Heat Wave
The Jam Lyrics
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We'll sit and talk and hold hands maybe
For there's not much else to do in this drab and colorless place
We'll sit amongst the rubber tires
Amongst the discarded bric-a-brac
People have no use for - amongst the smoldering embers of yesterday
And when or if the sun shines
We'll smile but only for seconds
For to be caught smiling is to acknowledge life
A brave but useless show of compassion
And that is forbidden in this drab and colorless world
Meet me on the wastelands - the ones behind
The old houses - the ones - left standing pre-war
The ones overshadowed by the monolith monstrosities
Councils call homes
And there amongst the shit - the dirty linen
The holy Coca-Cola tins - the punctured footballs
The ragged dolls - the rusting bicycles
We'll sit and probably hold hands
And watch the rain fall - watch it - watch it
Tumble and fall - tumble and falling
Like our lives - like our lives
Just like our lives
We'll talk about the old days
When the wasteland was release when we could play
And think - without feeling guilty
Meet me later but we'll have to hold hands
Tumble and fall - tumble and falling
Like our lives - like our lives
Exactly like our lives
The Jam's song Heat Wave is a poignant reflection on the state of society and the feelings of hopelessness and despair that often pervade it. The lyrics speak of two people who meet on a wasteland, where they sit and talk and hold hands, surrounded by discarded objects and smoldering embers. The bleak setting is a metaphor for the state of the world and the sense of purposelessness that many people feel. The sun shines on them briefly, but they quickly stop smiling, as if to acknowledge the fleeting nature of happiness and the futility of trying to find joy in a world that is so often devoid of it.
As they sit amongst the debris of yesterday, they are reminded of the past, and how things used to be better. They talk about the old days when the wasteland was a place to play and dream, and they feel a sense of sadness that those days are gone. The rain falls around them, like their lives, tumbling and falling, with no clear direction or purpose. The song is a powerful commentary on the human condition, and the struggle to find meaning and purpose in a world that often seems to lack both.
Line by Line Meaning
Meet me on the wastelands - later this day
Let's meet up in the abandoned areas later in the day.
We'll sit and talk and hold hands maybe
We'll just hang out and be close, perhaps holding hands.
For there's not much else to do in this drab and colorless place
There's very little to do in this uninteresting and monotonous location.
We'll sit amongst the rubber tires
We'll hang out among the discarded rubber tires.
Amongst the discarded bric-a-brac
We'll spend time with the other things that people throw away.
People have no use for - amongst the smoldering embers of yesterday
We'll be with things that people have no value for, among the remnants of days past.
And when or if the sun shines
If the sun happens to come out.
Lighting our once beautiful features
Illuminating our features that have lost their beauty over time.
We'll smile but only for seconds
We'll smile briefly but not for long.
For to be caught smiling is to acknowledge life
Smiling is an admission of our life situation.
A brave but useless show of compassion
It's courageous, but ultimately futile, to display compassion here.
And that is forbidden in this drab and colorless world
Showing compassion is prohibited in this colorless, unexciting world.
Meet me on the wastelands - the ones behind
Let's meet at the abandoned places behind the old houses.
The old houses - the ones - left standing pre-war
The houses that survived the war.
The ones overshadowed by the monolith monstrosities
The houses that are dwarfed by the massive modern buildings.
Councils call homes
These structures that are deemed as residences by government councils.
And there amongst the shit - the dirty linen
We'll be amongst the refuse.
The holy Coca-Cola tins - the punctured footballs
We'll be among the discarded Coca-Cola cans and deflated footballs.
The ragged dolls - the rusting bicycles
We'll see the tattered dolls and rusted bikes.
We'll sit and probably hold hands
We'll likely hang out and be close again.
And watch the rain fall - watch it - watch it
We'll observe the rain falling.
Tumble and fall - tumble and falling
We'll see it tumbling and falling down.
Like our lives - like our lives
Similar to how our lives are going.
Just like our lives
Exactly like our lives.
We'll talk about the old days
We'll converse about times from the past.
When the wasteland was release when we could play
When the abandoned areas were free, and we could enjoy ourselves.
And think - without feeling guilty
We could think about things without feeling remorse.
Meet me later but we'll have to hold hands
We'll have to hold hands again when we meet up later.
Tumble and fall - tumble and falling
Like the rain that's tumbling and falling.
Like our lives - like our lives
Just like our lives.
Exactly like our lives
Precisely like our lives are going.
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Simon Young
One of the all time great cover versions - better than the original; foaming with energy. Paul Weller should have a knighthood by now - or maybe he's rejected it...
David Beattie
I couldn't agree more! The Jam version is punkier and more snarly than the original or The Who's saccharine version. It's breathtaking just how good the whole SETTING SONS album is - the chordal complexity, lyrical richness, the lot.
Steven Gray
He’d reject it, he is cooler than Jagger and Ray Davies
genki2genki
Killer way to close a tremendous album.
Thomas Andersen
I disagree...If they had left this song out then Setting Sons would have been their best record ..it's just a throwaway cover added in the last minute to hide the fact that they didn't have enough good songs of their own to fill the album
Dave Barrowcliffe
Crowd pleaser with nothing to do with the concept of the album....
Love it!
Avilio Quillama
uno de los mejores temas de the jam que tal ritmo !grande paul weller,original de the supremes
Youtube Paloma
No. El original es de Martha Reeves and the Vandellas.
Moses Berkowitz
I heard that this song was added to the album at the last minute.....glad it was!
steveetienne
yeh yeh yeh yeh ..........yeh yeh oh yeh