The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
3-2-1 liftoff jet pack shoot into space
Represent the dot 'til were blue in the face
Fre-fre-fresher than toothpaste
You know how we do in the place
The crowd accumulates when he's tuning the bass
The fiddle and guitar are removed from the case
You know its Kenny O when it booms and shakes
You know its our music by the movement it makes
The crowd that it draws
The yearning you get
To prove what it takes
Move
Throw your body on the dance floor
Whether you're beginner or advanced or
Whatever you're doing it's okay, like this
So everyone do it your own way, like this
Move
Like the dude from Chappelle's show
Let it rip like velcro
We spit non-typical flows like this
Mile high city and it goes like this
Like this
Like this
3,2,1,4,5,6,
No telling where the beat might hit
This is out of hand like Buster Bluth
Leave you sounding like Rusted Root
Bots out your mouth like a busted tooth
Attention we paying who
Exempt Artax like Atreyu dude
Staying smooth venue we playing move
When you hear the rabbit saying to
Let five explain it to you
Turn to the next page when I say and
Follow along like A to the B to the C
The 7 piece band you gotta see to believe
Make ya jump around like you needed to pee
Make noise if you wanted me to proceed
Scream like Chewbacca, off ya rocka
Drink a little vodka link Iraq Osama democracy
Barack Obama, Arabic for no war with Vietnam
And it don't stop
Don't quit
So slick
Move
Throw your body on the dance floor
Whether you're beginner or advanced or
Whatever you're doing it's okay like this
So everyone do it your own way like this
Move
Sweat
Get your pants warm
Kee kor keerr kahh
Transform
Wiggle and shake to this song like this
Mile high city and it's on like this
1 2 3 4 5 6
Who's ready for some more hype shit
This is rap's last stop like castle rock
The bots blast off like an astronaut
I suppose we came to get started
Throw them bows like some angry archers
Our delivery's pedigree headed for the charts soon
Hit you in the heart like a harpoon
Like the chambers of the Wu Tang Clan
Flobots got that method man
Wanna hang with the orangutans?
Mass appeal, massive bananas in hand
Kenny O got the master plan
To move your body like an ampersand
This rhythm section'll rattle the stands
Rip sheets like we battled the clan
Average bands traffic the median
We stay in the lane we're superman
Move
Throw your body on the dance floor
Whether you're beginner or advanced or
Whatever you're doing it's okay like this
So everyone do it your own way like this
Move
Give it to you unprotected
'Cause the rhythm is the method
Are you ready to get loud
Mile high city spell it out
F-l-o-b-o-t-s
Represent the dot 'til were blue in the face
Fre-fre-fresher than toothpaste
You know how we do in the place
The crowd accumulates when he's tuning the bass
The fiddle and guitar are removed from the case
You know its Kenny O when it booms and shakes
You know its our music by the movement it makes
The crowd that it draws
The yearning you get
To prove what it takes
Move
Throw your body on the dance floor
Whether you're beginner or advanced or
Whatever you're doing it's okay, like this
So everyone do it your own way, like this
Move
Like the dude from Chappelle's show
Let it rip like velcro
We spit non-typical flows like this
Mile high city and it goes like this
Like this
Like this
3,2,1,4,5,6,
No telling where the beat might hit
This is out of hand like Buster Bluth
Leave you sounding like Rusted Root
Bots out your mouth like a busted tooth
Attention we paying who
Exempt Artax like Atreyu dude
Staying smooth venue we playing move
When you hear the rabbit saying to
Let five explain it to you
Turn to the next page when I say and
Follow along like A to the B to the C
The 7 piece band you gotta see to believe
Make ya jump around like you needed to pee
Make noise if you wanted me to proceed
Scream like Chewbacca, off ya rocka
Drink a little vodka link Iraq Osama democracy
Barack Obama, Arabic for no war with Vietnam
And it don't stop
Don't quit
So slick
Move
Throw your body on the dance floor
Whether you're beginner or advanced or
Whatever you're doing it's okay like this
So everyone do it your own way like this
Move
Sweat
Get your pants warm
Kee kor keerr kahh
Transform
Wiggle and shake to this song like this
Mile high city and it's on like this
1 2 3 4 5 6
Who's ready for some more hype shit
This is rap's last stop like castle rock
The bots blast off like an astronaut
I suppose we came to get started
Throw them bows like some angry archers
Our delivery's pedigree headed for the charts soon
Hit you in the heart like a harpoon
Like the chambers of the Wu Tang Clan
Flobots got that method man
Wanna hang with the orangutans?
Mass appeal, massive bananas in hand
Kenny O got the master plan
To move your body like an ampersand
This rhythm section'll rattle the stands
Rip sheets like we battled the clan
Average bands traffic the median
We stay in the lane we're superman
Move
Throw your body on the dance floor
Whether you're beginner or advanced or
Whatever you're doing it's okay like this
So everyone do it your own way like this
Move
Give it to you unprotected
'Cause the rhythm is the method
Are you ready to get loud
Mile high city spell it out
F-l-o-b-o-t-s
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More Featured Meanings
Light Up The Sky
Van Halen
Van Halen
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
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.
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
really, nothing yet?
well let me say my idea about the song as a whole. It sounds like it is about the band, the Flobots themselves, what they are about, and what they believe in.
the main idea can be heard though the song (f l o b o t s)
one great song of 12 on their album
i agree.
Totally agree.. What an amazing band! Really cool song!