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.
[verse one]
I'm the beat box original
Cool individual
Rockin' for no one,some funds is my residual
Salary,calories in just one rhyme
Would last any even a whole life time
Dictate,conversate,translate,lose weight
From 1987-88
And the years to come
The bass will still be dumb
And bounce
Sellin' DEF rhymes by the ounce
And if you ain't wit it it's the thought that counts
[chorus]
Cause they call me Doug E. Fresh
Cause known I'm DEF and the initials of my name is D.E.F.
Know what I'm sayin'
I ain't playin'
Picture this...
[verse two]
Standing outside in the front of the place
Eyes hypnotized by the sound of the bass
Kickin' it wicked I wonder who it is performing
Cops barricade so the crowd won't storm in
I'm in the middle of this and and I'm left unknowin
Standing and plannin' if the groups not showin up
But the tension of the crowd is growin up
Out of adolescence to a full size problem
And if I have problems I solve them and they,and they
[chorus]
[verse three]
Pointed in the direction headed for the door
As my mind recalls being through this before
So I'm figuring and adding and here I am mad
In a way getting closer to the metal detector
Pass my shank to the cut professor
I was taught to never roam as they check my home boy
And find out the shank ain't nuthin but a comb
Through a distant block I didn't come to rock
I came to put the whole place in shock
But this girl followed me just like a shadow
I told her to chill because I know the girl
Had no reason for teasin'
Because it ain't skeezin' season
Me and the fellas were just breezin' on by
I didn't want to dis'her so I said Hi
And capitalize in what I specialize in
And begin to get down into something more important
While the Dj spins the records
And I recon without double checkin'
I have you spell bound in the average of a second or less
[chorus]
Cut it up Will
Cut it up Barry
Cut,cut,cut,cut
Cuttin up
Cut it up
I'm the beat box original
Cool individual
Rockin' for no one,some funds is my residual
Salary,calories in just one rhyme
Would last any even a whole life time
Dictate,conversate,translate,lose weight
From 1987-88
And the years to come
The bass will still be dumb
And bounce
Sellin' DEF rhymes by the ounce
And if you ain't wit it it's the thought that counts
[chorus]
Cause they call me Doug E. Fresh
Cause known I'm DEF and the initials of my name is D.E.F.
Know what I'm sayin'
I ain't playin'
Picture this...
[verse two]
Standing outside in the front of the place
Eyes hypnotized by the sound of the bass
Kickin' it wicked I wonder who it is performing
Cops barricade so the crowd won't storm in
I'm in the middle of this and and I'm left unknowin
Standing and plannin' if the groups not showin up
But the tension of the crowd is growin up
Out of adolescence to a full size problem
And if I have problems I solve them and they,and they
[chorus]
[verse three]
Pointed in the direction headed for the door
As my mind recalls being through this before
So I'm figuring and adding and here I am mad
In a way getting closer to the metal detector
Pass my shank to the cut professor
I was taught to never roam as they check my home boy
And find out the shank ain't nuthin but a comb
Through a distant block I didn't come to rock
I came to put the whole place in shock
But this girl followed me just like a shadow
I told her to chill because I know the girl
Had no reason for teasin'
Because it ain't skeezin' season
Me and the fellas were just breezin' on by
I didn't want to dis'her so I said Hi
And capitalize in what I specialize in
And begin to get down into something more important
While the Dj spins the records
And I recon without double checkin'
I have you spell bound in the average of a second or less
[chorus]
Cut it up Will
Cut it up Barry
Cut,cut,cut,cut
Cuttin up
Cut it up
Lyrics submitted by Mellow_Harsher
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
Standing On The Edge Of Summer
Thursday
Thursday
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
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.
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
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.