Elevator! Going up!
In the gleaming corridors of the 51st floor
The money can be made if you really want some more
Executive decision-a clinical precision
Jumping from the windows-filled with indecision
I get good advice from the advertising world
Treat me nice says the party girl
Koke adds life where there isn't any
So freeze, man, freeze
It's the pause that refreshes in the corridors of power
When top men need a top up long before the happy hour
Your snakeskin suit and your alligator boot
You won't need a launderette, you can send them to the vet!
I get my advice from the advertising world
Treat me nice says the party girl
Koke adds life where there isn't any
So freeze, man, freeze
Koka Kola advertising and kokaine
Strolling down the Broadway in the rain
Neon light sign says it
I read it in the paper-they're crazy!
Suit your life, maybe so
In the White House-I know
All Over Berlin (they've been doing it for years)
And in Manhattan!
Coming through the door is a snub nose 44
What the barrel can't snort it can spatter on the floor
Your eyeballs feel like pinballs
And your tongue feels like a fish
You're leaping from the windows-saying don't
Ayaiiiiirrrghhh! *@!!*@!!*!
Don't give me none of this!
I get good advice from the advertising world
Treat me nice says the party girl
Koke adds life where there isn't any
So freeze, man, freeze
Hit the deck!
In the gleaming corridors of the 51st floor
The money can be made if you really want some more
Executive decision-a clinical precision
Jumping from the windows-filled with indecision
Treat me nice says the party girl
Koke adds life where there isn't any
So freeze, man, freeze
When top men need a top up long before the happy hour
Your snakeskin suit and your alligator boot
You won't need a launderette, you can send them to the vet!
Treat me nice says the party girl
Koke adds life where there isn't any
So freeze, man, freeze
Strolling down the Broadway in the rain
Neon light sign says it
I read it in the paper-they're crazy!
Suit your life, maybe so
In the White House-I know
All Over Berlin (they've been doing it for years)
And in Manhattan!
What the barrel can't snort it can spatter on the floor
Your eyeballs feel like pinballs
And your tongue feels like a fish
You're leaping from the windows-saying don't
Ayaiiiiirrrghhh! *@!!*@!!*!
Don't give me none of this!
Treat me nice says the party girl
Koke adds life where there isn't any
So freeze, man, freeze
Hit the deck!
Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.
I agree with most everyone above. However, I don't think the meaning of the song has much to do with coca-cola the drink or the company, other than it's a good fit lyrically and ties in to the coporate world.
To me, the core meaning of the song is an observation on being or becoming a career oriented person. I think the song describes the commitment required to being or becoming a high-power executive (or politician)... ie. The money can be made if you really want some more But often that commitment requires you to go against who you really are... ie. Executive decision-a clinical precision Jumping from the windows-filled with indecision And that people lose themselves (their "life") in that world, and they resort to drugs to give them excitement or an escape from it... ie. Coke adds life where there isn't any I don't understand the last verse or the "freeze, man freeze" parts, the only thing I think is the subject of the song was sick of his whole work-drugs-work-drugs world and "went postal".
Im not saying im right, but what i get from this song is that the advertising world controls what we do eat and drink... just like the radio and mtv controls what becomes the next hit POP song... (just my interpretation)
The fact that Joe and the gang made the song to sound like a catchy advertising jingle may distract you from what the song is really about, which is what everyone before me has already said...
...Not much more I can add.
In general I agree with the other posters; the song has a few different subtexts all woven together with cocaine being the common theme:
The last line of the chorus ("freeze, man, freeze") and the last verse about the snub-nose .44 don't seem to fit at first, but they do make sense. The way I see it, he's saying you're getting robbed by coke-heads either way, whether one is coming through your door with a pistol, or you're paying for some product because advertising told you to. Every commercial you see is telling you to freeze and give up your money.
This song is about coked up execs being a^^holes... "It's the pause that refreshes in the corridors of power, When top men need a top up long before the happy hour." I used to work for a major corp. and it was the same situation. GOD I HATE COKE HEADS!!!!
@Bird On A Wire For a long time, I did work in Silicon Valley where part of the job was to interact and socialize with senior execs (CEOs, CIOs, CTOs, COOs, mostly). Some are names you'd recognize. Quite a large proportion of them were sociopaths, and quite a lot were cokeheads too. Where those groups overlapped, it was especially toxic. I went to after-work parties where there were bowls full of cocaine on coffee tables. These people were sharks when sober. They were even more obnoxious after a few lines. I share your sentiment: I despise cokeheads.
@Bird On A Wire For a long time, I did work in Silicon Valley where part of the job was to interact and socialize with senior execs (CEOs, CIOs, CTOs, COOs, mostly). Some are names you'd recognize. Quite a large proportion of them were sociopaths, and quite a lot were cokeheads too. Where those groups overlapped, it was especially toxic. I went to after-work parties where there were bowls full of cocaine on coffee tables. These people were sharks when sober. They were even more obnoxious after a few lines. I share your sentiment: I despise cokeheads.
Now I work...
Now I work with scientists at a research facility. It no longer feels like I'm a handler in the venomous reptile house at the zoo.
i like micks backing vocals in this. very soft and soothing.
How does it remind ANYONE of American Psycho???
It reminds the first poster of American Psycho. And me...
It reminds the first poster of American Psycho. And me...
"The pause that refreshes" is an old Coke slogan.
@superviv The narrator of the song finds it funny that Coca-Cola ads also advertise cocaine. And high levels of the advertising industry, among others, runs on cocaine.
@superviv The narrator of the song finds it funny that Coca-Cola ads also advertise cocaine. And high levels of the advertising industry, among others, runs on cocaine.
"So freeze!"-- referencing the numbing effect of coke.
"So freeze!"-- referencing the numbing effect of coke.
"Coke adds life" is another Coca-Cola slogan. I think the point in drawing the connection between the two cokes is to show that people buy them for the same basic reason - they have been tricked into believing it will make their lives more exciting.
"Your snakeskin suit and your alligator boot You won't need a launderette, you can send them to the vet!" has to be one of the more underrated lines in the clash history