Aftershock
Van Halen Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

Oh yeah, alright

I don't care about the way that ya treated me
And I ain't crying 'bout the love I'm paying for
No, I ain't bitching 'bout the things
You been putting down here in my street
Oh, I ain't going 'round saying things about you
Lord, I can't repeat
Hey, it ain't gonna change overnight
No, and it ain't going away without a fight
No, now I ain't saying that I'm never gonna beg you, oh baby come back
But right now baby I don't really want to see your face
Yeah and that's a fact
Oh, right now, honey all I know is what I'm feeling inside
Right now, baby I'm alone and I'm swallowing
Lord, a lot of pride
And it ain't gonna change overnight, no
And it ain't goin' away without a fight

Yeah, living with the aftershock
I said my, my, my well I never thought she'd walk
But now I'm living with the aftershock
And it ain't gonna change
It ain't goin' away, no

Yeah, she opened up my eyes
Seeing what I want to see
She kinda took me by surprise
Showed me what I hadn't seen
Yeah, yeah
Living with the aftershock
Yeah, yeah, alright
Watch it, watch it
Yeah, yeah
Living with the aftershock
I said my, my, my, I guess that I never thought she'd walk
Living with it from the aftershock
And it ain't gonna change
It ain't goin' away
I said it ain't gonna change without a fight, no
I'm living with the aftershock
I'm living with the aftershock
Ow
Alright




Yeah, yeah, yeah
Never gonna change

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Van Halen's song Aftershock reflect a sense of defiance and independence in the face of heartbreak. The singer asserts their power and control by expressing that they are not affected by the mistreatment they received by their former lover. They refuse to dwell on the past or gossip about their ex, instead focusing on their own emotions and strength of character. The refrain "living with the aftershock" suggests that the pain inflicted by their ex is still reverberating through the singer's life, but that they are determined to cope with it and move forward.


The second verse shifts the focus to the ex-lover, with the singer acknowledging that they didn't expect the breakup and were blindsided by it. This vulnerable moment underscores the strength and resilience expressed in the rest of the song - even though they were hurt, the singer is not defeated. The repeated refrain solidifies this assertion, emphasizing that the aftershock will not conquer them.


Line by Line Meaning

Oh yeah, alright
Opening of the song, expressing a cool and carefree attitude


I don't care about the way that ya treated me
The singer is indifferent to how he was treated by the person he is addressing


And I ain't crying 'bout the love I'm paying for
He is not complaining about the effort he put into the relationship


No, I ain't bitching 'bout the things You been putting down here in my street
He is not complaining about the rumors or insults spread about him


Oh, I ain't going 'round saying things about you Lord, I can't repeat
He is not resorting to spreading rumors in return, possessing enough self-respect to avoid it


Hey, it ain't gonna change overnight
He recognizes that the situation won't change immediately, implying he is optimistic about repairing things


No, and it ain't going away without a fight
He is determined to fight for the relationship


Hey, it ain't gonna change overnight
Reiteration of the fact that things won't instantly change


No, now I ain't saying that I'm never gonna beg you, oh baby come back
He might resort to begging to get her back, he's willing to take action


But right now baby I don't really want to see your face
For now, he doesn't want to reconcile immediately


Yeah and that's a fact
Stating it as a fact, expressing firmness in his decision


Oh, right now, honey all I know is what I'm feeling inside
He knows exactly how he feels and is honest about it


Right now, baby I'm alone and I'm swallowing Lord, a lot of pride
He realizes that he has to set aside his pride to make things work


And it ain't gonna change overnight, no
Emphasis on the fact that he is willing to be patient with it


And it ain't goin' away without a fight
Stress on how he is willing to give it all he's got to be with her


Yeah, living with the aftershock
The situation the singer is in is an aftermath of what happened previously in the relationship


I said my, my, my well I never thought she'd walk
He was surprised to find out that she walked away


