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.
Brand Nubian function
A junction of three
Collaborating in a style that's like funk
To slap palms, swing arms
Tap a soul
'Cause no rock rolls down our hill
Yo Black it's kinda ill
We don't roll no rocks we just fill
Heads with knowledge, pure foundation
Showing and proving through the manifestation
Of our name which is "Brand Nu"
Brand Nubian and we've come to
Make the people aware that black means first
400 years and we're made to feel cursed
But now it's our time to rule
Student of the old, teacher of the new school
My inspiration is the Five Percent Nation
As I cram, education was born
Like a thorn in your side I have sworn
Never to divide with Brand Nubian
You have to stand as a black man
Brand Nubian
From the Sudan plus I never ran
I'm from Africa, the central region
There I grew and formed a legion of my force
See me riding on a jet black horse at any cost
Brand Nubians will rise up and be the boss and show it
All fairness if you're black and show awareness
You can rally 'round the flag
Stand tall, or don't stand at all
You're with the three and the three won't sag to the floor
Besides picture that I'm painting I can draw
See me work nine to five on my easel
My physical is strong and my mind is cock diesel
Brand Nubian function in conjunction with the three
Brand Nubian
Not on a bandwagon following a fad
Making use of the knowledge that we already had
Grand Pu, here to send the mind into a frenzy
I bet I'll swing something this summer for the Benzi
Seep into the mind the brain and activate the pelvis
Keeping the blind deaf dumb and blind is Elvis
Meaning old, so behold
(The black, the beautiful, the bold)
Now if this falls short I'll try harder
A wisdom to me is someone like Assata
I'd like to say peace to Bambaata
Tasa Kuma, Ahmed, and Kenyatta
Brothers that'll fight for the cause
And they live in the boundaries of the righteous laws
To put it exact dominant means black
But some have a hard time trying to swallow that
Now we have some that are fake
Wearing blue eyes and green eyes, come on gimme a break
Brand Nubian here to wake up
Take off the makeup 'cause all it'll do is cake up
Just be real that's how I feel
Brand Nubian
Nubian
A native or inhabitant of Nubia
Nubian
A member of one of a group of African tribes that formed a poweful
Empire between Egypt and Ethiopia
From the 6th to 14th century
Nubian
Any of several languages spoken in the central and northern Sudan
And that's why we call ourselves Brand Nubian
As the midnight oil burns, our minds turn
Make a mistake and be fake and you'll burn
We're here to teach so you'd might as well learn
That the tree has the knowledge for what you yearn
Brand Nubian
A junction of three
Collaborating in a style that's like funk
To slap palms, swing arms
Tap a soul
'Cause no rock rolls down our hill
Yo Black it's kinda ill
We don't roll no rocks we just fill
Heads with knowledge, pure foundation
Showing and proving through the manifestation
Of our name which is "Brand Nu"
Brand Nubian and we've come to
Make the people aware that black means first
400 years and we're made to feel cursed
But now it's our time to rule
Student of the old, teacher of the new school
My inspiration is the Five Percent Nation
As I cram, education was born
Like a thorn in your side I have sworn
Never to divide with Brand Nubian
You have to stand as a black man
Brand Nubian
From the Sudan plus I never ran
I'm from Africa, the central region
There I grew and formed a legion of my force
See me riding on a jet black horse at any cost
Brand Nubians will rise up and be the boss and show it
All fairness if you're black and show awareness
You can rally 'round the flag
Stand tall, or don't stand at all
You're with the three and the three won't sag to the floor
Besides picture that I'm painting I can draw
See me work nine to five on my easel
My physical is strong and my mind is cock diesel
Brand Nubian function in conjunction with the three
Brand Nubian
Not on a bandwagon following a fad
Making use of the knowledge that we already had
Grand Pu, here to send the mind into a frenzy
I bet I'll swing something this summer for the Benzi
Seep into the mind the brain and activate the pelvis
Keeping the blind deaf dumb and blind is Elvis
Meaning old, so behold
(The black, the beautiful, the bold)
Now if this falls short I'll try harder
A wisdom to me is someone like Assata
I'd like to say peace to Bambaata
Tasa Kuma, Ahmed, and Kenyatta
Brothers that'll fight for the cause
And they live in the boundaries of the righteous laws
To put it exact dominant means black
But some have a hard time trying to swallow that
Now we have some that are fake
Wearing blue eyes and green eyes, come on gimme a break
Brand Nubian here to wake up
Take off the makeup 'cause all it'll do is cake up
Just be real that's how I feel
Brand Nubian
Nubian
A native or inhabitant of Nubia
Nubian
A member of one of a group of African tribes that formed a poweful
Empire between Egypt and Ethiopia
From the 6th to 14th century
Nubian
Any of several languages spoken in the central and northern Sudan
And that's why we call ourselves Brand Nubian
As the midnight oil burns, our minds turn
Make a mistake and be fake and you'll burn
We're here to teach so you'd might as well learn
That the tree has the knowledge for what you yearn
Brand Nubian
Lyrics submitted by spliphstar
Brand Nubian [Bonus Track] Lyrics as written by Derek Murphy Anthony Best
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
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
Light Up The Sky
Van Halen
Van Halen
Son Şansın - Şarkı Sözleri
Hayalperest
Hayalperest
This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
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.
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.