I testified
My mama cried
Black people died
When the other man lied

See the TV listen to me double trouble
I overhaul and I'm comin'
From the lower level
I'm takin' tabs

Sho nuff stuff to grab
Like shirts it hurts
With a neck to wreck
Took a poll 'cause our soul

Took a toll
From the education
Of a TV station
But look around

Hear go the sound of the wreckin' ball
Boom and Pound
When I
Shut 'em down

One two three four five
Six seven eight nine
What I use in the battle for the mind
I hit it hard
Like it supposed

Pullin' no blows to the nose
Like uncle L said I'm rippin' up shows
Then what it is
Only 5 percent of the biz

I'm addin' woes
That's how da way it goes
Then you think I rank never drank, point blank
I own loans

Suckers got me runnin' from the bank
Civil liberty I can't see to pay a fee
I never saw a way to pay a sap
To read the law

Then become a victim of a lawyer
Don't know ya, never saw ya
Tape cued
Gettin' me sued

Playin' games wit' my head
What the judge said put me in the red
Got me thinkin' 'bout a trigger to the lead
No no

My education mind say
Suckers gonna pay
Anyway
There gonna be a day

'Cause the troop they roll in
To posse up
Whole from the ground
Ready to go

Throw another round
Sick of the ride
It's suicide
For the other side of town

When I find a way to shut 'em down
Who count the money
In da neighborhood
But we spendin' money

To no end lookin' for a friend
In a war to the core
Rippin' up the poor in da stores
Till they get a brother

Kickin' down doors
Then I figure I kick it bigger
Look 'em dead in the eye
And they wince

Defense is pressurized
They don't want it to be
Another racial attack
In disguise so give some money back

I like Nike but wait a minute
The neighborhood supports so put some
Money in it
Corporations owe

Dey gotta give up the dough
To da town
Or else
We gotta shut 'em down


Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings

Shut 'Em Down Lyrics as written by Gary Rinaldo Carlton Ridenhour

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Shut Em Down [The Functionist Version] song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

0 Comments

sort form View by:
  • No Comments

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

Album art
Standing On The Edge Of Summer
Thursday
In regards to the meaning of this song: Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.” That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
Album art
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
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"
Album art
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Album art
I Can't Go To Sleep
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.
Album art
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.