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.
Close your mind
Close your eyes, see with your heart
How do you forgive the murderer of your father?
The ink of a scholar is worth a thousand times more
Than the blood of a martyr (uh)
Terrorist (yeah, uh)
We came through the storm, nooses on our necks
And a smallpox blanket to keep us warm
On a 747 on the Pentagon lawn
Wake up, the alarm clock is connected to a bomb
Anthrax lab on a West Virginia farm
Shorty ain't learned to walk, already heavily armed
Civilians and little children is especially harmed
Camouflaged Torahs, Bibles, and glorious Qurans
The books that take you to heaven and let you meet the Lord there
Have become misinterpreted reasons for warfare
Reread 'em with blind eyes, I guarantee you there's more there
Rich must be blind 'cause they ain't see the poor there, yeah
Need to open up a pub
Just closed ten schools, we don't need 'em
Can you please call the fire department?
They're down here marching for freedom
Burn down their teepees, turn their TV's on to teach 'em
And move
The more money that they make
The more money that they make, the better and better they live
Whatever they wanna take
Whatever they wanna take, whatever, whatever it is
The more that you wanna learn
The more that you try to learn, the better and better it gets (uh)
American terrorist (yeah, yeah, yeah)
Now the poor Klu Klux man say that we're all brothers
Not 'cause things the same but 'cause we lack the same color
And that's green, now that's mean
Can't burn his cross 'cause he can't afford the gasoline
Now if a Muslim woman strapped with a bomb on a bus
With the seconds running give you the jitters
Just imagine a American-based Christian organization
Planning to poison water supplies to bring the second coming quicker
Nigga, they ain't livin' properly
Break 'em off with a little democracy
Turn they whole culture to a mockery
Give 'em Coca-Cola for their property
Give 'em gum, give 'em guns, get 'em young, give 'em fun
But if they ain't givin' it up, then they ain't gettin' none
And don't give 'em all, nah man, just give 'em some
It's the paper, some of these cops must be Al-Qaeda, nigga, uh
The more money that they make
The more money that they make, the better and better they live
Whatever they wanna take
Whatever they wanna take, whatever, whatever it is
The more that you wanna learn
The more that you try to learn, the better and better it gets
American terrorist (terror)
The more money that they make
The more money that they make, the better and better they live
Whatever they wanna take
Whatever they wanna take, whatever, whatever it is
The more that you wanna learn
The more that you try to learn, the better and better it gets
American terrorist (terrorist)
It's like
Don't give the black man food, give red man liquor
Red man fool, black man nigga
Give yellow man tool, make him railroad builder
Also give him pan, make him pull gold from river
Give black man crack, Glocks and things
Give red man craps, slot machines
Now bring it back, bring it back, bring it back, bring it back
Bring it back, bring it back, bring it back, bring it back
Don't give the black man food, give red man liquor
Red man fool, black man nigga
Give yellow man tool, make him railroad builder
Also give him pan, make him pull gold from river
Give black man crack, Glocks and things
Give the red man craps, slot machines
Then bring it back, bring it back, bring it back, bring it back
Bring it back, bring it back, bring it back, bring it back, uh
American terrorist (terror)
(Terror)
Close your eyes, see with your heart
How do you forgive the murderer of your father?
The ink of a scholar is worth a thousand times more
Than the blood of a martyr (uh)
Terrorist (yeah, uh)
We came through the storm, nooses on our necks
And a smallpox blanket to keep us warm
On a 747 on the Pentagon lawn
Wake up, the alarm clock is connected to a bomb
Anthrax lab on a West Virginia farm
Shorty ain't learned to walk, already heavily armed
Civilians and little children is especially harmed
Camouflaged Torahs, Bibles, and glorious Qurans
The books that take you to heaven and let you meet the Lord there
Have become misinterpreted reasons for warfare
Reread 'em with blind eyes, I guarantee you there's more there
Rich must be blind 'cause they ain't see the poor there, yeah
Need to open up a pub
Just closed ten schools, we don't need 'em
Can you please call the fire department?
They're down here marching for freedom
Burn down their teepees, turn their TV's on to teach 'em
And move
The more money that they make
The more money that they make, the better and better they live
Whatever they wanna take
Whatever they wanna take, whatever, whatever it is
The more that you wanna learn
The more that you try to learn, the better and better it gets (uh)
American terrorist (yeah, yeah, yeah)
Now the poor Klu Klux man say that we're all brothers
Not 'cause things the same but 'cause we lack the same color
And that's green, now that's mean
Can't burn his cross 'cause he can't afford the gasoline
Now if a Muslim woman strapped with a bomb on a bus
With the seconds running give you the jitters
Just imagine a American-based Christian organization
Planning to poison water supplies to bring the second coming quicker
Nigga, they ain't livin' properly
Break 'em off with a little democracy
Turn they whole culture to a mockery
Give 'em Coca-Cola for their property
Give 'em gum, give 'em guns, get 'em young, give 'em fun
But if they ain't givin' it up, then they ain't gettin' none
And don't give 'em all, nah man, just give 'em some
It's the paper, some of these cops must be Al-Qaeda, nigga, uh
The more money that they make
The more money that they make, the better and better they live
Whatever they wanna take
Whatever they wanna take, whatever, whatever it is
The more that you wanna learn
The more that you try to learn, the better and better it gets
American terrorist (terror)
The more money that they make
The more money that they make, the better and better they live
Whatever they wanna take
Whatever they wanna take, whatever, whatever it is
The more that you wanna learn
The more that you try to learn, the better and better it gets
American terrorist (terrorist)
It's like
Don't give the black man food, give red man liquor
Red man fool, black man nigga
Give yellow man tool, make him railroad builder
Also give him pan, make him pull gold from river
Give black man crack, Glocks and things
Give red man craps, slot machines
Now bring it back, bring it back, bring it back, bring it back
Bring it back, bring it back, bring it back, bring it back
Don't give the black man food, give red man liquor
Red man fool, black man nigga
Give yellow man tool, make him railroad builder
Also give him pan, make him pull gold from river
Give black man crack, Glocks and things
Give the red man craps, slot machines
Then bring it back, bring it back, bring it back, bring it back
Bring it back, bring it back, bring it back, bring it back, uh
American terrorist (terror)
(Terror)
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okay hello!! he's grouping americans together, not minorities.
