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.
London calling
Speak the slang now
Boys say wha'
Come on girls say what, say wha'
London calling
Speak the slang now
Boys say wha
Come on girls say what, say wha'
Slam, galang galang galang
Shotgun, get down
Get down, get down, get down
Too late, you down
D-d-d-down
Ta na ta na ta na
Blaze a blaze (galang a lang a lang lang)
Purple haze (galang a lang a lang lang)
Blaze a blaze (galang a lang a lang lang)
Purple haze (galang a lang a lang lang)
Who the hell is hounding you in the B-M-W
How the hell he find you, 147'd you
The feds gon get you
Pull the strings on the hood
1 paranoid youth blazin' through the hood
Who the hell is hounding you in the B-M-W
How the hell he find you, 147'd you
The feds gon get you
Pull the strings on the hood
1 paranoid youth blazin' through the hood
Blaze a blaze (galang a lang a lang lang)
Purple haze (galang a lang a lang lang)
Blaze a blaze (galang a lang a lang lang)
Purple haze (galang a lang a lang lang)
London calling
Speak the slang now
Boys say wha
Come on girls say what, say wha'
London calling
Speak the slang now
Boys say wha
Come on girls say what, say wha'
They say
Rivers gonna run though
Work is gonna save you
Pray and you will pull through
Suck a dick'll help you
Don't let em get to you
If he's got 1 you get 2
Backstab your crew
Sell it I could sell you
They say
Rivers gonna run though
Work is gonna save you
Pray and you will pull through
Suck a dick'll help you
Don't let em get to you
If he's got 1 you get 2
Backstab your crew
Sell it I could sell you
Blaze a blaze (galang a lang a lang lang)
Purple haze (galang a lang a lang lang)
Blaze a blaze (galang a lang a lang lang)
Purple haze (galang a lang a lang lang)
Blaze a blaze (galang a lang a lang lang)
Purple haze (galang a lang a lang lang)
Blaze a blaze (galang a lang a lang lang)
Purple haze (galang a lang a lang lang)
Speak the slang now
Boys say wha'
Come on girls say what, say wha'
London calling
Speak the slang now
Boys say wha
Come on girls say what, say wha'
Slam, galang galang galang
Shotgun, get down
Get down, get down, get down
Too late, you down
D-d-d-down
Ta na ta na ta na
Blaze a blaze (galang a lang a lang lang)
Purple haze (galang a lang a lang lang)
Blaze a blaze (galang a lang a lang lang)
Purple haze (galang a lang a lang lang)
Who the hell is hounding you in the B-M-W
How the hell he find you, 147'd you
The feds gon get you
Pull the strings on the hood
1 paranoid youth blazin' through the hood
Who the hell is hounding you in the B-M-W
How the hell he find you, 147'd you
The feds gon get you
Pull the strings on the hood
1 paranoid youth blazin' through the hood
Blaze a blaze (galang a lang a lang lang)
Purple haze (galang a lang a lang lang)
Blaze a blaze (galang a lang a lang lang)
Purple haze (galang a lang a lang lang)
London calling
Speak the slang now
Boys say wha
Come on girls say what, say wha'
London calling
Speak the slang now
Boys say wha
Come on girls say what, say wha'
They say
Rivers gonna run though
Work is gonna save you
Pray and you will pull through
Suck a dick'll help you
Don't let em get to you
If he's got 1 you get 2
Backstab your crew
Sell it I could sell you
They say
Rivers gonna run though
Work is gonna save you
Pray and you will pull through
Suck a dick'll help you
Don't let em get to you
If he's got 1 you get 2
Backstab your crew
Sell it I could sell you
Blaze a blaze (galang a lang a lang lang)
Purple haze (galang a lang a lang lang)
Blaze a blaze (galang a lang a lang lang)
Purple haze (galang a lang a lang lang)
Blaze a blaze (galang a lang a lang lang)
Purple haze (galang a lang a lang lang)
Blaze a blaze (galang a lang a lang lang)
Purple haze (galang a lang a lang lang)
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This song is about pot trafficking. purple haze is a type of weed, and London slang is mostly spoken by minorities and young people in England. Basically, the character in the song is a youngster trafficking pot in Sri Lanka, is getting chased by the person he or she is dealing with , and might get caught by the police one day. Trafficking drugs and sucking a few dicks is what gets some ppl enough money to flee to London, but M.I.A. is saying that working and praying is what they should be doing instead, and she does not agree with all the shit ppl have to do for a living in her country. It is really tough. Remember, M.I.A. is all about politics. And p.s., most of british slang derive from Jamaican patois because when England had dominion over Jamaica years ago, many Jamaicans took advantage of it and fled to England. This also exploains why English is spoken in Jamaica, along with Trinidad, Tobago and Grenada.
galang means "go on" in patois which is jamaican
Hipster cred? A song about a fish? First, MIA is not from India. She is a Tamil from Sri Lanka. Second galang is street slang for basically keeping a low profile. To go along, get along and don't start no trouble. If you start with that then the rest is easy to figure out. She is saying (with sarcasm) fit in with society by going to church and working a regular job, kiss ass if you have to and turn on your own people to save yourself, they would do it to you.
Work will save you is also a good play on the Auschwitz German concentration camp sign that read "Work Will Set You Free".
Nonconformity will lead to the authorities tracking your phone and and following you in unmarked vehicles., perhaps even costing you your life.
MIA speaks out against injustice and she has been the target of FBI and probably quite a few other agency surveillance initiatives. So she is addressing this among other things. Watch the video, pay attention to the visuals and not just her pretty face and subdued dance moves. A lot of bombs, tanks, explosions and a few (Tamil) tigers.
youtube.com/watch
She is not really talking about oral sex and keeping a low profile. She is condemning a system that tries to intimidate people to keep them from speaking out and from defending their rights.
what does the word "galang" mean?
In Britain, you dial 1471 (on a landline) to find the number of the last person to phone you - so you can find out someone's phone number who's just called, or checked if you've missed a call when you're out.
Then again, it might not mean that. 147 is a maximum break in snooker....
Also, why can't slang current in London be of Jamaican origin? The genius of MIA is that she mixes all sorts of influences, British, Sri Lankan, American, hip hop, UK garage and grime....in Britian, all sorts of things are combined, asian and West Indian influences.
dude u refered to it as cannabis... ur deff tryin to soudns smarter than you are you twat
Jamaican? I thought it was London Slang, like "G'wan" is a contraction of go along, "Galanga" is go along.
Pretty much means the same thing, but I'm sure it's English.
Patois would be a weird language for her to use anyway, seeing as she is Tamil/English.
Incorrect. M.I.A. does have Jamaican influence in few songs. Secondly, it is only English because of the great amount of Jamaicans in England.
what does 147'd you mean? not good with brit slang
if you type 1471 into a phone in england you call the last person to call you
at the start of the song, it goes "boys say wa gwan girls say wa gwan".. its london slang for "whats going on" or similar.. and then when she says "147'd you" i thought it was something to do with guns.. but thats only cos i refuse to believe its about snooker haha. i think your all takin this song abit 2 seriously.. its just quality - leave it at that