South 2nd

'one wrong move and it will be too late, mama wont be making any birthday cake'

the kid died.

Ok so like people have said a fight between 2 young boys. But I don’t think it’s just one fight, it’s a series of fights that end up escalating and upping the ante till one of them dies.

“We don't need no baseball bats We don't need no silver ghats But we're gonna fight tonight Put up your dukes and fight”

Pretty self explanatory, a fist fight. But remember the first 2 lines, they’ll come into play later.

“All the kids from school are keeping score You swing and you duck and you hit the floor but you gotta get up at least once more”

Everyone’s keeping score so it‘s more than one fight, by hitting the floor he either got knocked out or didn’t win that fight whatever. But he has to do it again to rid of the shame of being beaten.

“But why'd you bring all your friends And the whole damn school To watch my baby boy go down like a fool”

The mother of the beaten boy is obviously upset in finding her son beaten and feels he’s being picked on and is outnumbered.

“But mama says baby go get that bat And come back down and beat some ass”

And it sounds like because of that she recommends he goes out with a bat for the next fight.

“One wrong move and it'll be too late Mama won't be making no birthday cake”

So I guess he did go out with the bat, possibly beat the other boy or was shot before he had a chance. It was just a fist fight, but it escalated. Judging from the first 2 lines if one boy brought a bat as retaliation, than the next thing after for the other would be a gun “silver gat”.

I do think it's initially about two boys fighting, but I also think it touches on other things like: bullying, violence as a rite of passage into manhood, the toxic idea of having to be the "stronger man" by kicking someones ass, and the culture of violence that happens in the streets- like the Jerry Springer-level tempers and reactions that spin out of control, and the deaths of so many young people from stupid acts of violence against each other... like that hint of sirens towards the end of the song right before "Somebody's baby boy ain't coming home tonight, One wrong move and it'll be too late, Mama won't be making no birthday cake"

Is it about a boy who can't play baseball, and he is made fun off? (But mama says baby go get that bat/And come back down and beat some ass + But you gotta get up at least once more) Where 'big brother' would be the baseball coatch.

Is it about the death of a boy? (Mama comes screaming down the stairs + Mama won't be making no birthday cake,...)

Is it about a boy who plays baseball, and he made a fool of himself once, by which his team lost an important game. And then, the coatch said, if you make such a mistake again, I'm gonna kill you. And in the song, they tell how It could be when that happens.

Or am I just talking crazy?

Oh, in the fantasy in which the boy dies, nobody cares, and his mother's bittered because nobody liked her dead son, and she's the only one who grieves for him. (Mama says bitch come over here, yada yada yada)

And it's a great song. I also like the sounds (especially of that music box) in the beginning and in the end. I also like the way the Casady sisters sing, just like they're gonna burst out in tears after they sing the last words...

Bewitchingly beautiful

Oh, it's me again... I'm having trouble with this:

But brother says mama they're the same damn size Got to let him grow up and get street wise.

What does the brother has to do with all this? Who are the same damn size? Maybe the mother is afraid her son is bullied in the baseball club, and therefore she's afraid he could die...?

i think you are all reading too far into this. the song seems pretty straightforward:

a fight between two boys (same size/age) and everyone is watching

We don't need no baseball bats We don't need no silver ghats But we're gonna fight tonight Put up your dukes and fight Big brother's just standing on the side Watching you flex your pride But you know if they all jump in Big brother's got your skin

they're having a fist fight with no weapons, the only thing to do with baseball is the use of baseball bats to beat people!

I think it's about two boys fighting, but the main one being picked on? His brother wants him to toughen up and take care of himself, I guess...

I think this is a song about what happened one day while some kids were playing stickball in new york (could have been a fantasy or a dream). But the first kid single handedly loses the game, then gets berrated by all other kids. Big brother (i.e. their societies perception of one's reputation on the street) is watching, therefore he has to stand up for himself, but the whole school is watching. Mama then tells his son to stand up for himself and beat up some kids (somebody's baby aint comin home tonight), but he has to be good at fighting (one wrong move and it will be too late, mama wont be making any birthday cake).

this song doesn't have anything to do with baseball, guys.

"We don't need no baseball bats We don't need no silver ghats.."

weapons in general. "just put up your dukes and fight." fight not with weapons, fight like a man with your fists.

good song.