this whole song talks about american's AS the terrorist, and references times where there has been conspiracy, and incidents some may have viewed as american terrorism.
747 is not talking about minorities so we can all stop thinking that he is singling ANY minorities out. Flight 77 is the plane that crashed into the pentagon.... pictures after the fact portrayed it as 747.... where did the plane and the people go?.... conspiracy? lupe seems to think so.
... i think people need to look into what he says at the beginning.. the ink of a scholar, is worth a thousand times more than the blood of a martyr.....
EDUCATE YOURSELVES PEOPLE! If you knew the un-biased history of the united states of america, you wouldn't be scratching your heads so much...
Love what u said chasing cars.. People seriously need to educate themselves and stop listening to the mainstream media, propaganda, even the public school system.
"Just imagine a American-based Christian orginization planning to poison water supplies to bring the second-coming quicker."
This line is strong to me because a part of me believes flouride in our water is legitamately bad for us and there is plenty of evidence to back this up. It slowly loweres IQ, some say "oh they only put a small fraction of a tiny bit in the water, not nearly enough to effect us" but if you think of how much water you've drank in your life and what drinks contain water. Its a scary thought.
He also talks about the second coming, does not talk in depth about it, but obviously Lupe is well educated and knows whats going on in the world around him. More artists need to broaden their horizons and talk about something new, something informative, and something creative.. and by something new I dont mean "get silly" or "marco polo"
to rustyshakle--i dont exactly think he was saying thats the way it is, or thats the way it was. hes just saying that to point at the stereotypes and supposed "historical facts" (which we cant even vow for the truth of) & how that, intergrated with the unfortunate disaster of 9/11, has caused these stereotypes to regain a type of birth and relevence in modern day culture. the fact that hes saying these so matter of factly is done with the hopes of making us realize how ridiculous it all sounds and to point out the obvious... that were all the same, essentially. BUT ANYHOW lupe is by far one of the illest rappers in this day and age... his lyrics are inspiring, thought provoking, and just fuckin sick. this song kicks ass, plain & simple.
First of all this song is being told from the point of view of the artist; so your opinion doesn' treally matter. this is not "howIfeel.net" this is "songmeanings.net" so if you're not explaining the song meaning we don't care about the historical perspective of the situation. it doesn't dictate the meaning behind THIS song. I totally relate to Lupe being a black american and dealing with the opression of society. right on LUPE!
Best song on the album. Nevertheless, the album is great, but the lyrical depth of this song is deeper than all of the other. A true look on American culture.
"Nigga, that ain't livin' properly Break 'em off a little democracy Turn their whole culture to a mockery Give em coca-cola for their property"
how bush thought iraqis r livin rong so lets bomb them n give them democracy- aka an ad campain showin how helpful bush has been-wen now the iraqis r livin worse- said in a sarcastic voice
amazing song, about 9/11, iraq, racism, n sterotypes
lupe is a genuis, n his art is a masterpiece, so much better then the other rap shit like ludacris, n 50 cent
he raps about things that matter, that makes u think
love this song, it is def one of the best, lyrics, beats and all
lupe rocks I love listening to him, he has so much to say and I only wish I could articulate myself as well as him!
I love this song and thought it was the catchiest song on the album with a decent, if slightly didactic and incomplete message. The vision of post 9-11 paranoia in the first verse is spot on, although who has really thought much about those anthrax letters since about 2002?
Yes, white Americans have mistreated blacks, Asians, Native-Americans, and Muslims...but Lupe leaves out Mexicans, Irish-Americans, Italian-Americans, German-Americans, etc etc etc...
Sure, Italians, Germans, and the Irish have largely assimilated and been absorbed into the majority culture now so they don't provide such a poignant example as blacks or Native-Americans whose mistreatment continues most visibly, but has anyone seen an Asian-American panning gold or building a railroad in most of the last century? It is convenient for his thesis to be "White Americans have mistreated all nonwhites," but the truth of the matter is that white Americans have even mistreated other white Americans at times. I'm not a white supremicist or a Republican or anything that sinister, but a little more historical perspective would make his thesis less one-sided, that is, anti-white. I don't know why he didn't include Mexican-Americans as they are currently in the hot seat as far as newly immigrated unassimilated minorities go; maybe he just couldn't think of anything to rhyme with Mexican.
I enjoyed the theme of KKK members opening their eyes and realizing that they have more in common with financially oppressed minorities that they work so hard to hate. It would be nice if this country stratefied itself along economic lines instead of racial ones for a change!
shooshoo3- i'm pretty sure those lines is about taking land from native americans
It's almost chilling how real this song is but not fair. I dont blame all black people for the riots in california, nor do i blame everyone from the middle east for the 9/11 bombings because obviously not everyone from that ethnic group was there. That being said why do i get blamed for slavery and racism just because im white? My family wasnt even in america during slavery. Sorry to say that took lupe down a notch for me