This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
Announcer: (mitch mitchell)
Good evening ladies and gentlemen.
Welcome to radio station exp. tonight we are
Ffeaturing an interview with a very peculiar
Looking gentlemen who goes by the name of mr.
Paul corusoe, on the dodogy subject of are there
Or are there not flying saucers or... ahem,
Ufo's. please mr corusoe, pleased could you
Give your regarded opinion on this nonsense
About spaceships and even space people.
Mr corusoe: (jimi hendrix)
Thank you. as you all know, you just can't
Believe everything you see and hear, can you. now,
If you will excuse me, is must be on my way.
Announcer: (mitch mitchell)
Bu... but, but... i, i, don't
believe it
Good evening ladies and gentlemen.
Welcome to radio station exp. tonight we are
Ffeaturing an interview with a very peculiar
Looking gentlemen who goes by the name of mr.
Paul corusoe, on the dodogy subject of are there
Or are there not flying saucers or... ahem,
Ufo's. please mr corusoe, pleased could you
Give your regarded opinion on this nonsense
About spaceships and even space people.
Mr corusoe: (jimi hendrix)
Thank you. as you all know, you just can't
Believe everything you see and hear, can you. now,
If you will excuse me, is must be on my way.
Announcer: (mitch mitchell)
Bu... but, but... i, i, don't
believe it
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
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
When We Were Young
Blink-182
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
Somewhere Only We Know
Keane
Keane
Per the FAQ on Keane's website, Keane's drummer Richard Hughes, stated the following:
"We've been asked whether "Somewhere Only We Know" is about a specific place, and Tim has been saying that, for him, or us as individuals, it might be about a geographical space, or a feeling; it can mean something individual to each person, and they can interpret it to a memory of theirs... It's perhaps more of a theme rather than a specific message... Feelings that may be universal, without necessarily being totally specific to us, or a place, or a time..."
With the nostalgic sentiment and the overall tone of the song, I think Keane is attempting to express a Portuguese term known as 'saudade', which does not have a direct English translation but roughly means "that which we remember because it is gone."
Sunglasses at Night
Corey Hart
Corey Hart
In the 1980s, sunglasses were a common fashion for people who wanted to adopt a "tough guy" persona (note all the cop shows from that era -- Simon & Simon, Miami Vice, etc. -- where the lead characters wore shades). So I think this song is about a guy who wears shades as a way of hiding his insecurity after learning that his girlfriend is cheating on him. He's trying to pretend that he's a "tough guy" to hide the fact that his girlfriend's affair is disturbing him.
lmao...gotta love Jimi
another way of jimi expressing his desire to get away and enter his own realm of beauty.
LMAO!! thats jimi for ya... gotta give my love
i agree with u dornan
Jimi was obsessed with aliens and UFO's... maybe he suspected that he was one! When you listen to the man you gotta wonder!
Well, I used to have Axis:Bold as love vinyl (1969 methinks) and I'm pretty sure that intro was titled ESP, not EXP.
Nope. EXP.
the beginning of this is, i believe, the same as the beginning of stone free.
What a strange way to start the album out.
I have a DVD on the making of "Axis: Bold Of Love". It shows how you play the songs from it. On "Exp" that guy says he used his feedback and used his wah-wah bar cable backwards.
I also think this song is about a radio talk-show called "EXP" and is about a man called Paul Carousoe and he lives in space and is about to go insane.