The band had a revolving line-up of bassists and drummers, their most prolific being drummer Patty Schemel, and bassists Kristen Pfaff (d. 1994) and Melissa Auf der Maur. In 2002 the group disbanded to pursue other projects. Eight years later in 2010, Hole was reformed by Love with new members, despite Erlandson's claim that the reformation breached a mutual contract he had with Love. The reformed band released the album Nobody's Daughter, which had originally been conceived as Love's second solo album. In 2013, Love retired the Hole name, releasing new material and touring as a solo artist.
Hole has been noted for being one of the most commercially successful female-fronted rock bands of all time, selling over three million records in the United States alone and having a far-reaching influence on contemporary female artists. Music and feminist scholars have also recognized the band as the most high-profile musical group of the 1990s to discuss gender issues in their songs, due to Love's aggressive and violent lyrical content, which often addressed themes of body image, abuse, and sexual exploitation.
Hole went on to become the most commercially successful female-fronted grunge band in history, selling over 3 million records in the United States between 1991 and 2010. In spite of Love's often polarizing reputation in the media, Hole received consistent critical praise for their output, and was often noted for the predominant feminist commentary found in Love's lyrics, which scholars have credited as "articulating a third-wave feminist consciousness". Love's subversive onstage persona and public image coincided with the band's songs, which expressed "pain, sorrow, and anger, but [an] underlying message of survival, particularly survival in the face of overwhelming circumstances." Music journalist Maria Raha expressed a similar sentiment in regard to the band's significance to third-wave feminism, stating, "Whether you love Courtney [Love] or hate her, Hole was the highest-profile female-fronted band of the '90s to openly and directly sing about feminism."
While Rolling Stone compared the effect of Love's marriage to Kurt Cobain on the band to that of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, they noted that "Love's confrontational stage presence, as well as her gut-wrenching vocals and powerful punk-pop songcraft, made her an alternative-rock star in her own right." Author Nick Wise made a similar comparison in discussion of the band's public image, stating, "Not since Yoko Ono's marriage to John Lennon has a woman's personal life and exploits within the rock arena been so analyzed and dissected." The band has been cited as a major influence on several contemporary artists, including indie singer songwriter Scout Niblett, Brody Dalle of the Distillers and Spinnerette, Sky Ferreira, Lana Del Rey, Tove Lo, Tegan and Sara, and the British rock band Nine Black Alps. The band ranked at #77 of VH1's 100 Greatest Hard Rock Artists.
Over the Edge
Hole Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's just a mockery
Don't need to waste my time
You know I really try
You take and never give
It gets so hard to live
I'm hanging on a ledge
Pushed straight over the edge
Grow up and be a man
Drop dead right where I stand
I'm hanging on a ledge
Pushed straight over the edge
Yeah
Don't do the things you do
Don't have to oblige you
Make choices on my own
Don't buy the shit they sell
You take and never give
It gets so hard to live
I'm hanging on a ledge
Pushed straight over the edge
The lyrics of "Over the Edge" by Hole express a feeling of frustration and desperation. The singer is tired of pretending and conforming to societal expectations, and is ready to confront their own truth, no matter how painful it might be. The first two lines of the song, "It's not the truth I say, it's just a mockery," suggest that the singer feels like their words and actions are not really their own, but rather a mask they wear to fit in with others. They feel like they are wasting their time trying to be someone they are not, and that it's not worth the effort anymore.
The chorus, "I'm hanging on a ledge, pushed straight over the edge," creates an intense visual metaphor for the feeling of being on the brink of a breakdown. The singer is hanging on by a thread, and it feels like any little push could send them over the edge into a full-blown crisis. In the second verse, the singer urges others to let them make their own choices and not force them to adhere to anyone else's expectations. However, it seems like they are not being heard, as the people around them continue to "take and never give", which makes it even harder to keep going.
Overall, "Over the Edge" is a powerful and raw representation of the struggle to find oneself amidst a world full of pressure and conformity.
Line by Line Meaning
It's not the truth I say
I am not stating facts or reality
It's just a mockery
I am being sarcastic or making fun of something
Don't need to waste my time
I do not want to spend any more time on this
You know I really try
I make an effort to do my best
You take and never give
You only receive from me, without reciprocating
It gets so hard to live
It becomes increasingly difficult to continue existing
I'm hanging on a ledge
I am in a precarious position, both literally and figuratively
Pushed straight over the edge
Something has caused me to lose control or sanity
Grow up and be a man
Mature and take responsibility for yourself
Drop dead right where I stand
Die instantly and immediately
Don't do the things you do
Do not continue your current behavior
Don't have to oblige you
I am not obligated to comply with your wishes or demands
Make choices on my own
I am capable of making my own decisions
Don't buy the shit they sell
Do not believe or accept the lies and false promises they offer
Yeah
An expression of agreement or confirmation
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: GREG SAGE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@TheRealFbis
this will forever be a unrecognized favorite classic. this whole EP is fucking gold. I’ve had the vinyls, cassette, and CD for this EP for years now and still do.
@22lulublu
I love the soundtrack to this and a lot of other movies during this time period. The other night I happened upon "boogie nights" and I am very much enjoying the soundtrack.
@queenangst
This EP is the best of Hole.
@TheRealFbis
My favorite EP off all time! So raw.
@ohitbe3616
Drink some tequila. Go out, punch someone you always hated, with this song playing in your head the whole time.
@justmissjamey
I had this ep waaaay back when it came out. Loved listening to this!!
@citizenerased7746
Love it !!!
@salomesanjivy64100
I don't speak very speak anglais! But YES!
@kirsten2415
love this version
@TimW_666
I still have this EP CD today now, I bought it at a San Diego record store almost a decade ago. I made this album art cover my Facebook cover photo.