This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
What you go and do
You go and give the boy a gun
Now there ain't no place to run to
Ain't no place to run
When he hold it in his hand
He feel mighty he feel strong
Now there ain't no place to run to
Ain't no place to run
One day he may come back
Repay us for what we've done
Then where you gonna run to
Where you gonna run
But one fine day
All our problems will be solved
Bang bang bang
We'll shoot him down
Give him drugs and give him candy
Anything, oh to make him think he's happy
And he won't ever come for us
He won't ever come
But if he does
And if there's no one else around
Bang bang bang
We'll shoot him down
If he preys only on his neighbors
Brothers, sisters and friends
We'll consider it a favor
We'll consider justice done
But if he comes for you or me
And we can place a gun in his hand
Bang bang bang
We'll shoot him dead
What you go and do
You go and give the boy a gun
Now there ain't no place to run to
Ain't no place to run
Now we'll all be at his mercy
If he decides to hunt us down
'Cause there ain't no place to run to
Ain't no place to run
If he wants the chances that you took from him
Oh, and nothing that you own
Then there'll be no place to run to
There'll be no place to run
And if he finds himself to be
A reflection of us all
Bang bang bang
He'll shoot us down
Before you can raise your eyes to read
The writing on the wall
Bang bang bang
He'll shoot you down
Before you can bridge the gulf between
And embrace him in your arms
Bang bang bang
He'll shoot you down
You go and give the boy a gun
Now there ain't no place to run to
Ain't no place to run
When he hold it in his hand
He feel mighty he feel strong
Now there ain't no place to run to
Ain't no place to run
One day he may come back
Repay us for what we've done
Then where you gonna run to
Where you gonna run
But one fine day
All our problems will be solved
Bang bang bang
We'll shoot him down
Give him drugs and give him candy
Anything, oh to make him think he's happy
And he won't ever come for us
He won't ever come
But if he does
And if there's no one else around
Bang bang bang
We'll shoot him down
If he preys only on his neighbors
Brothers, sisters and friends
We'll consider it a favor
We'll consider justice done
But if he comes for you or me
And we can place a gun in his hand
Bang bang bang
We'll shoot him dead
What you go and do
You go and give the boy a gun
Now there ain't no place to run to
Ain't no place to run
Now we'll all be at his mercy
If he decides to hunt us down
'Cause there ain't no place to run to
Ain't no place to run
If he wants the chances that you took from him
Oh, and nothing that you own
Then there'll be no place to run to
There'll be no place to run
And if he finds himself to be
A reflection of us all
Bang bang bang
He'll shoot us down
Before you can raise your eyes to read
The writing on the wall
Bang bang bang
He'll shoot you down
Before you can bridge the gulf between
And embrace him in your arms
Bang bang bang
He'll shoot you down
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"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
I Can't Go To Sleep
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This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
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Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
We create poverty. We sell an image of masculenity and strength. We keep the poor poor and give them drugs and alcohol to anesthetise (sp?) them. At the same time, we sell a "bad boy" image. People then give this man anything he wants to keep him happy so that he leaves them alone. If he still comes after them, they blame him for his lifestyle. They'll kill him and say that he desrved it.... "problem solved" - He is dead. If however, he only robs and murders other poor black people, others consider it a favor because its less for them to deal with. We force poverty on people and then wonder why they get violent. The cycle repeats itself, yet no one figures it out. In the meanwhile people are dying. Before we have learned to love and drop our prejudices, more violence happens. This is a song about classism, racism, and a never ending cycle of violence.
It can't be just about gun control...Verses like "If he wants the chances that you took from him" ..won't make no sense, and Tracy Chapman's words ALWAYS make sense!!
It makes me think of how my parents mistreated me as a kid, but stopped once I learned to stand up to them. Now they buy me anything I want pretending like we get along. I spend all the money on drugs to hide from my anger, but it's not solving anything. In fact, even the handouts upset me now. I want off drugs, but what will happen when I no longer want anything they own? Will there be enough stones to throw?
To me, these lyrics are all about a powerful nation controlling a poor country by arming them on which ever pretext; Civil strife, overthrow of corrupt governments or protection against another powerful nation. Once this has been achieved however, this poor country finds its own way and comes back to bite you. IE: Afghanistan and the Taliban.
This song is about miseducation and how uncompassionate people can be
To me, this is simply about gun control. You give the troubled kid a chance to own a gun, or have access to a gun, and bad things will happen.