Unfinished 96 Van Hagar song “Between Us Two” : full song

[BernieTaupson]

The last song Van Hagar worked on before the breakup. It wasn’t Humans Being, this was afterwards.

They brought in Desmond Child to do the lyrics and Sam got fucked off. He wanted to sing “Can’t see your diamond ring through your shining star” and Ed thought it was horrible.

Full song, without the vocals obviously :

http://van-halen.com/images/Unfinished-Full-Version.mp3

Ed called it Van Halen’s Stairway to Heaven.

[LSD69]

7.75/10

[VinceVanLane]

The last song Van Hagar worked on before the breakup. It wasn’t Humans Being, this was afterwards.

They brought in Desmond Child to do the lyrics and Sam got fucked off. He wanted to sing “Can’t see your diamond ring through your shining star” and Ed thought it was horrible.

Full song, without the vocals obviously :

http://van-halen.com/images/Unfinished-Full-Version.mp3

Ed called it Van Halen’s Stairway to Heaven.

Ed had a problem with that lyric but was apparently cool with this lyrics for "Up For Breakfast" in 2004:

"She put the cream in my coffee (first thing in the morning)
Put that butter on my biscuit (honeydew my melons)
Cherries on bananas (gonna need a second helpin')
You know I'm up for breakfast so early in the morning"

The lyrics for all the Sammy songs from 2004 were horrible.

The instrumental is cool. Hearing anything they were working on will always be interesting. It sounds like something they would have done for VH3 with Gary. I'm not sure how many times I'm gonna revisit it but it's cool Alex put it out, for FREE! He could have easily put that on iTunes and try to milk a few more pennies but props to him for just throwing it out there.

[Psychobolia.com]

Ugh... I love me some VH, but this is crap.

Those Ted Templeman outtakes that were released earlier this year were awesome, this is just meh...

[roxxxtar]

I like it.

[Van Ailin']

Ugh... I love me some VH, but this is crap.

Those Ted Templeman outtakes that were released earlier this year were awesome, this is just meh...

Disagree. That would have made a great tune with the right vocal. I think I'd agree that this particular bit of music likely wouldn't have fit Dave very well (any era). It requires a melodic voice with some range, and to really work, it would need a lyric that somehow avoids cliches. (Difficult for Sammy. but he could occasionally do that).

[Bono Nettencourt]

Only if Eddie yelled at him.

[skinni]

sounds good, i like it

[DonJuanDeMarco]

Call me crazy but I can hear Dave doing a talking Dave over that. When Push Comes to Shove meets Damn Good.

I don’t hear ANY Desmond Child influence there. Is this the demo of what they brought to him to doctor up?

[BernieTaupson]

LYRICS :

(Verse 1)
You came in loud, tried to make it yours,
Changed the keys, locked different doors.
Sure, we had hits, sold out some shows,
But deep down, man, everybody knows.
We had magic—pure rock and roll,
But your version? It missed the soul.
You played your part, but let’s not pretend—
Van Hagar was just a means to an end.

(Chorus)
You better be wearin’ a cup,
When I call your bluff, ‘cause I’ve had enough!
History’s spoken, and the verdict’s clear—
Van Hagar faded, it’s done, my dear.
You better be wearin’ a cup,
‘Cause the strings don’t lie when I crank it up.

(Verse 2)
The sky is turning black, knuckles turning white,
I’ve been holdin’ back, but not tonight.
You talked a good game, made it seem fine,
But time has shown it didn’t stand the test of time.
Van Hagar tried, but it couldn’t outshine
The fire we forged in our prime.
Yeah, we hit the charts, but it wasn’t the same—
Your softer edge just tarnished the name.

(Chorus)
You better be wearin’ a cup,
When the amps explode and the dial’s turned up!
The riffs don’t forget, and neither does time—
Van Halen survived while you fell out of line.
You better be wearin’ a cup,
Cause the clock’s run out, and enough’s enough.

(Bridge)
We were lightning, you were just rain—
A flash that passed, couldn’t handle the strain.
Tried to rewrite what we built in gold,
But your version’s a story already told.
The fans have spoken, and they know what’s right—
Van Hagar burned out in the dead of night.

(Chorus)
You better be wearin’ a cup,
When I hit the strings and crank it up!
Time has shown it didn’t stand the test—
Van Hagar was good, but it wasn’t the best.
You better be wearin’ a cup,
Cause Van Halen’s here and callin' your bluff.

(Outro)
So strap it on, no runnin’ away—
The riffs are back, and I’ve got plenty to say.
Van Halen stands where the music’s alive—
Van Hagar? Just a moment that didn’t survive.

[whammybar]

That was fantastic. His precision and melodic creativity is untouchable.

[FreddyFender]

90s Michael Bolton/Richard Marx-sounding adult contemporary horse shit.

[Gibsonite]

Yeah, it was Sammy's fault that VH went soft.

[rockker]

The right thing to do would have been to have Roth arrange and sing and Mike play on this (ala Free as a Bird) and put a bow on the end of VH…

Instead Al talks about using Ai to finish songs …

[Anthrax442]

The right thing to do would have been to have Roth arrange and sing and Mike play on this (ala Free as a Bird) and put a bow on the end of VH…

Instead Al talks about using Ai to finish songs …

I dunno if Roth would work on that, it's VERY Balance-y. But I certainly wouldn't turn it down.

That's no Stairway, but it's a shitload better than anything on VHIII or the three Best of Both Worlds tracks. Really surprised they didn't try to resurrect it there, but maybe Sammy didn't want to touch it if they rejected him before. Or maybe Eddie was so fucked up at the time that he forgot he had a Hagar era track ready to go. /shrug

[BernieTaupson]

Reportedly Ballard worked on it with them so it became a legal thing, they’d have to give him a songwriting credit if they worked on it anymore. Reportedly. According to fan conjecture. Who knows.

[Van Ailin']

90s Michael Bolton/Richard Marx-sounding adult contemporary horse shit.

Sounds nothing like either of those guys. Not even a little.

[Love_Industry]

The right thing to do would have been to have Roth arrange and sing and Mike play on this (ala Free as a Bird) and put a bow on the end of VH…

Instead Al talks about using Ai to finish songs …

I dunno if Roth would work on that, it's VERY Balance-y. But I certainly wouldn't turn it down.

Roth could do something like Damn Good out of the verses. It's not that far removed.

[Jason Jennifer Leigh]

This can’t be the last song they worked on together, this was 1995 -1996.

The song that broke up Van Hagar?

[Love_Industry]

Reportedly Ballard worked on it with them so it became a legal thing, they’d have to give him a songwriting credit if they worked on it anymore.

Mike Anthony may be able to give Al some advice on this.

[BernieTaupson]

This can’t be the last song they worked on together, this was 1995 -1996.

The song that broke up Van Hagar?

That’s what I said in the first post isn’t it?

[Jason Jennifer Leigh]

I would say yes, yes it is.

[MOON]

Eddie Trunk confirmed yesterday that per a source of his, that this song was a Cherone era tune that previously did have Gary's vocals on.....

[FreddyFender]

Eddie Trunk confirmed yesterday that per a source of his, that this song was a Cherone era tune that previously did have Gary's vocals on.....

Oh right, they did basically have a second Cherone album ready when Warner Bros pulled the plug, didnt they?

[sirthx2]

Any 'new' EVH (when he was in his right mind) is fucking great, so this is fucking great.