6. Paradise by the Dashboard Light &...

Lyrics

Section I. Paradise:

Boy: Well, I remember every little thing as if it happened only yesterday.
Parkin' by the lake and there was not another car in sight.
And I never had a girl lookin' any better than you did.
And all the kids at school, they were wishin' they were me that night.

And now our bodies are, oh, so close and tight.
It never felt so good, it never felt so right.
And we're glowin' like the metal on the edge of a knife,
Glowin' like the metal on the edge of a knife.
C'mon! Hold on tight! Well, c'mon! Hold on tight!

Though it's cold and lonely in the deep dark night,
I can see paradise by the dashboard light.

Girl: Ain't no doubt about it, we were doubly blessed.
'Cause we were barely seventeen and we were barely dressed.

All: Well, ain't no doubt about it, baby, gotta go and shout it.
Ain't no doubt about it, we were doubly blessed.

Boy: 'Cause we were barely seventeen and we were barely dressed.

Baby, doncha hear my heart? You got it drownin' out the radio.
I've been waitin' so long for you to come along and have some fun.
Well, I gotta let ya know, no, you're never gonna regret it.
So open up your eyes I got a big surprise.
It'll feel all right. Well. I wanna make your motor run.

And now our bodies are, oh, so close and tight.
It never felt so good, it never felt so right.
And we're glowin' like the metal on the edge of a knife.
Glowin' like the metal on the edge of a knife.
C'mon! Hold tight! Well c'mon! Hold on tight!

All: Though it's cold and lonley in the deep dark night,
I can see paradise by the dashboard light.
Though it's cold and lonley in the deep dark night, (Night.)
(Deep dark night.)
...Paradise by the dashboard light.

You got to do what you can and let Mother Nature do the rest.
Well, ain't no doubt about it, we were doubly blessed.
'Cause we were barely seventeen and we were barely...

Boys: We're gonna go all the way tonight.
We're gonna go all he way an' tonight's the night...
We're gonna go all the way tonight
We're gonna go all he way an' tonight's the night...
We're gonna go all the way tonight.
We're gonna go all he way an' tonight's the night...
We're gonna go all the way tonight
We're gonna go all he way an' tonight's the night...

Radio Broadcast over grunting, panting & moaning sounds:{1}

Ok, here we go, we got a real pressure cooker goin' here, two down, nobody on,
no score, bottom of the ninth. There's the wind-up and there it is, a line shot
up the middle, look at him go. This boy can really fly!

He's roundin' first and really turnin' it on now, he's not lettin' up at all,
he's gonna try for second. The ball is bobbled out in center, and here comes the
throw, and what a throw!

He's gonna slide in head first, here he comes, he's out! No, wait, safe--safe at
second base, this kid really makes things happen out there.

Batter steps up to the plate, here's the pitch-- and he's going, and what a jump
he's got, he's tryin' for third. Here's the throw, it's in the dirt-- safe at
third! Holy cow, stolen base!

He's takin' a pretty big lead out there, almost darin' him to try and pick him
off. The pitcher glances over, winds up, and it's bunted, bunted down the third
base line, the suicide squeeze in on! Here he comes, squeeze play, it's gonna be
close, here's the throw, there's the play at the plate, holy cow, I think he's
gonna make it!

Section II. Let Me Sleep On It:

Girl: Stop right there! I gotta know right now!
Before we go any further...
Do you love me? Will you love me forever?
Do you need me? Will you never leave me?
Will you make me so happy for the rest of my life?
Will you take me away? Will you make me your wife?
Do you love me? Will you love me forever?
Do you need me? Will you never leave me?
Will you make me so happy for the rest of my life?
Will you take me away? Will you make me your wife?
I gotta know right now, before we go any further,
Do you love me? Will you love me forever?

Boy: Let me sleep on it. Baby, baby, let me sleep on it.
Let me sleep on it. I'll give you an answer in the mornin'.
Boys: Well, let me sleep on it. Baby, baby, let me sleep on it.
Well let me sleep on it. I'll give you an answer in the mornin'.

All: Let me sleep on it. Baby, baby, let me sleep on it.
Well, let me sleep on it. I'll give you an answer in the mornin'.

Girl: I gotta know right now!
Do you love me? Will you love me forever?
Do you need me? Will you never leave me?
Will you make me so happy for the rest of my life?
Will you take me away? Will you make me your wife?
I gotta know right now, before we go any further,
Do you love me? Will you love me forever?

What's it gonna be boy? Come on. I can wait all night.
What's it gonna be boy? Yes or no?
What's it gonna be boy? Yes -- or -- no?

