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.
[Chorus]
Crank me up
PT Baby it's bout to get buck
I don't know maybe you never heard of
Caught 'em in the back of the club with black
Hard as a hammer I am Atlanta
As soon as I step on the scene it's lights, camera,
Action, cashin fat ass checks my rolex
Will make you faint
You think I ain't
I hit the bank with 50 grand
Just to spend the night
Na-uh pass me them bills mama I got a flight
? Listen here
Private jet at the do'
A bad ass ho
into the clouds I go
[Pastor Troy]
The underground puttin it down fo 5 years
the blood, the sweat, the motherfuckin tears
I'm livin the life of a young drug lord
I'll blow this heffa up if i get bord
Now ease up shawty
Let the G slide through
And I don't leave without my 32
Tucked in the boots
Tucked in the coat
And when I see chuck
It's gone get tucked in his throat
And Murder She Wrote
But hell I can't read
Stab the ho
Kidnap the bitch seed
Now I'm on the loose
Now I'm on the run
FUCK THAT SHIT
I go and get a bigger gun
So crank me up
If you don't give a damn nigga we don't give a fuck
I bought ya CD
My man y'all suck
Done sucked a cracker dick in the office and came up
Get it
Never wore a vest
Yeah nigga yes
DSGB across my motherfuckin chest nigga
Yes nigga
Picture me bout to bleed
When I done been raised by all the G's
The crooks and killas
Is my motherfuckin niggaz
Jab a pussy
With some motherfuckin scissors
This a motherfuckin crime scene
I'm bussin on the law my nigga by any means
So crank me up
If you a gangsta you need to crank this up
If you don't give a damn nigga we don't give a fuck
Pastor baby bout to crank this up
Crank me up
If you a gangsta you need to crank this up
If you don't give a damn nigga we don't give a fuck
Pastor baby bout to crank this up
Crank me up
PT Baby it's bout to get buck
I don't know maybe you never heard of
Caught 'em in the back of the club with black
Hard as a hammer I am Atlanta
As soon as I step on the scene it's lights, camera,
Action, cashin fat ass checks my rolex
Will make you faint
You think I ain't
I hit the bank with 50 grand
Just to spend the night
Na-uh pass me them bills mama I got a flight
? Listen here
Private jet at the do'
A bad ass ho
into the clouds I go
[Pastor Troy]
The underground puttin it down fo 5 years
the blood, the sweat, the motherfuckin tears
I'm livin the life of a young drug lord
I'll blow this heffa up if i get bord
Now ease up shawty
Let the G slide through
And I don't leave without my 32
Tucked in the boots
Tucked in the coat
And when I see chuck
It's gone get tucked in his throat
And Murder She Wrote
But hell I can't read
Stab the ho
Kidnap the bitch seed
Now I'm on the loose
Now I'm on the run
FUCK THAT SHIT
I go and get a bigger gun
So crank me up
If you don't give a damn nigga we don't give a fuck
I bought ya CD
My man y'all suck
Done sucked a cracker dick in the office and came up
Get it
Never wore a vest
Yeah nigga yes
DSGB across my motherfuckin chest nigga
Yes nigga
Picture me bout to bleed
When I done been raised by all the G's
The crooks and killas
Is my motherfuckin niggaz
Jab a pussy
With some motherfuckin scissors
This a motherfuckin crime scene
I'm bussin on the law my nigga by any means
So crank me up
If you a gangsta you need to crank this up
If you don't give a damn nigga we don't give a fuck
Pastor baby bout to crank this up
Crank me up
If you a gangsta you need to crank this up
If you don't give a damn nigga we don't give a fuck
Pastor baby bout to crank this up
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Light Up The Sky
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"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him.
There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
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This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
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This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
No Surprises
Radiohead
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Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.