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.