A real human being and a real hero
Real human being and a real hero
Real human being and a real hero
Real human being and a real hero
Real human being (being, being, being, being, being)
A pilot on a cold, cold morn'
One-hundred fifty-five people on board
All safe and all rescued
From the slowly sinking ship
Water warmer than his head so cool
In that tight bind knew what to do
And you have proved to be
A real human being and a real hero
Real human being and a real hero
Real human being and a real hero
Real human being and a real hero
Real human being
Real human being (being, being, being, being, being)
Real human being
Back against the wall at odds
With the strength of a will and a cause
Your pursuits are called outstanding
You're emotionally complex
Against the grain of dystopic claims
Not the thoughts your actions entertain
And you have proved to be
A real human being and a real hero
Real human being and a real hero
Real human being and a real hero
Real human being and a real hero
Real human being (being, being, being, being, being)
A pilot on a cold, cold morn'
One-hundred fifty-five people on board
All safe and all rescued
From the slowly sinking ship
Water warmer than his head so cool
In that tight bind knew what to do
And you have proved to be
A real human being and a real hero
Real human being and a real hero
Real human being and a real hero
Real human being and a real hero
Real human being
Real human being (being, being, being, being, being)
Real human being
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
Standing On The Edge Of Summer
Thursday
Thursday
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.
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
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:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"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"
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.
Be a human being ( being bein being... ) And a real hero ( hero hero hero... )
Back against the wall and odds With the strength of a will and a cause Your pursuits are called outstanding You're emotionally complex
Against the grain of dystopic claims Not the thoughts your actions entertain And you, have proved, to be
A real human being, and a real hero Real human being, and a real hero Real human being, and a real hero Real a human being ( being being being... )
A pilot on a cold, cold morn' One hundred fifty-five people on board All safe and all rescued From the slowly sinking ship
Water warmer than His head so cool In that tight bind knew what to do And you, have proved, to be
A real human being, and a real hero Real a human being, and a real hero Real a human being, and a real hero Real a human being Real a human being ( being being being... ) Real a human being.
Wow, how did they manage to get the lyrics so horribly wrong? Did they use some kind of speech to text software or something. Lets hope it gets changed to this soon.
@johnnyratbastard Please apply the new lyrics Johnnyratbastard supplied, they are the correct ones!
This song is about Chesley Burnett "Sully" Sullenberger III, the famed airline pilot of U.S. Airways Flight 1549 who successfully made an emergency landing onto the Hudson River, saving the lives of all 155 passengers and crew.
@Arrowsmith he Indeed is a real hero. Sorry English is not my first lenguage
Aside from Captain Sullenberger III, I think that this song is about the emotional and 'human' investment it takes to be a hero. You must be willing to look beyond peoples faults and misgivings in order to summon the will to save them.
ALSO, DRIVE WAS AN AMAZING MOVIE!!! haha
Can I just say how much I love the soundtrack from the movie, Drive? The 80sish synth music really characterized the movie and the Driver.
This song is one of my favorites, and I liked the reference to the pilot, Sullenberger III in the second verse. In relation to Drive, the lyrics synchronize what the Driver does. He's a bit of an antihero, for sure. But he loves Irene and her son and he successfully cleans up the chaos her husband left behind. "And you, have proved, to be A real human being, and a real hero"
back against the wall and odds
your pursuit are called outstanding
While the postmodern context of the film "Drive" may twist the meaning of the lyrics for its own, arty benefit a lot, I still find it a bit hard to believe that people took the song meaning completely at face value, with no sardonic subtext. OK, it is a tribute to a pilot who made a fine job. But isn't it also a critique of society, saying that, while, yes there are people who act heroically (whatever it means, maybe the song writers don't think they fully know) this prevalent attitude in society is also rather absurd, in the way it is clung on to?
"Your pursuits are called outstanding You're emotionally complex"
Come on, it's not straight down the line here.
"Water warmer than His head so cool In that tight bind knew what to do"
To me this is the epitomé of intended ambivalence, a kind of paradox of reality where oppositional meanings are very strong in their own rights.
My interpretation of these lyrics is that they are speaking about people in general and saying that we all have the potential to do great, selfless and sometimes heroic things thus showing what it means to be human and proving that although the daily news is full of doom and gloom (dystopic claims) there really is good in the world. The 2nd verses uses Captain Sullenberger III as an example.
When using the word great I am not just refering to saving lives but also to the small every day things like helping others and putting other peoples needs in front of your own.
We all should strive to be the kind of people that this song refers to and hope that we to have proved to be real human beings.
One of the most meaningful and Beautiful songs I've ever heard.
@ Winterfit. So because a female is singing it's assumed that it was written from a female perspective? This song was written by two MEN: David Grellier & Austin Garrick!
Not only is this a fantastic movie sound track, it's also quite meaningful in my opinion.
Most songs written from the perspective of a female are male bashing, for instance Lilly Allen etc but this song different because it is a celebration of masculinity, which makes a really nice change.
I logged into my account, which I haven't logged into for years and even forgot the password to, just to give you a thumbs down. This song has absolutely NOTHING TO DO WITH MASCULINITY, so for you to jerk yourself and talk about how females like to male bash, and this one song is praising masculinity? You are despicable.<br /> <br /> This song doesn't celebrate masculinity. It celebrates humanity. We live in a world that some consider dystopic; everyone's out for their own interests, stealing and killing, lying and buying. This song is about that one person who goes against that; unlike everyone else, they do the right thing. They help people, they save people, they try to create a utopia, and don't contribute to the dystopia. The song is praising this person. "You are a real human being, and a real hero". Everyone else, whose killing, stealing, lying, and buying? They aren't human beings, and they aren't heros. They're villains and parasites.<br /> <br /> It's got nothing to do with masculinity, femininity, or any other gender role. It's got everything to do with compassion and a desire to be a good to people.
Jacobtwo, how do you definitively know whether or not it's about masculinity? Imagine a hypothetical situation where this conversation used the opposite words. It would look pretty sexist if you were desperately trying to explain how a certain song wasn't feminist. Why are you so angry at the possibility of a song that celebrates masculinity?