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.
Ayy, ayy, ayy
Good to see you, c'mon, dude, let's go
Yeah, let's go
Alright, alright, okay, ah, alright, okay
Alright, okay
Return of the Mack, get 'em, what it is, what it does, what it is, what it isn't
Looking for a better way to get up out of bed
Instead of getting on the internet and checking a new hit
We get up, fresh out, pimp strut walking
Little bit of humble, little bit of cautious
Somewhere between like, Rocky and Cosby, sweater game
Nope, nope, y'all can't copy that
Bad, moonwalking, this here, is our party
My posse's been on Broadway, and we did it our way
Grown music, I shed my skin and put my bones into everything, I record to it
And yet I'm on, let that stage light go and shine on down
Got that Bob Barker suit game and Plinko in my style
Money, stay on my craft and stick around for those pounds
But I do that to pass the torch and put on for my town
Trust me, on my I-N-D-E-P-E-N-D-E-N-T shit, hustling
Chasing dreams since I was fourteen
With the four-track, bussin'
Halfway 'cross that city with the backpack, fat cat, crush shit
Labels out here, now they can't tell me nothin'
We give that to the people, spread it across the country
Labels out here, now they can't tell me nothin'
We give it to the people, spread it across the country
Can we go back? This is the moment
Tonight is the night, we'll fight 'til it's over
So we put our hands up like the ceiling can't hold us
Like the ceiling can't hold us
Can we go back? This is the moment
Tonight is the night, we'll fight 'til it's over
So we put our hands up like the ceiling can't hold us
Like the ceiling can't hold us
Now, can I kick it? Thank you
Yeah, I'm so damn grateful
I grew up really wanting gold fronts
But that's what you get when Wu-Tang raised you
Y'all can't stop me, go hard like I've got an 808 in my heartbeat
And I'm eating at the beat like you gave a little speed
To a great white shark on Shark Week, raw
Time to go up, I'm gone
Deuces, goodbye, I've got a world to see
And my girl, she wanna see Rome
Caesar make you a believer, nah
I never ever did it for a throne
That validation comes from giving it back to the people, now
Sing this song and it goes like
Raise those hands, this is our party
We came here to live life like nobody was watching
I got my city right behind me
If I fall, they got me
Learn from that failure, gain humility
And then we keep marching, I said
Can we go back? This is the moment (woo)
Tonight is the night, we'll fight 'til it's over
So we put our hands up like the ceiling can't hold us
Like the ceiling can't hold us
Can we go back? This is the moment
Tonight is the night, we'll fight 'til it's over
So we put our hands up like the ceiling can't hold us
Like the ceiling can't hold us
(But so we put our hands up)
(But so we put our hands up)
(Whoa-oh, whoa-oh, whoa-oh)
(Let's go) na, na, nana, na, na, nana
(Aha) hey
(And all my people sing)
Na, na, nana, na, na, nana (ha, that's right, feels good)
Hey (and all my people sing)
Na, na, nana, na, na, nana (you do it, Ray)
Oh (and all my people sing)
Na, na, nana, na, na, nana
Mack-le-eh-eh-eh-eh-more
Can we go back? This is the moment
Tonight is the night, we'll fight 'til it's over
So we put our hands up like the ceiling can't hold us
Like the ceiling can't hold us
Can we go back? This is the moment
Tonight is the night, we'll fight 'til it's over
So we put our hands up like the ceiling can't hold us
Like the ceiling can't hold us
Good to see you, c'mon, dude, let's go
Yeah, let's go
Alright, alright, okay, ah, alright, okay
Alright, okay
Return of the Mack, get 'em, what it is, what it does, what it is, what it isn't
Looking for a better way to get up out of bed
Instead of getting on the internet and checking a new hit
We get up, fresh out, pimp strut walking
Little bit of humble, little bit of cautious
Somewhere between like, Rocky and Cosby, sweater game
Nope, nope, y'all can't copy that
Bad, moonwalking, this here, is our party
My posse's been on Broadway, and we did it our way
Grown music, I shed my skin and put my bones into everything, I record to it
And yet I'm on, let that stage light go and shine on down
Got that Bob Barker suit game and Plinko in my style
Money, stay on my craft and stick around for those pounds
But I do that to pass the torch and put on for my town
Trust me, on my I-N-D-E-P-E-N-D-E-N-T shit, hustling