Boy: Let me sleep on it. Baby, baby, let me sleep on it.
Well, let me sleep on it. I'll give you an answer in the mornin'.
Girl: I gotta know right now!

Both, singing on top of each other.

Boy: Let me sleep on it!!!
Girl: Will you love me? Will you love me forever?
Boy: Baby, baby, let me sleep on it.
Girl: Do you need me? Will you never leave me?
Boy: Well, let me sleep on it.
Girl: Will you make me so happy for the rest of my life?
Boy: I'll give you an answer in the mornin'.
Girl: Will you take me away? Will you make me your wife?

Each line sung seperately.

Girl: I gotta know right now, before we go any further.
Do you love me? Will you love me forever?
Boys: Let me sleep on it.
Girl: Will you love me forever?
Boys: Let me sleep on it!
Girl: Will you love me forever?

Section III. Praying for the End of Time:

Boy: I couldn't take it any longer, Lord, I was crazed!
And when the feelin' came upon me like a tidal wave,
I started swearin' to my god and on my mother's grave,
That I would love you to the end of time.
I swore I would love you to the end of time!

All: So now I'm prayin' for the end of time to hurry up and arrive.
'Cause if I gotta spend another minute with you,
I don't think that I can really survive.
I'll never break my promise, or forget my vow.
Boy: But god only knows what I can do right now.
All: I'm prayin' for the end of time, that's all that I can do. (Woo, woo!)
Prayin' for the end of time, so I can end my time with you!!!

Boy: It was long ago and it was far away.
And it was so much better than it is today.
Well, it was long ago and it was far away.

Girl begins her part (see below)

Boy sings at same time as Girl:
And it was so much better than it is today.
It was long ago and it was far away.
And it was so much better than it is today.
It was long ago and it was far away.
And it was so much better than it is today.
Fade.
It was long ago and it was far away.
And it was so much better than it is today.
It was long ago and it was far away.
And it was so much better than it is today.
It was long ago and it was far away.
And it was so much better than it is today.

Girl:
It never felt so good. It never felt so right.
And we were glowin' like the metal on the edge of a knife.
It never felt so good. It never felt so right.
And we were glowin' like the metal on the edge of a knife.
It never felt so good. It never felt so right.
And we were glowin' like the metal on the edge of a knife.
Fade.
It never felt so good. It never felt so right.
And we were glowin' like the metal on the edge of a knife.
It never felt so good. It never felt so right.
And we were glowin' like the metal on the edge of a knife.
It never felt so good. It never felt so right.
And we were glowin' like the metal on the edge of a knife.


That's a lot of lyrics! This song will become pretty tedious if you listen to it very often, but I do like it a lot. It's completely unique and is basically a long joke, with the punchline being the final third. The lyrics are so rich that there were quite a lot of movies I could choose to relate to it. First of all I could choose a movie about lovers who through some fantastical means are literally stuck for eternity with each other. But that kind of movie is not really my favorite and there are probably a lot of other songs to come that could be related to such a movie. Secondly I thought about a movie that presents baseball as a metaphor for sex/love. But, I think, practically every movie about baseball does this in one way or another. Anyway in the end the song is basically about a boy and a girl who are happily in love with each other at the beginning. But now, after their marriage, for some reason they aren't happy with each other and their lives at all. Well the movie I chose is a very recent movie about two such people. I also chose it, because after seeing Drive I was curious what else Ryan Gosling had done.

The Movie: Blue Valentine (Derek Cianfrance, 2010)

Blue Valentine is a movie about Cindy (Michelle Williams) and Dean (Ryan Gosling). We follow them at two separate times in their lives. During the first stage of their relationship, when they are happy and completely in love with each other. And six years later, married, with a daughter, but constantly fighting and being unhappy with each other. They are quite obviously on the brink of a divorce.

The movie has quite a lot of problems. Unfortunately some of this problems come because it really tries to do something different than an ordinary Hollywood drama about such people. Many movies for example would try to give a reason why the marriage of Dean and Cindy has gone so wrong. This one does not do that, because it wisely recognizes that sometimes shit just happens, without there being a particular reason for it. People change. What we loved once, we may not love forever. The problem is that I found it hard to believe that the young Dean and Cindy would six years later behave like they do in this movie. This would have probably been easier to believe if there was a clear reason given for it. Dean's character development was especially horrible. That is good news for Ryan Gosling who shows he is a great actor here with a lot of range. He basically plays two completely different people in one movie. I even found that his older version of Dean doesn't look like I would expect the young Dean to look in six years.

