Darling, you got to let me know
Should I stay or should I go?
If you say that you are mine
I'll be here 'til the end of time
So you got to let me know
Should I stay or should I go?

It's always tease, tease, tease
You're happy when I'm on my knees
One day it's fine and next it's black
So if you want me off your back
Well, come on and let me know
Should I stay or should I go?

Should I stay or should I go now?
Should I stay or should I go now?
If I go, there will be trouble
And if I stay it will be double
So come on and let me know

This indecision's bugging me (esta indecisión me molesta)
If you don't want me, set me free (si no me quieres, líbrame)
Exactly whom I'm supposed to be (dime, ¿qué tengo ser?)
Don't you know which clothes even fit me? (¿Sabes qué ropa me queda?)
Come on and let me know (me tienes que decir)
Should I cool it or should I blow? (¿Me debo ir o quedarme?)

Split

(¿Soplo, enfrío lo soplo?)

Should I stay or should I go now? (¿Enfrío o lo soplo?)
Should I stay or should I go now? (¿Enfrío o lo soplo?)
If I go there will be trouble (si me voy va a haber peligro)
And if I stay it will be double (si me quedo será el doble)
So you gotta let me know (me tienes que decir)
Should I cool it or should I blow? (¿Enfrío o lo soplo?)

Should I stay or should I go now? (¿Enfrío o lo soplo?)
If I go there will be trouble (si me voy va a haber peligro)
And if I stay it will be double (si me quedo será el doble)
So you gotta let me know me tienes que decir (me tienes que decir)
Should I stay or should I go?


Lyrics submitted by aebassist, edited by InbisibleMan

Should I Stay Or Should I Go Lyrics as written by Mick Jones Joe Strummer

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Should I Stay or Should I Go song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

53 Comments

sort form View by:
  • 0
    My Interpretation

    first listened to this tune around the same time I first started with pot. I would get so fried listening to this song that after the first stanza, partly because the remaining lyrics never overtly mentioned the romantic relationship again, my imagination would twist the song's meaning to something ridiculously metaphysical. My state of "deeper awareness" would hear "should I stay or should I go?" as asking God whether I should continue living or not. Should I stay on this Earth or leave it? My thoughts couldn't escape this way of thinking when I was in a room with friends and we were blasting that song full volume. The lyrics were drilled into my brain by the volume and I couldn't ponder anything else. It was classic stoner micro-focus! It was a bit too much and too deep to handle. I laugh at myself now when I recall it. Funny song to get deep about, but I suppose anything can seem ultra-deep when you've got some good shite!

    tsreybon September 20, 2020   Link

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

Album art
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
Album art
Dreamwalker
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.
Album art
No Surprises
Radiohead
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.
Album art
Magical
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
Album art
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.