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.
Who is the man comin' down your block?
It's me you see, with the funk in my walk ('cause)
I'm doin' just what I like to
Today is my day yeah, and I'ma get nice too
You gotta keep movin', and you can't say nothing
I'ma keep bouncin' and bumpin' and stuffin'
One thing you ought to know, well, I am the maestro
Yeah, you motherfuckers, I'm all that
I see you lookin' at me sayin'
How can he be so skinny and live so phat?
You know why, 'cause I'm the maestro
Yeah, you know and I'm "movin' on my wheels"
"You got that?"
I feel like Rufus Thomas, the crown prince of dance
I'm Mike D, and I'm known for romance
I'm the crazy baldhead with the part on the side
And I'm riding down the block, like I'm on a water slide
'Cause it's the type of day I feel like pressing my luck
'Cause I got nothing to lose, cause I don't give a fuck
See I'm a player, I play, don't play to win, I play to show (yeah)
I'm the maestro
Yeah that's right, ya'll
You know I got my own shit
See, this ain't America's Most Wanted
This is America's Most Mackin!
That's right other people all call it, my hit!
When I get on there is no stoppin'!
Who is the man, who is the man, who is the man?
Who is the man, who is the man, who is the man?
Who is the man, who is the man?
It's me you see, with the funk in my walk ('cause)
I'm doin' just what I like to
Today is my day yeah, and I'ma get nice too
You gotta keep movin', and you can't say nothing
I'ma keep bouncin' and bumpin' and stuffin'
One thing you ought to know, well, I am the maestro
Yeah, you motherfuckers, I'm all that
I see you lookin' at me sayin'
How can he be so skinny and live so phat?
You know why, 'cause I'm the maestro
Yeah, you know and I'm "movin' on my wheels"
"You got that?"
I feel like Rufus Thomas, the crown prince of dance
I'm Mike D, and I'm known for romance
I'm the crazy baldhead with the part on the side
And I'm riding down the block, like I'm on a water slide
'Cause it's the type of day I feel like pressing my luck
'Cause I got nothing to lose, cause I don't give a fuck
See I'm a player, I play, don't play to win, I play to show (yeah)
I'm the maestro
Yeah that's right, ya'll
You know I got my own shit
See, this ain't America's Most Wanted
This is America's Most Mackin!
That's right other people all call it, my hit!
When I get on there is no stoppin'!
Who is the man, who is the man, who is the man?
Who is the man, who is the man, who is the man?
Who is the man, who is the man?
Lyrics submitted by The Marine
The Maestro Lyrics as written by Adam Nathaniel Yauch Adam Horovitz
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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whats the thing at the start of this song about?
This song is an example of what "Gratitude" is about: when you have so much to say it's called Gratitude. Although, Maestro lacks substance besides bragging about this gift.
Gratitude definitely has a deeper meaning in my opinion, too. The Maestro is a completely different thing & is so funky, I actually can't say which song I like better. Groups like De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, Beasties... proved that great music of this kind doesn't have to be about anything, sometimes it's just about what feels right. I respect that you don't like it as much as Gratitude but at least try hearing again. This time check out the live version on the Root Down EP. They changed it up a bit & even covered another song for a bit. I commented on the Gratitude page, too. I definitely love that song just as much. Just for completely different reasons.
Supposedly the intro is a voice mail (or to date myself, an answering machine message) left by some drunk fan who called the number from "Ask for Janice" off of Paul's Boutique. It sort of makes sense as he's saying "you paulie" at the beginning, and it's slurred and makes no sense so there's the drunk part.
"Yo, Paul. This Alan & you can kiss my ass, Janice. I wasn't interested in you anyhow. I was just interested in the B-Boys. So fuck you, my man."
I believe that's, roughly the way it goes. Definitely in response to "Ask For Janice" via answering machine. In the commentary for this album Yauch explains that when the clothing store called Paul's Boutique closed he got that phone number for a line in his parent's basement. He hooked up an answering machine & moved to LA. This was the most interesting of the messages left by people who had heard Paul's Boutique the album & wondered "Who the fuck is Janice & is Paul's Boutique a real place"? So they called the number & got some misleading outgoing message that Yauch set up. Some left responses. I think they actually met Alan at some point & he admitted that he was, indeed extremely drunk when he left this message. One of my favorite moments on this album! It's a great example of Yauch's playful way communicating with the world about nonsense or something that doesn't really matter but it's interesting to us anyway.