Another laudable thing that backfires for the movie is its insistence on keeping the story realistic. Unfortunately during the first hour that makes it incredibly dull. Dean and Cindy aren't very interesting, the dialogue is utterly unoriginal and for a long time there really isn't a single memorable/beautiful shot or scene.

Yet in the end the movie somehow works. In the end I did feel for the characters. That's partly because of the movie's structure. We've seen the happy times of Dean and Cindy. It's sad to see that the happy times have now ended and they are now mostly miserable with each other. And some scenes work very well in retrospect In the middle of the movie there is a scene in a sex-motel where Dean and Cindy went to try to spice up their failing marriage. They dance to a song and it seems that at that moment their problems can be solved. The scene is sweet, but at that moment in the movie isn't really special. Besides their stay in the sex-motel eventually only worsens their problem. But near the end of the movie we see a scene from the happy times. Cindy has just introduced Dean to her parents and they go in her room to make love. Dean plays a song that, he says, will always be their song. And while it's not surprising that this is the same song that was played in the motel, that scene now grows in poignancy. We realize that no matter how bad things will be, there will be always things that will bind them. And that when they hear a certain song, or see a certain shirt they will always think happily about each other and the good times they shared.

Lastly the movie also works because Gosling and Williams act brilliantly. Especially in the final scene where they manage to make clear that they really are unhappy because of the problems they face, that they really wish they could solve them, that there is a big chance they won't solve them and that this fact makes them feel really awful and sad.

Lists!

At the end of the year all over the internet people make lists of their top movies of the year. These are all fun to read and make, so i decided to make a top 5 for every year, until the year of my birth.

2022

1. The Banshees of Inisherin (Martin McDonagh)

2. Aftersun (Charlotte Wells)

3. Stars at Noon (Claire Denis)

4. How to Blow Up a Pipeline (Daniel Goldhaber)

5. LOLA (Andrew Legge)

2021

1. The French Dispatch (Wes Anderson)

2. The Lost Daughter (Maggie Gyllenhaal)

3. Bad Luck Banging, or Loony Porn (Radu Jude)

4. Licorice Pizza (Paul Thomas Anderson)

5. Annette (Leos Carax) 

2020

1. Da 5 Bloods (Spike Lee)

2. Shirley (Josephine Decker)

3. Horse Girl (Jeff Baena)

4. Tenet (Christopher Nolan)

5. Riders of Justice  (Anders Thomas Jensen)

2019

1. The Farewell (Lulu Wang)

2. Portrait of A Lady on Fire (Celine Sciamma)

3. Take Me Somewhere Nice (Ena Sendijarevic)

4. Midosmmar (Ari Aster)

5. Gemini Man (Ang Lee)

2018

1. Creed 2 (Steven Caple Jr.)
2. And Breathe Normally (Isold Uggadottir)
3. If Beale Street Could Talk (Barry Jenkins)
4. Mission: Impossible - Fallout (Christopher McQuarrie)
5. Duelles (Olivier Masset-Depasse)

2017

1. The Little Hours (Jeff Baena)
2. The Beguiled (Sofia Coppola)
3. Thelma (Joachim Trier)
4. Mother! (Darren Aronofsky)
5. Ingrid Goes West (Matt Spicer)

2016

1. Toni Erdmann (Maren Ade)
2. Nocturama (Bertrand Bonello)
3. Things to Come (Mia Hansen-Love)
4. Everybody Wants Some!! (Richard Linklater)
5. My Aunt in Sarajevo (Goran Kapetanovic)

2015

1. The Second Mother (Anna Muylaert)
2. The Martian (Ridley Scott)
3. Results (Andrew Bujalski)
4. Victoria (Sebastian Schipper)
5. 21 Nights With Pattie (Armand Larrieu)

2014

1. White God (Kornel Mundruczo)
2. Gone Girl (David Fincher)
3. Aanmodderfakker (Michiel ten Horn)
4. Beyond the Lights (Gina Prince-Bythewood)
5. Bird People (Pascale Ferran)

2013

1. Child's Pose (Calin Peter Netzer)
2. Inside Llewyn Davis (Joel Coen)
3. Only Lovers Left Alive (Jim Jarmusch)
4. The Wolf of Wall Street (Martin Scorsese)
5. Hard To Be A God (Aleksei German)

2012

1. Holy Motors (Leos Carax)
2. 21 Jump Street (Phil Lord & Chris Miller)
3. Lincoln (Steven Spielberg)
4 .Frances Ha (Noah Baumbach)
5. The Perks of Being A Wallflower (Stephen Chbosky)

