There once was a song called "Arrest The President."
Contemporary music, a hit with the kids, it was a top ten.
I wasn't pop then, so I missed the bus a bit,
But politics was on everybody's hot this summer list.
The cool kids were all rocking votes,
I shit you not, I was pistol whippin' cops for hip hop. [Booyea!]

On my soap box yelling into megaphones.
Killing hard rocks using carcasses as stepping stones.
Had to promise that I'd stop holding my marches
The day that Chris Columbus got crucified on golden arches.
My pedestal was too tall to climb off,
In fact that's the reason for the high horse.
And from up here I see Marines and Hummers on a conquest;
Underdogs with wonderbras in a push-up contest,
All for the sake of military recruitment.
It felt like Kent State the way they targeted the students,
I galloped off whistling "Ohio."
The rest of them, stuck doing stand up at a cricket convention.
What would they die for? (repeat)
Is it the same machine that leaves the quality of life poor?
An abominable colony of cyborgs?
Clogging up the property that I bought with eyesores?

That clever ad campaign ain't worth
The time taken from minimum wage labor;
I don't care how half-naked or fake she looks,
She smells like dirty cash and aged paper books.
What would she die for?
Slow down Gandhi, you're killin' em
Slow down Gandhi, you're killin' em.

Now it's whistle blower vs. the pistol holder;
Case dismissed, they'll lock you up and throw away the key witness.
Justice is the whim of a judge, check his chest density,
It leaves much room for error, and the rest left to destiny.
The West Memphis 3 lost paradise,
It's death penalty vs. suicidal tendencies.
All I wanted was a fucking Pepsi.
Institution.
Making you think you're crazy is a billion dollar industry.
If they could sell sanity in a bottle
They'd be charging for compressed air,
And marketing healthcare.
They demonize welfare,
Middle class eliminated,
Rich get richer til the poor get educated.

But some of y'all still haven?t grown into your face,
And your face doesn't quite match your head.
And I'm waiting for a brain to fill the dead space that's left,
You're all, "Give me ethnicity or give me dreads."
Trustafundian rebel without a cause for alarm,
Cause when push turns to shove
You jump into your forefathers arms.
He's a banker, you're part of the system,
Off go the dreadlocks in comes the income.
The briefcase (the freebase)
The sickness (the symptom)
When the cameras start rollin' stay the fuck outta the picture pilgrim!
The briefcase (the freebase)
The sickness (the symptoms)
When the cameras start rollin'...
Slow down Gandhi, you're killin' em.

Mr. Save The World, spare us the details,
Save the females from losing interest.
And Miss Save The Universe,
You're a damsel in distress,
Tied down to a track of isolated incidents.
Generalize my disease,
I need a taste of what it's like.
Living off the fat of kings,
I play the scab at your hunger strike.
Slow down Gandhi, you're killin'em.

One love, one life, one too many victims.
Republicrat, Democran, one party system.
Media goes in a frenzy,
They're stripped of their credentials.
Presidential candidates can't debate over this instrumental.
Let 'em freestyle, winner takes all,
When the music?s dead, I'll have Ted Nugent?s head hangin' on my wall.
Kill one of ours, we'll kill one of yours.
With some friendly fire, that?s a funny term, like civil war.

Six in the morning, police at my crib.
Now my nights consist of two toothpicks and eyelids.
The crucifix and vitamins, music that is pirated.
New flavored food made of mutated hybrids.
Uh, they tell me that it's not that bad.
It fucks you up good, but its not that bad.
They hold on to these tales till it's the dog that wags.
God save us all if he lets the cat out the bag.

Who's the one to blame for this strain in my vocal chords?
Who can pen a hateful threat but can't hold a sword?
It's the same who complain about the global war,
But can't overthrow the local joker that they voted for.

They call the shots
(but they're not in the line of fire).
I call the cops
(but they're breakin the line of duty).
Lets call a stop to the abuse of authority.
The truth keeps callin' me, and I'ma live to tell the story.

So look for truth, quit seeking forgiveness.
You need to cut the noose, but you don't believe in scissors.
You support the troops by wearing yellow ribbons?
Just bring home my motherfuckin' brothers and sisters.

Cause they don't call the shots
(but they're in the line of fire).
I'd like to call the cops
(but they're breakin' the line of duty).
It's time to call a stop
(To the abuse of authority).
The truth keeps calling me
And I'ma live to tell the story.


[Meadow superstar
That is what you are
Coming from a farm
Reaching with your arm
Come away with me
To another ranch
We can rely on a tree-branch
(Greeting is on)]


Lyrics submitted by Maraja

Slow Down Gandhi Lyrics as written by Sage Francis

Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Slow Down Gandhi song meanings
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27 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment

    haha..."all i wanted was a fucking pepsi."

    tjwellson January 29, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    this song is stellar

    very well performed and written

    blendaron February 04, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    there is so many great rhymes in here: It felt like Kent State the way they targeted the students, I galloped off whistling "Ohio."

    When the music’s dead I'll have Ted Nugent’s head hangin' on my wall.

    He makes an allusion to "Arrest the President." I'm not sure if that is directed to the song by Pedestrian or Intelligent Hoodlum. My guess is Pedestrian, who cofounded the Anticon label.

    keyshawnon February 28, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    The refernce to "arrest the president" may be alluding to the intelligent hoodlum's song because he says "the cool kids were all rocking votes" an allusion to the "rock the vote" campaign of the early 90's around the same time the intellignet hoodlum had a small hit with the track. However, his connections to anicon would suggest the Pedestrian song.

    silent eulogyon April 14, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Tight song. If anyone didn't get it, he's talking about the fake populist humanitarian trend.

    Sireneon April 20, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Dig the song. Sirene pretty much summed it up.

    agnostic soldieron September 24, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Its pretty sweet and clever that the pepsi line is a reference to an 80s punk band called Suicidal Tendencies (mentioned in the line before). The line comes from the song "Institutionalized" (kind of referenced after) and the line is taken from the song word for word: "All I wanted was a fucking pepsi"

    nick-name-liveson December 28, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I'm not always a big fan of hip hop but this is a very powerful song with a lot to say. This is what hip hop supposed to be! This is true hip-hop, not some shit about look at the insane amout of money I have and all the women all over me.

    Ueleyon March 29, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    so many lines to comment on, i'll try and keep it short.

    "With some friendly fire, that’s a funny term, like civil war." lol, who came up with those terms?

    "They tell me that it's not that bad. And it fucks you up good, but its not that bad." I like this line a lot, and it's true.

    "God save us all if he lets the cat out the bag" I personally take this line as saying, if we were told the truth about some things, mass hysteria would follow. A bit of an extreme/absurd example would be if we were told about what REALLY happened on 9/11. can you imagine? people would go nuts.

    Obviously, i could be totally wrong, considering that one line is taken out of the context of the whole song. But nobody else's opinion on what the meaning is really matters to me. makes sense, no?

    I agree with Ueley. Aesop Rock and the Def Jux people were all i listened to, then i heard sage. turns out there's plenty of hip hop that is worth listening to. especially when it's someone telling the truth regularly, like sage francis.

    Kr0non May 12, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    i don't understand the "Slow down Gandhi, you're killin'em" part. call me dumb, but i cant figure out a lot of this song and i wish i could. eh.

    coldpizzaon June 12, 2007   Link

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