He reuses the verse melody from the previous album's "Dirty Little Religion", the topics of the verses are all over the place, and he packs too many words into one line (goes to show...) and too few in another (it's pretty hard to find), and rhymes "Henley Regatta" with "Persona non grata", but gets away with it all as only he could.
What's up man, hey yo what's up
Yeah what's going on here?
I'm sick and tired of 5-0 running up on the block
You know what I'm saying?
Yo, Snow they came around here looking for you the other day
(Word?) Word, bust it
Informer, ya' no say daddy me Snow me I go blame
A licky boom boom down
'Tective man a say, say daddy me Snow me stab someone down the lane
A licky boom boom down
Informer, ya' no say daddy me Snow me I go blame
A licky boom boom down
'Tective man a say, say daddy me Snow me stab someone down the lane
A licky boom boom down
Police-a them-a they come and-a they blow down me door
One ee come crawl troo, troo my window
So dey put me in de back de car at de station
From that point on me reach my destination
Where the destination reachin' outta East Detention, where dey
Looked down me pants, look up me bottom, so
Informer, ya' no say daddy me Snow me I go blame
A licky boom boom down
'Tective man a say, say daddy me Snow me stab someone down the lane
A licky boom boom down
Informer, ya' no say daddy me Snow me I go blame
A licky boom boom down
'Tective man a say, say daddy me Snow me stab someone down the lane
A licky boom boom down
So, bigger dem are they think dem have more power
De pon di phone me say dat one hour
Me for want to use a once an' now me call me lover
Lover who me callin an' a one Tamei
An' mi love er' in my heart down to my belly-a
Yes say daddy me Snow me I feel cool an' deadly
Yes the one MC Shan an' the one Daddy Snow
Together we-a love'em is a tor-na-do
Informer, ya' no say daddy me Snow me I go blame
A licky boom boom down
'Tective man a say, say daddy me Snow me stab someone down the lane
A licky boom boom down
Informer, ya' no say daddy me Snow me I go blame
A licky boom boom down
'Tective man a say, say daddy me Snow me stab someone down the lane
A licky boom boom down
So, listen for me, you better listen for me now
Listen for me, you better listen for me now
When-a me rock-a the microphone, me rock on steady-a
Yes a daddy me Snow me are de article don
But the in an a-out a dance an they say where you come from-a?
People dem say ya come from Jamaica
But me born an' raised in the ghetto that I want ya to know-a
Pure black people man that's all I man know
Yeah me shoes are a-tear up an'a me toes just a show-a
Where me-a born in are de one Toronto, so
Informer, ya' no say daddy me Snow me I go blame
A licky boom boom down
'Tective man a say, say daddy me Snow me stab someone down the lane
A licky boom boom down
Informer, ya' no say daddy me Snow me I go blame
A licky boom boom down
'Tective man a say, say daddy me Snow me stab someone down the lane
A licky boom boom down
Come with a nice young lady
Intelligent, yes she gentle and irie
Everywhere me go me never lef' her at all-ie
Yes-a Daddy Snow me are the roam dance man-a
Roam between-a dancin' in-a in-a nation-a
You never know say daddy me Snow me are the boom shakata
Me never lay-a down flat in-a one cardboard box-a
Yes-a daddy me Snow me-a go reachin' out da top, so
Informer, ya' no say daddy me Snow me I go blame
A licky boom boom down
'Tective man a say, say daddy me Snow me stab someone down the lane
A licky boom boom down
Informer, ya' no say daddy me Snow me I go blame
A licky boom boom down
'Tective man a say, say daddy me Snow me stab someone down the lane
A licky boom boom down
Why wo ee, why wo ee, an' wo ee an' wo ee
Me sitting 'round cool with my dibbie-dibbie girl
Police knock my door, lick up my pal
Rough me up and I can't do a thing
Pick up my line when my telephone ring
Take me to the station black up my hands
Trail me down 'cause I'm hanging with the Snowman
What I'm gonna do? I'm backed and I'm trapped
Slap me in the face and took all of my gap
They have no clues and they wanna get warmer
But Shan won't turn informer
Informer, ya' no say daddy me Snow me I go blame
A licky boom boom down
'Tective man a say, say daddy me Snow me stab someone down the lane
A licky boom boom down
Informer, ya' no say daddy me Snow me I go blame
A licky boom boom down
'Tective man a say, say daddy me Snow me stab someone down the lane
A licky boom boom down
Diggity dum, diggity diggity dum, an' wo ee, an wo, an wo ee
Yeah what's going on here?
I'm sick and tired of 5-0 running up on the block
You know what I'm saying?