2011

1. The Skin I Live In (Pedro Almodovar)
2. Chicken With Plums (Marjane Satrapi)
3. Oslo, 31 August (Joachim Trier)
4. Killer Joe (William Friedkin)
5. Shame (Steve McQueen)

2010

1. Four Lions (Chris Morris)
2. The Social Network (David Fincher)
3. Beginners (Mike Mills)
4. Another Year (Mike Leigh)
5. Schemer (Hanro Smitsman)

2009

1. Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino)
2. A Serious Man (Joel Coen)
3. Adventureland (Greg Mottola)
4. The Informant! (Steven Soderbergh)
5. Everyone Else (Maren Ade)

2008

1. In Bruges (Martin McDonagh)
2. The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan)
3. Tropic Thunder (Ben Stiller)
4. Revolutionary Road (Sam Mendes)
5. W. (Oliver Stone)

2007

1. There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson)
2. Persepolis (Marjane Satrapi)
3. Gone Baby Gone (Ben Affleck)
4. Into the Wild (Sean Penn)
5. Juno (Jason Reitman)

2006

1. Marie Antoinette (Sofia Coppola)

2. Das Leben der Anderen (Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck)

3. The Departed (Martin Scorsese)
4. Children of Men (Alfonso Cuaron)
5. Running Scared (Wayne Kramer)


2005

1. A History of Violence (David Cronenberg)
2. Match Point (Woody Allen)
3. Good Night and Good Luck (George Clooney)
4. Munich (Steven Spielberg)
5. Me and You and Everyone We Know (Miranda July)

2004

1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry)
2. Collateral (Michael Mann)
3. Before Sunset (Richard Linklater)
4. Closer (Mike Nichols)
5. Kill Bill 2 (Quentin Tarantino)

2003

1. Good Bye Lenin (Wolfgang Becker)
2. Elephant (Gus Van Sant)
3. Pirates of the Caribbean (Gore Verbinsky)
4. All the Real Girls (David Gordon Green)
5. House of Sand and Fog (Vadim Perelman)

2002

1. 25th Hour (Spike Lee)
2. Gangs of New York (Martin Scorsese)
3. Adaptation (Spike Jonze)
4. Secretary (Steven Shainberg)
5. Changing Lanes (Roger Michell)

2001

1. Moulin Rouge! (Baz Luhrmann)
2. The Royal Tenenbaums (Wes Anderson)
3. Ocean's 11 (Steven Soderbergh)
4. Heist (David Mamet)
5. A Beautiful Mind (Ron Howard)

2000

1. Love & Basketball (Gina Prince-Bythewood)

2. A Friend Like Harry (Dominik Moll)
3. Snatch (Guy Ritchie)

4. Almost Famous (Cameron Crowe)
5. Shaft (John Singleton)

1999

1. The Matrix (Lena Wachowski)
2. Being John Malkovich (Spike Jonze)
3. Magnolia (Paul Thomas Anderson)

4. Beau Travail (Claire Denis)
5. The Insider (Michael Mann)

1998

1. A Simple Plan (Sam Raimi)
2. The Big Lebowski (Joel Coen)
3. Happiness (Todd Solondz)
4. Little Voice (Mark Herman)
5. The Truman Show (Peter Weir)

1997

1. Good Will Hunting (Gus Van Sant)
2. L.A. Confidential (Curtis Hanson)
3. Boogie Nights (Paul Thomas Anderson)
4. La vita e bella (Roberto Benigni)
5. Grosse Point Blank (George Armitage)

1996

1. Fargo (Joel Coen)

2. A Summer's Tale (Éric Rohmer)
3. Everyone Says I Love You (Woody Allen)
4. Romeo + Juliet (Baz Luhrmann)
5. The Rock (Michael Bay)

1995

1. Nixon (Oliver Stone)
2. Seven (David Fincher)
3. To Die For (Gus Van Sant)
4. The Usual Suspects (Bryan Synger)
5. Get Shorty (Barry Sonnenfeld)

1994

1. Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino)

2. Chungking Express (Wong Kar-wai)
3. Forrest Gump (Robert Zemeckis)
4. Bullets Over Broadway (Woody Allen)
5. Once Were Warriors (Lee Tamahori)

1993

1. The Fugitive (Andrew Davis)

2. Short Cuts (Robert Altman)
3. Six Degrees of Separation (Fred Schepisi)
4. Groundhog Day (Harold Ramis)
5. Red Rock West (John Dahl)