And now I'm living with the aftershock
The aftermath of her walking away is impacting him


And it ain't gonna change
He feels that things are not going to change, indicating his willingness to accept it


It ain't goin' away, no
He believes that the situation and his feelings are not going to disappear


Yeah, she opened up my eyes
The person he was with made him realize things he didn't see before


Seeing what I want to see
The singer appreciated the positive things in the relationship and chose to focus on those


She kinda took me by surprise
He was pleasantly surprised by the person's impact on his life


Showed me what I hadn't seen
The person showed him new ways to look at things


Yeah, living with the aftershock
The singer is experiencing the consequences of the relationship ending


Yeah, yeah, alright
A reassuring statement and affirmation of his emotions


Watch it, watch it
A warning to pay attention and be aware of the possible consequences


Yeah, yeah, living with the aftershock
Continuing to deal with the aftermath of a failed relationship


I said my, my, my, I guess that I never thought she'd walk
Realizing the possibility that the person he loved could leave


Living with it from the aftershock
The aftershock will be with him for a while


And it ain't gonna change
Accepting the reality of the situation


It ain't goin' away
He tells himself to accept that his emotions are not going away anytime soon


I said it ain't gonna change without a fight, no
He needs to put in the effort to make things work


I'm living with the aftershock
Emphasizing his struggles with moving on


I'm living with the aftershock
Reiteration to emphasize its impact on his life


Ow
An expression of pain


Alright
End of the song with a confident tone


Yeah, yeah, yeah
Repetition of the song's overall emotional state


Never gonna change
Surrendering to the fact that there are things he cannot change




Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Alex Van Halen, Edward Van Halen, Sammy Hagar, Michael Anthony

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Most interesting comment from YouTube:

Cap'n Mo

Plenty of great guitar based music, it's just underground now - and mostly metal. But there's great hard rock, too. If you haven't, try Ape Machine:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tv7e-b9Dsk

And Iah:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yP5U8-uO_w8

Devil's Witches (and the band Mephistofeles, the singer singer for whom sings on this track):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlpEiaWbKEU



All comments from YouTube:

Wayward Spirit

I could never convey how much joy you brought into my life Eddie. Your music lives on !! RIP

freeatlast1963

Dude knows how to write a comment .....

Giuseppe Trinci

Well said

David Gadea

Alex Van Halen is one of my best drumers!!! What an underrated player!!! Just put magic in the sticks with rymth,imagination and lots of passion!!! Cheers Alex!!!

Crazy Snarfy

@David Merlin He actually is. In the 80's, even after VH released songs live 'Hot For Teacher', people would be all blah-blah Tommy Lee, etc. or later on blah-blah Lars Ulrich, etc. Big Al never seemed to get the credit he was due.

David Merlin

He is NOT underrated.

Nancy Adkins

You're absolutely right about Alex....fantastic drummer.

Wolf Gang413

David Gadea you don’t suck if Edward Van Halen doesn’t like playing with any other drummer but you. They read each other’s minds. Alex is a monster!!

Breauxce Wayne

David Gadea yeah he tears it up in this song. He plays this song well on the album but right here he plays it absolutely perfect. The way he structures his part. It’s a straight ahead rock rhythm with a bunch of progressive type fills in between. He plays to suit the song. He will play straight forward when Sammy’s singing and then goes nuts when it’s the instrumental. I like this era of Van Halen and wish it would of kept going a lot longer. During this time Eddie and Alex were being more progressive in their playing. Multiple solos and that outtro at the end with the double bass slowly building as Eddie is playing a riff and also
slowly building up to his solo at the end. You’ll notice Alex is doing the triplet bass drum patterns and then into full double bass drum rhythm right as Eddie also starts his full speed shredding part of the solo. They’re not just mimicking each other parts. It’s more like a hard rock with a twist of jazz thrown in.

TheEarlymtv

this song is underrated. it grabbed me right away when I got balance...

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