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.
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Honey, check it out, you got me mesmerized
With your black hair and fat-ass thighs
Street poetry is my everyday
But yo, I gotta stop when you trot my way
If I was working at the club you would not pay
Ayo, my man Phife Diggy, he got something to say
I like 'em brown, yellow, Puerto Rican or Haitian (uh)
Name is Phife Dawg from the Zulu Nation
Told you in the jam that we can get down
Now let's knock the boots like the group H-Town
You got BBD all on your bedroom wall
But I'm above the rim and this is how I ball
A gritty little something on the New York streets
This is how I represent over this here beat
Talking 'bout you
Yo, I took you out
But sex was on my mind for the whole damn route
My mind was in a frenzy and a horny state
But I couldn't drop dimes 'cause you couldn't relate
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down (you couldn't relate)
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down (you couldn't relate)
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Stretch out your legs, let me make you bawl
Drive you insane, drive you up the wall
Staring at your dome-piece, very strong
Stronger than pride, stronger than Teflon
Take you on the ave and you buy me links
Now I wanna pound the poontang until it stinks
You can be my mama and I'll be your boy
Original rude bwoy, never am I coy
You can be a shorty in my ill convoy
Not to come across as a thug or a hood (what?)
But hon', you got the goods, like Madelyne Woods
By the way, my name's Malik, The Five-Foot Freak
Let's say we get together by the end of the week
She simply said, "No," labeled me a ho
I said, "How you figure?" "My friends told me so"
I hate when silly groupies wanna run they yap
Word to God, hon', I don't get down like that
I'll have you weak in the knees that you could hardly speak
Or we could do like Uncle L and swing an ep in my Jeep
Keep it on the down, yo, we keep it discrete
See, I'm not the type of kid to have my biz in the streets
If my mom don't approve, then I'll just elope
Let me save the little man from inside the boat
Let me hit it from the back, girl, I won't catch a hernia
Bust off on your couch, now you got Seamen's Furniture
Shaheed, Phife and the Extra P
Stacy Beadle, PJ and my man LG
They know the Abstract is really soul on ice
The character is of men, never ever of mice
Shorty, let me tell you about my only vice
It has to do with lots of loving and it ain't nothing nice
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down (it ain't nothing nice)
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down (it ain't nothing nice)
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Honey, check it out, you got me mesmerized
With your black hair and fat-ass thighs
Street poetry is my everyday
But yo, I gotta stop when you trot my way
If I was working at the club you would not pay
Ayo, my man Phife Diggy, he got something to say
I like 'em brown, yellow, Puerto Rican or Haitian (uh)
Name is Phife Dawg from the Zulu Nation
Told you in the jam that we can get down
Now let's knock the boots like the group H-Town
You got BBD all on your bedroom wall
But I'm above the rim and this is how I ball
A gritty little something on the New York streets
This is how I represent over this here beat
Talking 'bout you
Yo, I took you out
But sex was on my mind for the whole damn route
My mind was in a frenzy and a horny state
But I couldn't drop dimes 'cause you couldn't relate
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down (you couldn't relate)
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down (you couldn't relate)
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Stretch out your legs, let me make you bawl
Drive you insane, drive you up the wall
Staring at your dome-piece, very strong
Stronger than pride, stronger than Teflon
Take you on the ave and you buy me links
Now I wanna pound the poontang until it stinks
You can be my mama and I'll be your boy
Original rude bwoy, never am I coy
You can be a shorty in my ill convoy
Not to come across as a thug or a hood (what?)
But hon', you got the goods, like Madelyne Woods
By the way, my name's Malik, The Five-Foot Freak
Let's say we get together by the end of the week
She simply said, "No," labeled me a ho
I said, "How you figure?" "My friends told me so"
I hate when silly groupies wanna run they yap
Word to God, hon', I don't get down like that
I'll have you weak in the knees that you could hardly speak
Or we could do like Uncle L and swing an ep in my Jeep
Keep it on the down, yo, we keep it discrete
See, I'm not the type of kid to have my biz in the streets
If my mom don't approve, then I'll just elope
Let me save the little man from inside the boat
Let me hit it from the back, girl, I won't catch a hernia
Bust off on your couch, now you got Seamen's Furniture
Shaheed, Phife and the Extra P
Stacy Beadle, PJ and my man LG
They know the Abstract is really soul on ice
The character is of men, never ever of mice
Shorty, let me tell you about my only vice
It has to do with lots of loving and it ain't nothing nice
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down (it ain't nothing nice)
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down (it ain't nothing nice)
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
Relax yourself, girl, please settle down
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.
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
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.
SO HOT.