Yo, Snow they came around here looking for you the other day
(Word?) Word, bust it
Informer, ya' no say daddy me Snow me I go blame
A licky boom boom down
'Tective man a say, say daddy me Snow me stab someone down the lane
A licky boom boom down
Informer, ya' no say daddy me Snow me I go blame
A licky boom boom down
'Tective man a say, say daddy me Snow me stab someone down the lane
A licky boom boom down
Police-a them-a they come and-a they blow down me door
One ee come crawl troo, troo my window
So dey put me in de back de car at de station
From that point on me reach my destination
Where the destination reachin' outta East Detention, where dey
Looked down me pants, look up me bottom, so
Informer, ya' no say daddy me Snow me I go blame
A licky boom boom down
'Tective man a say, say daddy me Snow me stab someone down the lane
A licky boom boom down
Informer, ya' no say daddy me Snow me I go blame
A licky boom boom down
'Tective man a say, say daddy me Snow me stab someone down the lane
A licky boom boom down
So, bigger dem are they think dem have more power
De pon di phone me say dat one hour
Me for want to use a once an' now me call me lover
Lover who me callin an' a one Tamei
An' mi love er' in my heart down to my belly-a
Yes say daddy me Snow me I feel cool an' deadly
Yes the one MC Shan an' the one Daddy Snow
Together we-a love'em is a tor-na-do
Informer, ya' no say daddy me Snow me I go blame
A licky boom boom down
'Tective man a say, say daddy me Snow me stab someone down the lane
A licky boom boom down
Informer, ya' no say daddy me Snow me I go blame
A licky boom boom down
'Tective man a say, say daddy me Snow me stab someone down the lane
A licky boom boom down
So, listen for me, you better listen for me now
Listen for me, you better listen for me now
When-a me rock-a the microphone, me rock on steady-a
Yes a daddy me Snow me are de article don
But the in an a-out a dance an they say where you come from-a?
People dem say ya come from Jamaica
But me born an' raised in the ghetto that I want ya to know-a
Pure black people man that's all I man know
Yeah me shoes are a-tear up an'a me toes just a show-a
Where me-a born in are de one Toronto, so
Informer, ya' no say daddy me Snow me I go blame
A licky boom boom down
'Tective man a say, say daddy me Snow me stab someone down the lane
A licky boom boom down
Informer, ya' no say daddy me Snow me I go blame
A licky boom boom down
'Tective man a say, say daddy me Snow me stab someone down the lane
A licky boom boom down
Come with a nice young lady
Intelligent, yes she gentle and irie
Everywhere me go me never lef' her at all-ie
Yes-a Daddy Snow me are the roam dance man-a
Roam between-a dancin' in-a in-a nation-a
You never know say daddy me Snow me are the boom shakata
Me never lay-a down flat in-a one cardboard box-a
Yes-a daddy me Snow me-a go reachin' out da top, so
Informer, ya' no say daddy me Snow me I go blame
A licky boom boom down
'Tective man a say, say daddy me Snow me stab someone down the lane
A licky boom boom down
Informer, ya' no say daddy me Snow me I go blame
A licky boom boom down
'Tective man a say, say daddy me Snow me stab someone down the lane
A licky boom boom down
Why wo ee, why wo ee, an' wo ee an' wo ee
Me sitting 'round cool with my dibbie-dibbie girl
Police knock my door, lick up my pal
Rough me up and I can't do a thing
Pick up my line when my telephone ring
Take me to the station black up my hands
Trail me down 'cause I'm hanging with the Snowman
What I'm gonna do? I'm backed and I'm trapped
Slap me in the face and took all of my gap
They have no clues and they wanna get warmer
But Shan won't turn informer
Informer, ya' no say daddy me Snow me I go blame
A licky boom boom down
'Tective man a say, say daddy me Snow me stab someone down the lane
A licky boom boom down
Informer, ya' no say daddy me Snow me I go blame
A licky boom boom down
'Tective man a say, say daddy me Snow me stab someone down the lane
A licky boom boom down
Diggity dum, diggity diggity dum, an' wo ee, an wo, an wo ee
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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.
Fast Car
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"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.
If we read between the lines and work to find the deeper (giggle) meaning behind Mr. Snow's lyrics, we can see that he is a deep and tortured soul who is speaking about his personal experience of being turned over to the police by someone. In the chorus, he says, "Informer you no say daddy me Snow me or I'll go blam, I'll lick you, boom-boom, damn. Detective mon said daddy me Snow me stab someone down the lane, I'll lick you, boom-boom, damn." Translated into English, this essentially means, "You who have informed the police, if you indeed gave the law enforcement my name, I will kill you with a gun. A man who is a detective said that I stabbed someone down the street, and I will kill you with a gun." But that's not as catchy. :*)