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.
You don't know this boogie is for real
I used to put my faith in worship
But then my chance to get to Heaven slipped
Oh, I used to worry about the future
But then I throw my caution to the wind
I have no reason to be care free (no, no, no)
Until I took a trip to the other side of town (yeah, yeah, yeah)
You know I heard that boogie rhythm, hey
I had no choice but to get down, down, down, down
Dance, woo, nothing left for me to do but dance
Off these bad times I'm going through just dance
Got canned heat in my heels tonight, baby, woo-oh
I feel the thunder see the lightning
I know this anger's heaven sent
So I've got to hang out all my hang-ups
'Cause of the boogie I feel so hell bent, hey, hey
It's just an instant gut reaction, that I got
I know I've never ever felt like this before
I don't know what to do
But then that's nothing new
Stuck between hell and high water
I need a cure to make it through, hey
Dance, yeah, nothing left for me to do but dance
Off these bad times I'm going through just dance, hey
Got canned heat in my heals tonight, baby
You know I got canned heat in my heels
You know this boogie is for real
Only the wind can know the answer
And she cries to me when I'm asleep
She says you know that you can go much faster
I know that people's talk can be so cheap, hey, hey
I've got this voodoo child in-veined on me
I'm gonna use my power to ascend
You know I've got these running heels to use
Sometimes there's no way I lose
I was born to run and built to last
You'll never see my feet 'cause they move so fast
Dance, yeah, hey, nothing left for me to do but dance
Off these bad times I'm going through, just dance, hey
Got canned heat in my heels, tonight, baby
Dance
Hey, DJ, let the music play (let the music play, yeah)
I'm gonna live this party life (I wanna live this party life)
Hey, DJ, throw my cares away (let the music play, yeah)
I'm gonna live this party life (I wanna live this party life)
Hey, DJ, let the music play (I wanna live this party life)
I'm gonna live this party life (I wanna live this party life)
Hey, DJ, throw my cares away (party life, party life)
I'm gonna live this party life (I wanted, I wanted to go home)
You know that this boogie is for real (dance)
Got so much canned heat in my heels (dance)
Gon' dance, gonna dance my blues away tonight (dance)
You know, you know this boogie, this boogie is for real (dance)
Got so much canned heat, canned heat in my heels (dance)
You know, I'm gonna dance my blues away tonight (dance)
I used to put my faith in worship
But then my chance to get to Heaven slipped
Oh, I used to worry about the future
But then I throw my caution to the wind
I have no reason to be care free (no, no, no)
Until I took a trip to the other side of town (yeah, yeah, yeah)
You know I heard that boogie rhythm, hey
I had no choice but to get down, down, down, down
Dance, woo, nothing left for me to do but dance
Off these bad times I'm going through just dance
Got canned heat in my heels tonight, baby, woo-oh
I feel the thunder see the lightning
I know this anger's heaven sent
So I've got to hang out all my hang-ups
'Cause of the boogie I feel so hell bent, hey, hey
It's just an instant gut reaction, that I got
I know I've never ever felt like this before
I don't know what to do
But then that's nothing new
Stuck between hell and high water
I need a cure to make it through, hey
Dance, yeah, nothing left for me to do but dance
Off these bad times I'm going through just dance, hey
Got canned heat in my heals tonight, baby
You know I got canned heat in my heels
You know this boogie is for real
Only the wind can know the answer
And she cries to me when I'm asleep
She says you know that you can go much faster
I know that people's talk can be so cheap, hey, hey
I've got this voodoo child in-veined on me
I'm gonna use my power to ascend
You know I've got these running heels to use
Sometimes there's no way I lose
I was born to run and built to last
You'll never see my feet 'cause they move so fast
Dance, yeah, hey, nothing left for me to do but dance
Off these bad times I'm going through, just dance, hey
Got canned heat in my heels, tonight, baby
Dance
Hey, DJ, let the music play (let the music play, yeah)
I'm gonna live this party life (I wanna live this party life)
Hey, DJ, throw my cares away (let the music play, yeah)
I'm gonna live this party life (I wanna live this party life)
Hey, DJ, let the music play (I wanna live this party life)
I'm gonna live this party life (I wanna live this party life)
Hey, DJ, throw my cares away (party life, party life)
I'm gonna live this party life (I wanted, I wanted to go home)
You know that this boogie is for real (dance)
Got so much canned heat in my heels (dance)
Gon' dance, gonna dance my blues away tonight (dance)
You know, you know this boogie, this boogie is for real (dance)
Got so much canned heat, canned heat in my heels (dance)
You know, I'm gonna dance my blues away tonight (dance)
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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 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.
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.
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This song is about a guy who is under a lot of stress, but he just decides, "Fuck it, I'm just gonna dance and have some fun."
NAPPY D!!!!
Gosh! Frickin' Idiot! :D
You know when you know what a song is about then you forget it,.. well thats what i have done lol. All i remember at the minute, yes this song is about loosing all your troubles and stress by danving but,... CANNED HEAT is a Jazz/acid/funk magazine or program in the USA (i read somewhere on some Jamiroquai site) theats where the canned heat comes from but yes it's a HAPPY SONG!!! I've always told people there is one song that puts a smile on my face and i forget everything and this is that song!! at present i'm in the biggest turmoil of my life!! past 2 months i've seen no way out but this song is played non stop and it's got me through as i can now see the light at the end of the tunnel. (people tell me i'm too much into my music oops, but hey! IT'S A DRUG!)
this song always gets my mood up when i'm down. i can't help but...DANCE :-) (no pun intended)
Dance is a metaphor for sex, you people, it's be done for ages in UK in many many songs, it's a writer's secret, writer 101: when you want to talk about sex you use the word dance or walk, obvious.
"I used to worry about the future But then I throw my caution to the wind..." After writing songs about war and greedy politicians and dying animals, ppl etc. there must have just come a point when it must have been getting jay down so much, and that nobody was paying much attention to his opinions, that he decided to just... dance.
I think that Jay is the most talented Funk singer, and he is such a pimp! So i think that dancing is just a way to get something off your mind, because your feet move naturally to a beat as with your wholee body. And Jamiroquai just doesn't get the fans that he should have because that band's music is the best dance music(Chours Style) in the world.
i love it when napolean dances to this!!!
that man is so sexy ;)
As Spider6333 and kindacrazy alludes to, the highlight to the overrated film Napoleon Dynamite is when the eponymous character dances to this song. The only time I laughed...
Napoleon's been practicing some dance moves.