This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Tell me when to go
Tell me when to go
Tell me when to go
Tell me when to go
Dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb
Tell me when to go
Tell me when to go
Tell me when to go
Tell me when to go
Dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb
Ooh, Jesus Christ had dreads, so shake 'em
I ain't got none, but I'm plannin' on growin' some
Imagine all the Hebrews goin' dumb
Dancin' on top of chariots and turnin' tight ones
Ooh, tell me when to go (dumb)
Talkin' on my Ghettro on my way to the store
My second or third trip
Some Henny, some Swishers and some Listerine strips
Dr. Greenthumb lips, just to ease my thoughts
Not just the cops, but the homies you got to watch
The moon is full, look at the dark clouds
Sittin' in my scraper, watchin' Oakland Gone Wild, ta-dow
I don't bump mainstream, I knock underground
All that other shit, sugarcoated and watered down
I'm from the Bay where we hyphy and go dumb
From the soil where them rappers be gettin' their lingo from
Tell me when to go
Tell me when to go
Tell me when to go
Tell me when to go
Dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb
Tell me when to go
Tell me when to go
Tell me when to go
Tell me when to go
Dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb
I'm off that 18 dummy juice
Nigga, Raggaman, labeled the Black Zeus
King of the super duper hyphy (hyphy, hyphy, hyphy, hyphy)
Pipey in your wifey, you don't like me (like me, like me, like me, like me)
From the Bay to the A
Put me in a Backwood, Swisher sweet blunt, orange lace dope (let's go)
It's just some shit I wrote
My city couldn't be saved by John the Pope (John the Pope)
I slid past on the gas with the bitches at me
I'm good (it's good), it's good like the granddaddy
Cross game, you get flipped like a burger patty
Or zig-zagged, pass me the big old fatty
I drink white, with a snow bunny
Talkin' big shit in the scraper, goin' hella dummy
1800, Jose Cuervo
Yadadamean? Y'all know what I'm sayin' though?
Tell me when to go
Tell me when to go
Tell me when to go
Tell me when to go
Dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb
Tell me when to go
Tell me when to go
Tell me when to go
Tell me when to go
Dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb
Now let me direct traffic for a minute (talk to 'em, pimp)
Let me tell you about this hyphy movement we got goin' in the Bay
When I say somethin' you say it right back at me, you smell me?
We gon' do it like this right here (how we gon' do it?)
Ghostride the whip, ghostride the whip
Ghostride the whip, ghostride the whip
Now scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape
Scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape
Put your stunna shades on, put your stunna shades on
Put your stunna shades on, put your stunna shades on
Now gas, brake, dip, dip
Gas, brake, dip, dip
Shake them dreads, shake them dreads
Shake them dreads, shake them dreads
Let me see you show your grill, let me see you show your grill
Let me see you show your grill, let me see you show your grill
Now thizz face, thizz face
Thizz face, thizz face
Doors open, mayne, doors open, mayne
Doors open, mayne, doors open, mayne
Now watch 'em swang, watch 'em swang
Now watch 'em swang, watch 'em swang
Go stupid, go dumb, go dumb
Go stupid, go dumb, go dumb
Tell me when to go
Tell me when to go
Tell me when to go
Tell me when to go
Dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb
Tell me when to go
Tell me when to go
Tell me when to go
Tell me when to go
Dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb
Dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb
Dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb
Tell me when to go
Tell me when to go
Tell me when to go
Dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb
Tell me when to go
Tell me when to go
Tell me when to go
Tell me when to go
Dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb
Ooh, Jesus Christ had dreads, so shake 'em
I ain't got none, but I'm plannin' on growin' some
Imagine all the Hebrews goin' dumb
Dancin' on top of chariots and turnin' tight ones
Ooh, tell me when to go (dumb)
Talkin' on my Ghettro on my way to the store
My second or third trip
Some Henny, some Swishers and some Listerine strips
Dr. Greenthumb lips, just to ease my thoughts
Not just the cops, but the homies you got to watch
The moon is full, look at the dark clouds
Sittin' in my scraper, watchin' Oakland Gone Wild, ta-dow
I don't bump mainstream, I knock underground
All that other shit, sugarcoated and watered down
I'm from the Bay where we hyphy and go dumb
From the soil where them rappers be gettin' their lingo from
Tell me when to go
Tell me when to go
Tell me when to go
Tell me when to go
Dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb
Tell me when to go
Tell me when to go
Tell me when to go
Tell me when to go
Dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb
I'm off that 18 dummy juice
Nigga, Raggaman, labeled the Black Zeus
King of the super duper hyphy (hyphy, hyphy, hyphy, hyphy)
Pipey in your wifey, you don't like me (like me, like me, like me, like me)
From the Bay to the A
Put me in a Backwood, Swisher sweet blunt, orange lace dope (let's go)
It's just some shit I wrote
My city couldn't be saved by John the Pope (John the Pope)
I slid past on the gas with the bitches at me
I'm good (it's good), it's good like the granddaddy
Cross game, you get flipped like a burger patty
Or zig-zagged, pass me the big old fatty
I drink white, with a snow bunny
Talkin' big shit in the scraper, goin' hella dummy
1800, Jose Cuervo
Yadadamean? Y'all know what I'm sayin' though?
Tell me when to go
Tell me when to go
Tell me when to go
Tell me when to go
Dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb
Tell me when to go
Tell me when to go
Tell me when to go
Tell me when to go
Dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb
Now let me direct traffic for a minute (talk to 'em, pimp)
Let me tell you about this hyphy movement we got goin' in the Bay
When I say somethin' you say it right back at me, you smell me?
We gon' do it like this right here (how we gon' do it?)
Ghostride the whip, ghostride the whip
Ghostride the whip, ghostride the whip
Now scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape
Scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape
Put your stunna shades on, put your stunna shades on
Put your stunna shades on, put your stunna shades on
Now gas, brake, dip, dip
Gas, brake, dip, dip
Shake them dreads, shake them dreads
Shake them dreads, shake them dreads
Let me see you show your grill, let me see you show your grill
Let me see you show your grill, let me see you show your grill
Now thizz face, thizz face
Thizz face, thizz face
Doors open, mayne, doors open, mayne
Doors open, mayne, doors open, mayne
Now watch 'em swang, watch 'em swang
Now watch 'em swang, watch 'em swang
Go stupid, go dumb, go dumb
Go stupid, go dumb, go dumb
Tell me when to go
Tell me when to go
Tell me when to go
Tell me when to go
Dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb
Tell me when to go
Tell me when to go
Tell me when to go
Tell me when to go
Dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb
Dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb
Dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb
Lyrics submitted by kmk_natasha
Tell Me When to Go Lyrics as written by Darryl Matthews Mcdaniels Joseph Ward Simmons
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, ATMR SONGS, Reservoir Media Management, Inc., Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
lol. damn dubc walnut creek full of white ass rich people ! damnn tha 0nly city in tha 925 that isnt rich and full of white pe0ple is pittsburg . yadadameean??
north east west oakland mayynee 510 on mines