The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
I'm the king of rock, there is none higher
Sucker MC's should call me sire
To burn my kingdom, you must use fire
I won't stop rockin' till I retire
Now we rock the party and come correct
Our cuts are on time and rhymes connect
Got the right to vote and will elect
And other rappers can't stand us, but give us respect
They called us and said we're gettin' iller
There's no one chiller
It's not Michael Jackson and this is not Thriller
As one def rapper, I know I can hang
I'm Run from Run-DMC, like cool from cool and the Gang
Roll to the rock, rock to the roll
DMC stands for devastating mic control
You can't touch me with a ten foot pole
And I even made the devil sell me his soul
Now we crash through walls, cut through floors
Bust through ceilings and knock down doors
And when we're on the tape, we're fresh out the box
You can hear our sound for blocks and blocks
For every living person we're a purple treat
It's me and DMC, Jay where's the beat?
Now we're the baddest of the bad, the coolest of the cool
I'm DMC, I rock and roll. I'm DJ Run, I rock and rule
It's not a Trick or Treat and it's not a April Fool
It's all brand new, never ever old school
You got the music in your body and you can't comprehend
When your mind won't wiggle and your knees will bend
Music ain't nothin' but a people's jam
It's DJ Run-DMC rockin without a band
Now I walked on ice and never fell
I spent my time in a plush hotel
I stood on many stages, held many mics
Take airplane flights, at huge heights
So all you sucker MC's, you gotta say please
Cause when he jumps high, I'm pulling down weeds
Got a song so strong, it's knocking down trees
Is it hard to believe it's Run-DMC
I am from, around the way
And Run goes to school, every day
And Jay plays the records he has to play
And we get down with no delay, HEY!
I rock the party with the words I speak
And Run says the rhymes that are unique
And Jay cuts the records every day of the week
And we are the crew that can never be beat
So don't try to diss me, try to be my friend
Cause if you do, you'll get yours in the end
The rhymes we say, shall set a trend
Because a devastating rap is what we send
Every jam we play, we break two needles
There's three of us but we're not the Beatles
My name is Darryl, you can call him D
You can call me Darryl Mack, or you can call him DMC
People always ask, "DMC, what does it mean?"
D's for never dirty, MC for mostly clean
Like we said before, we rock hardcore
I'm DJ Run, I can scratch. I'm DMC, I can draw
And now we got the knack, to attract
Our rhyme's an aphrodisiac
We'll reign on your brain and rock your knot
When it comes to rock, give it all we got
To be MC's, we got what it takes
Let the poppers pop and the breakers break
We're cool cool cats, it's like that
That's the way it is, so stay the hell back
We're causin' hard times, for sucker MC's
Cause they don't make no songs like these
Period!
Sucker MC's should call me sire
To burn my kingdom, you must use fire
I won't stop rockin' till I retire
Now we rock the party and come correct
Our cuts are on time and rhymes connect
Got the right to vote and will elect
And other rappers can't stand us, but give us respect
They called us and said we're gettin' iller
There's no one chiller
It's not Michael Jackson and this is not Thriller
As one def rapper, I know I can hang
I'm Run from Run-DMC, like cool from cool and the Gang
Roll to the rock, rock to the roll
DMC stands for devastating mic control
You can't touch me with a ten foot pole
And I even made the devil sell me his soul
Now we crash through walls, cut through floors
Bust through ceilings and knock down doors
And when we're on the tape, we're fresh out the box
You can hear our sound for blocks and blocks
For every living person we're a purple treat
It's me and DMC, Jay where's the beat?
Now we're the baddest of the bad, the coolest of the cool
I'm DMC, I rock and roll. I'm DJ Run, I rock and rule
It's not a Trick or Treat and it's not a April Fool
It's all brand new, never ever old school
You got the music in your body and you can't comprehend
When your mind won't wiggle and your knees will bend
Music ain't nothin' but a people's jam
It's DJ Run-DMC rockin without a band
Now I walked on ice and never fell
I spent my time in a plush hotel
I stood on many stages, held many mics
Take airplane flights, at huge heights
So all you sucker MC's, you gotta say please
Cause when he jumps high, I'm pulling down weeds
Got a song so strong, it's knocking down trees
Is it hard to believe it's Run-DMC
I am from, around the way
And Run goes to school, every day
And Jay plays the records he has to play
And we get down with no delay, HEY!
I rock the party with the words I speak
And Run says the rhymes that are unique
And Jay cuts the records every day of the week
And we are the crew that can never be beat
So don't try to diss me, try to be my friend
Cause if you do, you'll get yours in the end
The rhymes we say, shall set a trend
Because a devastating rap is what we send
Every jam we play, we break two needles
There's three of us but we're not the Beatles
My name is Darryl, you can call him D
You can call me Darryl Mack, or you can call him DMC
People always ask, "DMC, what does it mean?"
D's for never dirty, MC for mostly clean
Like we said before, we rock hardcore
I'm DJ Run, I can scratch. I'm DMC, I can draw
And now we got the knack, to attract
Our rhyme's an aphrodisiac
We'll reign on your brain and rock your knot
When it comes to rock, give it all we got
To be MC's, we got what it takes
Let the poppers pop and the breakers break
We're cool cool cats, it's like that
That's the way it is, so stay the hell back
We're causin' hard times, for sucker MC's
Cause they don't make no songs like these
Period!
Lyrics submitted by ButNeverOutgunned
King of Rock Lyrics as written by Lawrence Smith Darryl Mcdaniels
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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TAKE AIRPLANE FLIGHTS, AT HUGE HEIGHTS! effing brilliant
This is an awesome song, one of there first hits.
does anyone even knows what this song means
@kendrizzle <br /> Nothing much at all, at the end of the day
I took a university course about the history of rock and roll a few years ago.
I think this song is about how rap music (in the mid-80s anyway) wasn't being accepted by the general rock and roll community. Rap music originated from rock music, so in a way it is just a continued evolution of it. Run DMC is basically saying "look, I know this isn't what you're used to, but we still rock just as hard as any of the "traditional" rock artists." The music video had them being denied entry to a rock and roll museum, so it sort of backs up this viewpoint.
There is actually a pretty big debate going on in the musical world about whether rap artists should be eligible for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
@Autimus <br /> Interesting thought. So should Funk be classed as Jazz ...
I always raise a wry smirk at this lyric. I think it's one of the most infantile examples of braggadocio to waste vinyl. It's like an ironic take on Gangster Rap before it was even a thing. I've no doubt the song it revered because RUN DMC are actually very good Hip Hoppers. Chuck D even said 'RUN DMC first said a DJ could be a band' and PUBLIC ENEMY are the real deal. This song just strikes me as mucho machismo ludicrousness