So this has been.my favorite song of OTEP's since it came out in 2004, and I always thought it was a song about a child's narrative of suffering in an abusive Christian home. But now that I am revisiting the lyrics, I am seeing something totally new.
This song could be gospel of John but from the perspective of Jesus.
Jesus was NOT having a good time up to and during the crucifixion. Everyone in the known world at the time looked to him with fear, admiration or disgust and he was constantly being asked questions. He spoke in "verses, prophesies and curses". He had made an enemy of the state, and believed the world was increasingly wicked and fallen from grace, or that he was in the "mouth of madness".
The spine of atlas is the structure that allows the titan to hold the world up. Jesus challenged the state and in doing so became a celebrated resistance figure. It also made him public enemy #1.
All of this happened simply because he was doing his thing, not because of any agenda he had or strategy.
And then he gets scourged (storm of thorns)
There are some plot holes here but I think it's an interesting interpretation.
School spirit-
Alpha, step
Omega, step
Kappa, step
Sigma, step
Gangstas walk
Pimps gon' talk
Ooh, hecky nah, that boy is raw
AKA, step
Delta, step
S.G. Rho, step
Zeta, step
Gangstas walk
Pimps gon' talk
Ooh, hecky nah, that boy is raw
I'ma get on this TV, mama
I'ma, I'ma put ish down
I'ma make sure these light-skinned-
Never, ever, never come back in style
Told 'em I finished school and I started my own business
They say, "Oh you graduated?" No, I decided I was finished
Chasing y'all dreams and what you got planned
Now I spit it so hot, you got tanned
Back to school and I hate it there, I hate it there
Everything I want, I gotta wait a year, I wait a year
This- graduated at the top of our class
I went to Cheesecake, he was a waiter there
Alpha, step
Omega, step
Kappa, step
Sigma, step
Gangstas walk
Pimps gon' talk
Ooh, hecky nah, that boy is raw
AKA, step
Delta, step
S.G. Rho, step
Zeta, step
Gangstas walk
Pimps gon' talk
Ooh, hecky nah, that boy (uh) is raw
I got a Jones like Norah for your sorrow
Bring more of them girls I've seen in the Aurora
Tammy, Becky, and Laura, or a Shirley
I'm trying to hit it early, like I'm in a hurry
See, that's how dude became the young Pootie Tang, tippy tow
Roc-A-Fella chain, yeah, that's my rapper style
Rosary piece, yeah, that's my Catholic style
Red and white 1's, yeah, that's my Kappa style
And I ain't even pledge
Crack my head on the steering wheel and I ain't even dead
If I could go through all that and still be breathing
Bend over, I'm here for a reason
Alpha, step
Omega, step
Kappa, step
Sigma, step
Gangstas walk
Pimps gon' talk
Ooh, hecky nah, that boy is raw
AKA, step
Delta, step
S.G. Rho, step
Zeta, step
Gangstas walk
Pimps gon' talk
Ooh, hecky nah, that boy is raw
Feel a woo coming on, cuz
I feel a woo coming on, cuz
(Woo)
There it was
I feel some woos coming on, cuz
A couple woos coming on, cuz
(Woo, woo)
There they was
I feel a woo coming on, cuz
I feel a woo coming on, cuz
(Woo)
There it was
I feel some woos coming on, cuz
A couple woos coming on, cuz
(Woo, woo)
There they was
Alpha, step
Omega, step
Kappa, step
Sigma, step
Gangstas walk
Pimps gon' talk
Ooh, hecky nah, that boy is raw
AKA, step
Delta, step
S.G. Rho, step
Zeta, step
Gangstas walk
Pimps gon' talk
Ooh, hecky nah, that boy is raw
I'ma get on this TV, mama
I'ma, I'ma put ish down
I'ma make sure these light-skinned-
Never, ever, never come back in style
Told 'em I finished school and I started my own business
They say, "Oh you graduated?" No, I decided I was finished
Chasing y'all dreams and what you got planned
Now I spit it so hot, you got tanned
Back to school and I hate it there, I hate it there
Everything I want, I gotta wait a year, I wait a year
This- graduated at the top of our class
I went to Cheesecake, he was a waiter there
Alpha, step
Omega, step
Kappa, step
Sigma, step
Gangstas walk
Pimps gon' talk
Ooh, hecky nah, that boy is raw
AKA, step
Delta, step
S.G. Rho, step
Zeta, step
Gangstas walk
Pimps gon' talk
Ooh, hecky nah, that boy (uh) is raw
I got a Jones like Norah for your sorrow
Bring more of them girls I've seen in the Aurora
Tammy, Becky, and Laura, or a Shirley
I'm trying to hit it early, like I'm in a hurry
See, that's how dude became the young Pootie Tang, tippy tow
Roc-A-Fella chain, yeah, that's my rapper style
Rosary piece, yeah, that's my Catholic style
Red and white 1's, yeah, that's my Kappa style
And I ain't even pledge
Crack my head on the steering wheel and I ain't even dead
If I could go through all that and still be breathing
Bend over, I'm here for a reason
Alpha, step
Omega, step
Kappa, step
Sigma, step
Gangstas walk
Pimps gon' talk
Ooh, hecky nah, that boy is raw
AKA, step
Delta, step
S.G. Rho, step
Zeta, step
Gangstas walk
Pimps gon' talk
Ooh, hecky nah, that boy is raw
Feel a woo coming on, cuz
I feel a woo coming on, cuz
(Woo)
There it was
I feel some woos coming on, cuz
A couple woos coming on, cuz
(Woo, woo)
There they was
I feel a woo coming on, cuz
I feel a woo coming on, cuz
(Woo)
There it was
I feel some woos coming on, cuz
A couple woos coming on, cuz
(Woo, woo)
There they was
Lyrics submitted by Adidasx007
School Spirit Lyrics as written by Kanye Omari West Aretha Franklin
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Does this song remind anybody else of Wyclef Jean's "Peace God"?
I like the beat and the overall sound of this song, and I'll admit that I couldn't get it out of my head today on campus, but the lyrics are just dumb.
From how he talks, you can't tell if Kanye is for or against the Greek system. The closest he gets to making a stand on the whole Greek issue is when he says, "And I ain't even pledge"...but before he extrapolates on why he didn't pledge, he goes off topic again with, "Crack my head on the steering wheel and I ain't even dead." Alright, Kanye, you were in a major car accident, we got that...but what does it have to do with the topic of this song? I suspect absolutely nothing.
This song doesn't really seem to express any school spirit, or really even any ironic co-opting of the concept of school spirit for subversive effect (as the two School Spirit skits would suggest there would be.)
As with much of Kanye's music, the sound is solid, but the rapping is poor. I hope he can fix that for his next album, but I'm not holding my breath.