1992

1. White Men Can't Jump (Ron Shelton)

2. Orlando (Sally Potter)
3. Husbands and Wives (Woody Allen)

4. Glengarry Glenn Ross (James Foley)
5. Reservoir Dogs (Quentin Tarantino)

1991

1. Jungle Fever (Spike Lee)
2. Slacker (Richard Linklater)

3. The Doors (Oliver Stone)
4. Raise the Red Lantern (Yimou Zhang)

5. Point Break (Kathryn Bigelow)

1990

1. Goodfellas (Martin Scorsese)  
2. Jacob's Ladder (Adrian Lyne)
3. The Comfort of Strangers (Paul Schrader) 

4. Metropolitan (Whit Stillman)
5. Q & A (Sidney Lumet)

1989

1. Do the Right Thing (Spike Lee)
2. Crimes and Misdemeanors (Woody Allen)

3. Mystery Train (Jim Jarmusch)

4. Back to the Future 2 (Robert Zemeckis)

5. Parenthood (Ron Howard)

5. Stairway to Heaven &...

Lyrics
There's a lady who's sure all that glitters is gold
And she's buying a stairway to heaven
When she gets there she knows, if the stores are all closed
With a word she can get what she came for
Ooh, ooh, and she's buying a stairway to heaven

There's a sign on the wall but she wants to be sure
'Cause you know sometimes words have two meanings
In a tree by the brook, there's a songbird who sings
Sometimes all of our thoughts are misleading
Ooh, it makes me wonder
Ooh, it makes me wonder

There's a feeling I get when I look to the west
And my spirit is crying for leaving
In my thoughts I have seen rings of smoke through the trees
And the voices of those who stand looking
and it makes me wonder
really makes me wonder

And it's whispered that soon if we all call the tune
Then the piper will lead us to reason
And a new day will dawn for those who stand long
And the forest will echo with laughter

If there's a bustle in your hedgerow, don't be alarmed now,
It's just a spring clean from the May Queen
Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run
There's still time to change the road you're on
Ooh, it makes me wonder
Ooh, Ooh, it makes me wonder

Your head is humming and it won't go, in case you don't know
The piper's calling you to join him
Dear lady, can't you hear the wind blow, and did you know
Your stairway lies on the whispering w

And as we wind on down the road
Our shadows taller than our soul
There walks a lady we all know
Who shines white light and wants to show
How everything still turns to gold
And if you listen very hard
The tune will come to you at last
When all is one and one is all, yeah
To be a rock and not to roll.

And she's buying the stairway to heaven

Stairway to Heaven is an absolutely brilliant song. There are other songs I like more, but this may be the most perfectly executed song ever. You get the feeling that Led Zeppelin knew exactly what they were doing writing this song. It feels as if both lyrically and musically there is not a note or lyric too much or too little. Led Zeppelin was very often influenced by J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Ring-books. And especially the first third of the song reminds one very often of that. It's probably no coincidence that the score of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings movies often feels at least a bit influenced by it.

The Movie: Lord of the Rings (Peter Jackson, 2001,2002,2003)

Usually when I write about a movie, I have seen it very recently before I write about it. This is not the case here. I have seen the Lord of the Rings movies twice in their entirety and have no desire to see any of them again. I admire the craft and effort that went into them. The care that went into the making of it is really admirable and can really be seen on screen. The costumes are great, the special effects are often flawless, there are quite a lot of beautiful images and it's often well-acted, especially by the older cast. Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Bean and Christopher Lee are very good. Unfortunately the same can not be said about Elijah Wood and Sean Astin as Frodo and Sam. I found them to be mostly annoying and unfortunately we spend most of the movies with them. But that's not really the biggest problem for me. Most of the time I found it all incredibly boring and I really didn't care much about what would happen to anybody except for Gandalf and Aragorn. All this dwarfs, elves, and especially hobbits I found utterly uninteresting and often annoying. That is not exactly anyone's fault. There simply is no genre I like less then this one.

That said I didn't really dislike these movies until the third one. In the first one the creation of the fellowship of the ring was very reminiscent of the creation of a heist team in a crime movie, where every member has its own specialties, or in this case powers. The second one was the best and had some much needed humor in the woods with the talking trees. The final battle was also set up very well and brilliantly executed. I think it's the best part of the movies. But then the third one came. It felt like watching three hours of boring hobbits walking and talking dramatically about their lives and fates. And the ending! It could have ended at least ten times before it finally did. At least it ended with Frodo going on an adventure with Gandalf. After being stuck for so long with Sam, one of the most annoying characters I've ever seen on film, I felt that it was perfectly logical that he wanted to get as far away from him as possible.