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.
Ladies and gentlemen
We would like to present to you
A group that is simply just marvelous, just marvelous
Ladies and gentlemen, Cypress, Hill
16 men on a dead man's list
Yo-ho-ho and a bag of indo!
16 men till there's no one left
Yo-ho-ho and a bag of indo!
So many fucking emcees claim supremacy
On whose got hip-hop locked, it could never be
One who is solo, running the whole game
That's bullshit, like cops never sniffed cocaine
But I'm taking on all comers, dropping bombers
Reducing numbers, making it hot like the summer
This, one emcee he couldn't deal with the skill
Like Jack did Jill, I rolled his ass down the Hill
Beaten broken and coughing and choking on the rhyme
Like a hooker, sucking a dick for the first time
His, rhyme was hollow with no flow to follow
Bust a nut, all in your mouth, and made him swallow
I take 16 emcees, lock 'em in a room
Make 'em feel the contact, eating the mushrooms
Playing with your mind, making you feel the Force
Had to cancel out, two punk niggas up in The Source
Tried to get XXL, they still fell
Bitches go tell your troubles to Montel
16 men now there's 13 left
Yo-ho-ho and a bag of indo!
16 men now there's 13 left
Yo-ho-ho and a bag of indo!
I'm tripping on the people controlling the airwaves
Got it going on, you know it all, but God save
Your ass for clashing with the Soul Assassin
That's like Mike fucking with Poppa Joe Jackson
Ass-whoop all over the place, you can't hide behind
The physical, better run to the spiritual
Ass-whoop critical, or you can get it
From the lyrical, bitch-made niggas are invisible
Dysfunctional, hypocritical, smile in your face
The fucking cynical shit brains
As I sit back and say, tally-ho!
One of these days your punk ass gonna go
Guess you had a key to figure the fucking flow
But you're locked out, and the bomb's about to blow
16 men let me see who's next
Yo-ho-ho and a bag of indo!
16 men till there's no one left
Yo-ho-ho and a bag of indo!
Twelve punks to go, who's next on the list
Matter of fact I got one in my head to fix
There was one particular fool in the circle who fell off
Greed overcame the nigga who at all costs
Changed up to gain it all, but shared none
Who made him all the money to overcome?
Niggas up on the Hill, in the lab
He was rolling big balla style, high profile
Oh child, make me want to act juvenile
All smiles, right in my face, but wait a minute now
Welcome to the 360, degrees
Pay a fee when you fucking your people over the cheese
No soul, no conscience, no loyalty
To the niggas who got him treated, like royalty
Hey yo time's up, you're gonna end up seeing visions
Of everybody, you fucked over, you're Scared Sober
16 men till there's no one left
Yo-ho-ho them niggas has gotta go
16 men till there's no one left
Yo-ho-ho them niggas has gotta go
Fuck the hater with the symbol and no soul
And that bitch nigga who stole my car stereo
Trick Deez, gets no love, she gets nuts
Like Ass Miller, and that fucking ex-dealer
Can't forget the nigga who was down with the Hill-a
And that punk who tried to dip into the squealer
You get bucked like C. Tucker and Will Bennett
Let me step, over the hump, and represent it
You go down like Jerry, and get smacked
Like Trick Leo, now here's your fucking eulogy-o!
That was 16 men now there's no one left
Yo-ho-ho and a bag of indo
16 men now there's no one left
Yo-ho-ho and a bag of indo
We would like to present to you
A group that is simply just marvelous, just marvelous
Ladies and gentlemen, Cypress, Hill
16 men on a dead man's list
Yo-ho-ho and a bag of indo!
16 men till there's no one left
Yo-ho-ho and a bag of indo!
So many fucking emcees claim supremacy
On whose got hip-hop locked, it could never be
One who is solo, running the whole game
That's bullshit, like cops never sniffed cocaine
But I'm taking on all comers, dropping bombers
Reducing numbers, making it hot like the summer
This, one emcee he couldn't deal with the skill
Like Jack did Jill, I rolled his ass down the Hill
Beaten broken and coughing and choking on the rhyme
Like a hooker, sucking a dick for the first time
His, rhyme was hollow with no flow to follow
Bust a nut, all in your mouth, and made him swallow
I take 16 emcees, lock 'em in a room
Make 'em feel the contact, eating the mushrooms
Playing with your mind, making you feel the Force
Had to cancel out, two punk niggas up in The Source
Tried to get XXL, they still fell
Bitches go tell your troubles to Montel
16 men now there's 13 left
Yo-ho-ho and a bag of indo!
16 men now there's 13 left
Yo-ho-ho and a bag of indo!
I'm tripping on the people controlling the airwaves
Got it going on, you know it all, but God save
Your ass for clashing with the Soul Assassin
That's like Mike fucking with Poppa Joe Jackson
Ass-whoop all over the place, you can't hide behind
The physical, better run to the spiritual
Ass-whoop critical, or you can get it
From the lyrical, bitch-made niggas are invisible
Dysfunctional, hypocritical, smile in your face
The fucking cynical shit brains
As I sit back and say, tally-ho!
One of these days your punk ass gonna go
Guess you had a key to figure the fucking flow
But you're locked out, and the bomb's about to blow
16 men let me see who's next
Yo-ho-ho and a bag of indo!
16 men till there's no one left
Yo-ho-ho and a bag of indo!
Twelve punks to go, who's next on the list
Matter of fact I got one in my head to fix
There was one particular fool in the circle who fell off
Greed overcame the nigga who at all costs
Changed up to gain it all, but shared none
Who made him all the money to overcome?
Niggas up on the Hill, in the lab
He was rolling big balla style, high profile
Oh child, make me want to act juvenile
All smiles, right in my face, but wait a minute now
Welcome to the 360, degrees
Pay a fee when you fucking your people over the cheese
No soul, no conscience, no loyalty
To the niggas who got him treated, like royalty
Hey yo time's up, you're gonna end up seeing visions
Of everybody, you fucked over, you're Scared Sober
16 men till there's no one left
Yo-ho-ho them niggas has gotta go
16 men till there's no one left
Yo-ho-ho them niggas has gotta go
Fuck the hater with the symbol and no soul
And that bitch nigga who stole my car stereo
Trick Deez, gets no love, she gets nuts
Like Ass Miller, and that fucking ex-dealer
Can't forget the nigga who was down with the Hill-a
And that punk who tried to dip into the squealer
You get bucked like C. Tucker and Will Bennett
Let me step, over the hump, and represent it
You go down like Jerry, and get smacked
Like Trick Leo, now here's your fucking eulogy-o!
That was 16 men now there's no one left
Yo-ho-ho and a bag of indo
16 men now there's no one left
Yo-ho-ho and a bag of indo
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
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."
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.
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.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.