Van Halen was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972… Read Full Bio ↴Van Halen was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. Credited with "restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene", Van Halen was known for its energetic live shows and for the virtuosity of its lead guitarist, Eddie Van Halen. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007.

From 1974 until 1985, Van Halen consisted of Eddie Van Halen; Eddie's brother, drummer Alex Van Halen; vocalist David Lee Roth; and bassist/vocalist Michael Anthony. Upon its release in 1978, the band's self-titled debut album reached No. 19 on the Billboard pop music charts and would sell over 10 million copies in the U.S. By 1982, the band released four more albums (Van Halen II, Women and Children First, Fair Warning, and Diver Down), all of which have since been certified multi-platinum. By the early 1980s, Van Halen was one of the most successful rock acts of the day. The album 1984 was a commercial success with U.S. sales of 10 million copies and four hit singles; its lead single, "Jump", was the band's only U.S. number one single.

In 1985, Roth left the band to embark on a solo career and was replaced by former Montrose lead vocalist Sammy Hagar. With Hagar, the group released four U.S. number-one, multi-platinum albums over the course of 11 years (5150 in 1986, OU812 in 1988, For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge in 1991, and Balance in 1995). Hagar left the band in 1996 shortly before the release of the band's first greatest hits collection, Best of Volume 1. Former Extreme frontman Gary Cherone replaced Hagar and recorded the commercially unsuccessful album Van Halen III with the band in 1998, before parting ways in 1999. Van Halen then went on hiatus until reuniting with Hagar in 2003 for a worldwide tour in 2004 and the double-disc greatest hits collection The Best of Both Worlds. Hagar again left Van Halen in 2005. In 2006 Roth returned, but Anthony was replaced on bass guitar by Eddie's son, Wolfgang Van Halen. In 2012, the band released their final studio album A Different Kind of Truth, which was commercially and critically successful; it was also Van Halen's first album with Roth in 28 years and the only one to feature Wolfgang.

As of March 2019, Van Halen is 20th on the RIAA list of best-selling artists in the United States; the band has sold 56 million albums in the States and more than 80 million worldwide, making them one of the best-selling groups of all time. As of 2007, Van Halen is one of only five rock bands with two studio albums to sell more than 10 million copies in the United States and is tied for the most multi-platinum albums by an American band. Additionally, Van Halen has charted 13 number-one hits on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart. VH1 ranked the band seventh on a list of the top 100 Hard Rock artists of all time.

Eddie was diagnosed with cancer in 2001, and died of the disease on October 6, 2020. A month after his father's death, Wolfgang confirmed that Van Halen had disbanded.

Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_Halen

Studio albums
Van Halen (1978)
Van Halen II (1979)
Women and Children First (1980)
Fair Warning (1981)
Diver Down (1982)
1984 (1984)
5150 (1986)
OU812 (1988)
For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge (1991)
Balance (1995)
Van Halen III (1998)
A Different Kind of Truth (2012)

Learning to See
Van Halen Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Time after time we
Walk pass the window
And never see the ashes on the ground
Night after night
Watching the sky move
But never feel the earth spinning around

I didn't see you fallin'

I couldn't hear you callin'
Born with eyes wide open
Never learn to see

I never meant to hurt you
Was right there crying with you
Why do we harm the only thing we want to be?

Trying to follow
Every footstep
I feel so lost along the way
Reading the scripture
Straight from the gospel
Never understanding what they say, yeah

I didn't see you fallin'
I never heard you' callin'
I've got my eyes wide open
But haven't learned to see, yeah

I never meant to hurt you
Was right there crying with you
Why do we harm the only thing we want to be?

And I just gotta be
Me
I just gotta be
Me

Yeah

I didn't see you fallin'
I never heard you callin'
Got my eyes wide open
But never learned to see, yeah

And I never meant to hurt you
Was right there crying with you
We only cage the very thing we want to free

I just wanna be
And I just wanna be
I just gotta be, uh
I just wanna be
Uh, I gotta be
Uh, I wanna be
Got to, got to
I got to, got to be me
I just wanna be

Oh, I wanna be
Oh yeah, oh yeah

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Van Halen's song Learning to See appear to address the idea of human blindness to the truth and beauty of life. The opening lines are fairly straightforward, describing how humans can walk past something without noticing the harm or beauty that they are causing. They never see the ashes on the ground, for example, or feel the earth spinning around. The lyrics also suggest that reading religious text does not necessarily bring about understanding or enlightenment.

As the song continues, the singer expresses regret at not being able to help someone who was falling, or hearing them when they called out for help. The lyrics further suggest that humans have a tendency to harm the very thing they want to be, suggesting that people can act against their own interests due to a lack of self-awareness. More positively, the lyrics conclude with the idea that the singer has come to accept the need to be true to themselves, expressing a desire to break free from the cages they have created for themselves and be themselves.

In terms of musicality and arrangement, the song starts with a gentle and slightly eerie acoustic guitar intro before the drums and electric guitar kick in to create a heavier sound. The chorus features soaring vocals and a simple yet catchy melody that makes the song memorable. The song also features a memorable guitar solo as its centerpiece.

Line by Line Meaning

Time after time we Walk pass the window And never see the ashes on the ground
We often look through the window but ignore the ashes on the ground

Night after night Watching the sky move But never feel the earth spinning around
We're preoccupied with the sky while oblivious to the Earth's movement

I didn't see you fallin' I couldn't hear you callin' Born with eyes wide open Never learn to see
I didn't notice your struggles due to my own flaws and limitations

I never meant to hurt you Was right there crying with you Why do we harm the only thing we want to be?
I didn't intend to hurt you, yet I acted contrary to my desires and identity

Trying to follow Every footstep I feel so lost along the way
I'm trying to imitate others precisely but losing my way

Reading the scripture Straight from the gospel Never understanding what they say, yeah
I'm reading spiritual texts but cannot comprehend their meaning

And I just gotta be Me I just gotta be Me
I need to be true to myself and stop emulating others

Got my eyes wide open But never learned to see, yeah And I never meant to hurt you Was right there crying with you We only cage the very thing we want to free
Although I'm observant, I'm blind to my inner reality, and in trying to seize freedom, I end up imprisoning myself

I just wanna be And I just wanna be I just gotta be, uh I just wanna be Uh, I gotta be Uh, I wanna be Got to, got to I got to, got to be me I just wanna be Oh, I wanna be Oh yeah, oh yeah
I yearn to be authentic to myself, and I should embrace who I am fully

Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Alex Van Halen, Edward Van Halen, David Roth, Sammy Hagar

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS