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.
Let chaos entwine on defenseless soil
Remove errors of man and sweep all the weakening kind
I am war, I am pain
I am all you've ever slain
I am tears in your eyes
I am grief, I am lies
Bygone are tolerance and presence of grace
Scavengers are set out to cleanse the human filth parade
I am pure, I am true
I am all over you
I am laugh, I am smile
I am the earth defiled
I am the cosmic storms
I am the tiny worms
I am fear in the night
I am bringer of light
Remove errors of man and sweep all the weakening kind
I am war, I am pain
I am all you've ever slain
I am tears in your eyes
I am grief, I am lies
Bygone are tolerance and presence of grace
Scavengers are set out to cleanse the human filth parade
I am pure, I am true
I am all over you
I am laugh, I am smile
I am the earth defiled
I am the cosmic storms
I am the tiny worms
I am fear in the night
I am bringer of light
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
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
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.
You forgot the beginning and end of this song:
We do away with your kind Countdown to exterminate the human race 0, 3, 2, 1
and
Earth successfully erased.
I am war, I am pain I am all you've ever slain I am tears in your eyes I am grief, I am lies
This frames the narrator as something intangible, such as a general theme. The broadness of topics he states himself as, as well as the the album's title featuring the theme, "misanthropia," we can speculate that the narrator actually represents all aspects of humanity.
I am pure, I am true I am all over you I am laugh, I am smile I am the earth defiled
This section is where the listener can begin to realize that the narrator is actually Lucifer, as he is very often characterized as telling people he is god and that he is good. "I am all over you" illustrates the merging of the first verse's theme with the satanic one. That humanity IS Satan. That all of our instincts, actions and flaws aggregated into all of humanity is inherently evil, violent and wanting. The phrases "I am laugh, I am smile" merely cement the integration of Satan(narrator) with basic human emotions.
I am the cosmic storms I am the tiny worms I am fear in the night I am bringer of light
"I am the cosmic storm, I am the tiny worms" spreads the grandeur of the narrator from being an aspect of humanity to say that he is everything in this plane of existence. The "fear in the night" is only placed to sound cool. However, the final line is the most telling reveal in the song.
Lucifer is the English translation of "Lux Ferre" in Latin. Lux meaning light and Ferre meaning "to bring." In the bible, Lucifer is known as the morning star, or the rising sun, that brings light to the world. This reveal that the narrator is actually Satan at the end of the song while describing himself as the heart of all men and all things solidifies the thesis that humanity is inherently evil and Satan is in all of us.
Excellent
Yeah, the song gets me pumped up as well, but what I think it means is just cleansing the evil out of earth and bringing the new pure life with good deeds in mind.
To anyone who thinks this is a bad song: You should go and stab yourself with a blunt stick. this song kicks so much ass, it ain't funny.
I'm just here to say, I don't think that this song has anything to do with religion. I like this song, but I am also religous, and to be honest I really don't care whether or not you believe in God or not. Everybody can make their own decisions that affect themselves and so you are entitled to believe in what you like. To the people that say that religion is a bad thing through inspiring the KKK and the crusades, you are wrong. The Bible and other religous teachings do not convey any message of the sort, infact its quite the opposite, these people who are harming other people 'in the name of God' are simply seeking an excuse to justify their actions, they are in no way doing what God would have wanted. Religions have had trouble in the past but that is only because of corrupt figureheads that have obviously misinterpreted the Religions teachings, principles and morals. There is no religion in the world that is based on Evil, they are only in place to make this world a better place. I'm sorry for this lengthy post but I personally have had enough of religions being the target and scape-goat for so many attrocoties, like I said, everybody can believe in whatever they like, but do not senselessly go looking for somebody to blame.
I more think this song assumes the perspective of nature and the earth. With its cynical tone, the song illustrates how we selfishly have no repspect for anything or anyone else. We blindly destroy each other and the world. "I am all you've ever slain," supports how our futile attempts of war and hate have left us with nothing. We destroyed humanity, the earth is laughing, and now the world is pure without us.
Peace
Such a good song by such a great band.
This is a really good song, Dimmu Borgir is a really good band.
this song gets me so pumped, argh!!
punk in drublic says... This is my fav. dimmu borgir song!! Ah man, it's really good. I agree with TekFox
I really love the CD Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia ...and I really like this song..
Bygone are tolerance and presence of grace Scavengers are set out to cleanse the human filth parade
This lyric reminds me off all that bullshit about 'judgement day' for some reason..