Warren wanted a Beach Boys thing for this one, and Carl Wilson and Billy Hinsche came in, with Carl arranging the vocal parts. The other harmony vocalists (credited as the "Gentlemen Boys") were Jackson Browne, J.D. Souther, Zevon's longtime backers Waddy Wachtel and Jorge Calderon, and Linda Rondstadt/Stone Poneys guitarist Kenny Edwards.
Well id you hear? There's a natural order
Those most deserving will end up with the most
That the cream cannot help but always rise up to the top
Well I say, "Shit floats"
If you thought things had changed
Friend, you'd better think again
Bluntly put, in the fewest of words
Cunts are still running the world
Cunts are still running the world
Oh yeah
Now the working classes are obsolete
They are surplus to society's needs
So let 'em all kill each other
And get it made overseas
That's the word, don't you know
From the guys that's running the show
Let's be perfectly clear boys and girls
Oh cunts are still running the world
Cunts are still running the world
Oh yeah
Oh yeah
Feed your children on crayfish and lobster tails
Find a school near the top of the league
In theory I respect your right to exist
I will kill you if you move in next to me
And it stinks, yeah it sucks, it's anthropologically unjust
But the takings are up by a third, so
Cunts are still running the world, yeah
Cunts are still running the world
Oh yeah
Cunts are still running the world
Cunts are still running the world
The free market is perfectly natural
Do you think that I'm some kind of dummy?
It's the ideal way to order the world
"Fuck the morals, does it make any money?"
If you don't like it, then leave
Or use your right to protest on the street
Yeah use your right, but don't imagine that it's heard
Not while cunts are still running the world
Cunts are still running the world, yeah
Cunts are still running the world, yeah
Cunts are still running the world, oh
Cunts are still running the world
Cunts are still running the world
Cunts are still running the world
Those most deserving will end up with the most
That the cream cannot help but always rise up to the top
Well I say, "Shit floats"
If you thought things had changed
Friend, you'd better think again
Bluntly put, in the fewest of words
Cunts are still running the world
Cunts are still running the world
Oh yeah
Now the working classes are obsolete
They are surplus to society's needs
So let 'em all kill each other
And get it made overseas
That's the word, don't you know
From the guys that's running the show
Let's be perfectly clear boys and girls
Oh cunts are still running the world
Cunts are still running the world
Oh yeah
Oh yeah
Feed your children on crayfish and lobster tails
Find a school near the top of the league
In theory I respect your right to exist
I will kill you if you move in next to me
And it stinks, yeah it sucks, it's anthropologically unjust
But the takings are up by a third, so
Cunts are still running the world, yeah
Cunts are still running the world
Oh yeah
Cunts are still running the world
Cunts are still running the world
The free market is perfectly natural
Do you think that I'm some kind of dummy?
It's the ideal way to order the world
"Fuck the morals, does it make any money?"
If you don't like it, then leave
Or use your right to protest on the street
Yeah use your right, but don't imagine that it's heard
Not while cunts are still running the world
Cunts are still running the world, yeah
Cunts are still running the world, yeah
Cunts are still running the world, oh
Cunts are still running the world
Cunts are still running the world
Cunts are still running the world
Lyrics submitted by hastalavictoria
Running the World Lyrics as written by Jarvis Branson Cocker
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Spirit Within
Bertoldi Brothers
Bertoldi Brothers
Show Me a Little Shame
Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals
Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals
He certainly did earn that reputation.
Battle Royale
Word Alive, The
Word Alive, The
This song is def a twin to "Unfair" (a song she has been quoted as saying is about falling in love with someone who is already in a relationship) so it is presumably about the same person. Given the references to buying an apartment and not being able to see her love interest "after tonight," it's most likely that she's moving away and she'll "wait a day to break the bad news" (i.e. notifying him that she's leaving once she's already gone).
And, of course, the fact that she sees in him a fellow "idealist" and "dreamer" (terms commonly given to people with the INFP personality on the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)) portends that she'll always be left wondering if they would've been perfect together.
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Little Feat
Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
great song. i especially like how it was played during the credits of Children of Men. very sly... :)