Chasing dreams since I was fourteen
With the four-track, bussin'
Halfway 'cross that city with the backpack, fat cat, crush shit
Labels out here, now they can't tell me nothin'
We give that to the people, spread it across the country
Labels out here, now they can't tell me nothin'
We give it to the people, spread it across the country
Can we go back? This is the moment
Tonight is the night, we'll fight 'til it's over
So we put our hands up like the ceiling can't hold us
Like the ceiling can't hold us
Can we go back? This is the moment
Tonight is the night, we'll fight 'til it's over
So we put our hands up like the ceiling can't hold us
Like the ceiling can't hold us
Now, can I kick it? Thank you
Yeah, I'm so damn grateful
I grew up really wanting gold fronts
But that's what you get when Wu-Tang raised you
Y'all can't stop me, go hard like I've got an 808 in my heartbeat
And I'm eating at the beat like you gave a little speed
To a great white shark on Shark Week, raw
Time to go up, I'm gone
Deuces, goodbye, I've got a world to see
And my girl, she wanna see Rome
Caesar make you a believer, nah
I never ever did it for a throne
That validation comes from giving it back to the people, now
Sing this song and it goes like
Raise those hands, this is our party
We came here to live life like nobody was watching
I got my city right behind me
If I fall, they got me
Learn from that failure, gain humility
And then we keep marching, I said
Can we go back? This is the moment (woo)
Tonight is the night, we'll fight 'til it's over
So we put our hands up like the ceiling can't hold us
Like the ceiling can't hold us
Can we go back? This is the moment
Tonight is the night, we'll fight 'til it's over
So we put our hands up like the ceiling can't hold us
Like the ceiling can't hold us
(But so we put our hands up)
(But so we put our hands up)
(Whoa-oh, whoa-oh, whoa-oh)
(Let's go) na, na, nana, na, na, nana
(Aha) hey
(And all my people sing)
Na, na, nana, na, na, nana (ha, that's right, feels good)
Hey (and all my people sing)
Na, na, nana, na, na, nana (you do it, Ray)
Oh (and all my people sing)
Na, na, nana, na, na, nana
Mack-le-eh-eh-eh-eh-more
Can we go back? This is the moment
Tonight is the night, we'll fight 'til it's over
So we put our hands up like the ceiling can't hold us
Like the ceiling can't hold us
Can we go back? This is the moment
Tonight is the night, we'll fight 'til it's over
So we put our hands up like the ceiling can't hold us
Like the ceiling can't hold us
Lyrics submitted by Noss, edited by BasedDiosa, LoveMusic4LIFE, labgirlie12534, Songlover106
Can't Hold Us Lyrics as written by Ryan Scott Lewis Benjamin Haggerty
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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More Featured Meanings
Light Up The Sky
Van Halen
Van Halen
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him.
There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
No Surprises
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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.
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
Macklemore is from Seattle. So is Sir-Mix-A-Lot, who helped pave the way for Seattle rap artists. The line "my posse's been on Broadway" is a reference and tribute to Sir-Mix-A-Lot's song "Posse on Broadway".
haha "Can we go back?
Btw this song have a good things on lyric "Like the ceiling cant hold us Here we go back, this is the moment" I love this song,
macklemore have a good voice power when he sing this song
NICE!
The lyrics to the chorus are slightly wrong. He says,"Can we go back, this is the moment."
no its "here we go back" just listin you will here it<br />
"So we put our hands up like the ceiling can’t hold us" doesn't make sense :P why would the ceiling be holding them,surely its the floor that woudn't hold them considering they're stood on it.......unless missy elliott is in the video swingin on another light fitting.
@befamous7 this song is not just about for his city and the people in it, it is also about standing up for something together, he say's "I got my city right behind me, and if I fall, they got me" ... For the Chorus: if David wins agains Goliath than David is celebrating it, and like in every movie and story, the winners celebrating at the top of the highest building, so in that case "the ceiling can't hold us" makes total sence to me.
super gaaf