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.
Ladies up in here tonight
No fighting
We got the refugees up in here (no fighting)
No fighting
Shakira, Shakira
I never really knew that she could dance like this (hey)
She make a man wanna speak Spanish
¿Cómo se llama? (Sí), bonita (sí)
Mi casa, su casa (Shakira, Shakira)
Oh, baby, when you talk like that
You make a woman go mad
So be wise (sí) and keep on (sí)
Reading the signs of my body (uno, dos, tres, cuatro)
I'm on tonight
You know my hips don't lie (no fighting)
And I'm starting to feel it's right
All the attraction, the tension
Don't you see, baby, this is perfection?
Hey, girl, I can see your body moving
And it's driving me crazy
And I didn't have the slightest idea
Until I saw you dancing (yeah)
And when you walk up on the dance floor
Nobody cannot ignore the way you move your body, girl (just move)
And everything so unexpected, the way you right and left it
So you can keep on shaking it (let's go)
I never really knew that she could dance like this
She make a man wanna speak Spanish
¿Cómo se llama? (Sí), bonita (sí)
Mi casa, su casa (Shakira, Shakira)
Oh, baby, when you talk like that
You make a woman go mad
So be wise (sí) and keep on (sí)
Reading the signs of my body (no fighting)
I'm on tonight
You know my hips don't lie (no fighting)
And I'm starting to feel you, boy
Come on, let's go, real slow
Don't you see, baby, así es perfecto?
Babe, I know I'm on tonight, my hips don't lie
And I'm starting to feel it's right
All the attraction, the tension
Don't you see, baby, this is perfection? (Shakira, Shakira)
Oh, boy, I can see your body moving
Half animal, half man
I don't, don't really know what I'm doing
But you seem to have a plan
My will and self-restraint
Have come to fail now, fail now
See, I'm doing what I can, but I can't so you know
That's a bit too hard to explain (uno, dos, tres, cuatro)
Baila en la calle de noche (yeah)
Baila en la calle de día (let's go)
Baila en la calle de noche
Baila en la calle de día
I never really knew that she could dance like this
She make a man wanna speak Spanish
¿Cómo se llama? (Sí), bonita (sí)
Mi casa, su casa (Shakira, Shakira)
Oh, baby, when you talk like that
You know you got me hypnotized
So be wise (sí) and keep on (sí)
Reading the signs of my body
Señorita, feel the conga
Let me see you move like you come from Colombia
(Yeah, oh)
Yeah (ladies sí) (yeah yeah)
(Hey, yeah)
¡Mira en Barranquilla se baila así, say it! (yeah)
En Barranquilla se baila así (yeah)
Hey, brra
Yeah, she's so sexy, every man's fantasy
A refugee like me back with the Fugees from a third world country
I go back like when 'Pac carried crates for Humpty Humpty
We leave the whole club dizzy
Why the CIA wanna watch us?
Colombians and Haitians
I ain't guilty, it's a musical transaction
Bo bop so bop, no more do we snatch ropes
Refugees run the seas 'cause we own our own boats (no fighting)
I'm on tonight, my hips don't lie
And I'm starting to feel you, boy
Come on, let's go, real slow
Baby, like this is perfecto (no fighting)
Oh, you know I'm on tonight, my hips don't lie
And I'm starting to feel it's right
The attraction, the tension
Baby, like this is perfection
No fighting
No fighting
No fighting
We got the refugees up in here (no fighting)
No fighting
Shakira, Shakira
I never really knew that she could dance like this (hey)
She make a man wanna speak Spanish
¿Cómo se llama? (Sí), bonita (sí)
Mi casa, su casa (Shakira, Shakira)
Oh, baby, when you talk like that
You make a woman go mad
So be wise (sí) and keep on (sí)
Reading the signs of my body (uno, dos, tres, cuatro)
I'm on tonight
You know my hips don't lie (no fighting)
And I'm starting to feel it's right
All the attraction, the tension
Don't you see, baby, this is perfection?
Hey, girl, I can see your body moving
And it's driving me crazy
And I didn't have the slightest idea
Until I saw you dancing (yeah)
And when you walk up on the dance floor
Nobody cannot ignore the way you move your body, girl (just move)
And everything so unexpected, the way you right and left it
So you can keep on shaking it (let's go)
I never really knew that she could dance like this
She make a man wanna speak Spanish
¿Cómo se llama? (Sí), bonita (sí)
Mi casa, su casa (Shakira, Shakira)
Oh, baby, when you talk like that
You make a woman go mad
So be wise (sí) and keep on (sí)
Reading the signs of my body (no fighting)
I'm on tonight
You know my hips don't lie (no fighting)
And I'm starting to feel you, boy
Come on, let's go, real slow
Don't you see, baby, así es perfecto?
Babe, I know I'm on tonight, my hips don't lie
And I'm starting to feel it's right
All the attraction, the tension
Don't you see, baby, this is perfection? (Shakira, Shakira)
Oh, boy, I can see your body moving
Half animal, half man
I don't, don't really know what I'm doing
But you seem to have a plan
My will and self-restraint
Have come to fail now, fail now
See, I'm doing what I can, but I can't so you know
That's a bit too hard to explain (uno, dos, tres, cuatro)
Baila en la calle de noche (yeah)
Baila en la calle de día (let's go)
Baila en la calle de noche
Baila en la calle de día
I never really knew that she could dance like this
She make a man wanna speak Spanish
¿Cómo se llama? (Sí), bonita (sí)
Mi casa, su casa (Shakira, Shakira)
Oh, baby, when you talk like that
You know you got me hypnotized
So be wise (sí) and keep on (sí)
Reading the signs of my body
Señorita, feel the conga
Let me see you move like you come from Colombia
(Yeah, oh)
Yeah (ladies sí) (yeah yeah)
(Hey, yeah)
¡Mira en Barranquilla se baila así, say it! (yeah)
En Barranquilla se baila así (yeah)
Hey, brra
Yeah, she's so sexy, every man's fantasy
A refugee like me back with the Fugees from a third world country
I go back like when 'Pac carried crates for Humpty Humpty
We leave the whole club dizzy
Why the CIA wanna watch us?
Colombians and Haitians
I ain't guilty, it's a musical transaction
Bo bop so bop, no more do we snatch ropes
Refugees run the seas 'cause we own our own boats (no fighting)
I'm on tonight, my hips don't lie
And I'm starting to feel you, boy
Come on, let's go, real slow
Baby, like this is perfecto (no fighting)
Oh, you know I'm on tonight, my hips don't lie
And I'm starting to feel it's right
The attraction, the tension
Baby, like this is perfection
No fighting
No fighting
Lyrics submitted by xox_pandie_xox, edited by mamadiano
Hips Don't Lie Lyrics as written by Wyclef Jean Shakira Mebarak
Lyrics © LANFRANCO MUSIC, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Songtrust Ave
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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You're all perverts!
The phrase 'hips don't lie' is an inside joke with Shakira and her band. (See Shakira's 2005 Ellen interview).
When Shakira is working on a song and she isn't feeling it, she tells her band, 'we have to keep working because my hips aren't moving, my hips don't lie'
So this song is about Shakira feeling getting into a song while dancing. She is flirting with a fellow dancer and he is flirting back with her.
There are also tons of references to the Carnival of Barranquilla which reinforces the dancing motif.
It's a fun flirty song that makes a few political jibes, how Colombia and Haiti have become infamous.