"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.
Daydream
I fell asleep beneath the flowers
For a couple of hours
On a beautiful day
Daydream
I dream of you amid the flowers
For a couple of hours
Such a beautiful day
As I spy from behind my giant robot's eyes
I keep him happy 'cause I might fall out if he cries
Scared of heights so I might pass out if he flies
Keep him on autopilot 'cause I can't drive
Room enough for one I tell my homies they can't ride
Unless they sittin' on the shoulders but that's way too high
Let's try not to step on the children
The news cameras filmin'
This walki'n project buildin'
Now there's hoes sellin' hoes like right around the toes
And the crackheads beg at about the lower leg
There's crooked police that's stationed at the knees
And they do drive-bys like up and down the thighs
And there's a car chase goin' on at the waist
Keep a vest on my chest
I'm sittin' in my room as I'm lookin out the face
Somethin' to write about
I still got some damage from fightin' the Whitehouse, just a
Daydream
I fell asleep beneath the flowers
For a couple of hours
On a beautiful day
Daydream
I dream of you amid the flowers
For a couple of hours
Such a beautiful day
Now come on everybody, let's make cocaine cool
We need a few more half naked women up in the pool
And hold this MAC-10 that's all covered in jewels
And can you please put your titties closer to the 22s?
And where's the champagne? We need champagne
Now look as hard as you can with this blunt in your hand
And now hold up your chain slow motion through the flames
Now cue the smoke machines and the simulated rain
But not too loud 'cause the baby's sleepin'
I wonder if it knows what the world is keepin'
Up both sleeves while he lay there dreamin'
Me and my robot tip-toe 'round creepin'
I had to turn my back on what got you paid
I couldn't see half the hood on me like Abu Ghraib
But I'd like to thank the streets that drove me crazy
And all the televisions out there that raised me, I was
Daydream
I fell asleep beneath the flowers
For a couple of hours
On a beautiful day
Daydream
I dream of you amid the flowers
For a couple of hours
Such a beautiful day
Daydream
I fell asleep beneath the flowers
For a couple of hours
On a beautiful day
Daydream
I dream of you amid the flowers
For a couple of hours
Such a beautiful day
I fell asleep beneath the flowers
For a couple of hours
On a beautiful day
Daydream
I dream of you amid the flowers
For a couple of hours
Such a beautiful day
As I spy from behind my giant robot's eyes
I keep him happy 'cause I might fall out if he cries
Scared of heights so I might pass out if he flies
Keep him on autopilot 'cause I can't drive
Room enough for one I tell my homies they can't ride
Unless they sittin' on the shoulders but that's way too high
Let's try not to step on the children
The news cameras filmin'
This walki'n project buildin'
Now there's hoes sellin' hoes like right around the toes
And the crackheads beg at about the lower leg
There's crooked police that's stationed at the knees
And they do drive-bys like up and down the thighs
And there's a car chase goin' on at the waist
Keep a vest on my chest
I'm sittin' in my room as I'm lookin out the face
Somethin' to write about
I still got some damage from fightin' the Whitehouse, just a
Daydream
I fell asleep beneath the flowers
For a couple of hours
On a beautiful day
Daydream
I dream of you amid the flowers
For a couple of hours
Such a beautiful day
Now come on everybody, let's make cocaine cool
We need a few more half naked women up in the pool
And hold this MAC-10 that's all covered in jewels
And can you please put your titties closer to the 22s?
And where's the champagne? We need champagne
Now look as hard as you can with this blunt in your hand
And now hold up your chain slow motion through the flames
Now cue the smoke machines and the simulated rain
But not too loud 'cause the baby's sleepin'
I wonder if it knows what the world is keepin'
Up both sleeves while he lay there dreamin'
Me and my robot tip-toe 'round creepin'
I had to turn my back on what got you paid
I couldn't see half the hood on me like Abu Ghraib
But I'd like to thank the streets that drove me crazy
And all the televisions out there that raised me, I was
Daydream
I fell asleep beneath the flowers
For a couple of hours
On a beautiful day
Daydream
I dream of you amid the flowers
For a couple of hours
Such a beautiful day
Daydream
I fell asleep beneath the flowers
For a couple of hours
On a beautiful day
Daydream
I dream of you amid the flowers
For a couple of hours
Such a beautiful day
Lyrics submitted by xXlastgoodbyeXx
Daydreamin' Lyrics as written by Dave Mackay Craig Kallman
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Innovator pretty much sums it up. At the begining of the song he falls alseep "beneath the flowers". He's just daydreaming. Verse one is him being in a giant robot that is a project building. He just describes the real hood, awesome flow. Second verse takes stabs at modern rap videos, and the obvious sarcasm involved "comon everybody lets make cocaine cool" displays his disdain for this aspect of the genre. I personally love "but not to loud cause the baby's sleeping" part. After setting up what the real hood is, and what rap videos expose to people, he then takes it back and says, this child is the one who's gonna have to deal with all this and sort it out. Lupe's album was all I hoped it would be after hearing kick push.
My only complaint, when I saw the video, I was unhappy to find the avg person watching would not get how great this song is as it wasn't very visually displayed atall.
I agree with what you said about the second verse<br /> but i was thinkin the first verse might also be a play on the saying<br /> "standing on the shoulders of giants"<br /> <br /> since he's lookin out the eyes and there's only room for one i think he is sayin that he's the giant <br /> and he dares someone else to stand on his shoulders and take music farther and not get caught up in the stuff thats happening down low.
I think the song is about the reality of living in the hood vs what they show you on tv. The first verse talks all about this neighborhood he lives in, with crackheads and drivebys and all sorts of other dangerous things. The second verse describes the rap video scenario, where rappers try to glamorize hood life by showing naked women and blinged-out weapons while still being thug. He knows that's not the right life, even though he was involved in it before ("I had to turn my back on what got you paid/I couldn't see, had the hood on me like Abu Ghraib"). He's acknowledging his life in the hood, I think.
Perhaps the robot represents the machine that is the music industry, particularly the industry as it pertains to hip-hip. For example, take these lines:
"As I spy from behind my giant robot's eyes I keep 'em happy cause I might fall out if he cries."
Here, Lupe may be addressing the need to keep the industry elite--the record companies, CEOs, anyone one would consider a member of the music industry's bourgeoise--happy by adhering to what they see, what they conceive as "hip-hop," hence his placement behind the robots eyes. If he disappoints, if they cry, he may "fall out." That is, he may be cast out of the sights and interests of the industry. This machine ignores the realities of the crackheads that beg at about the lower legs, the crooked police stationed at the knees, drive-bys at the thighs, car chases on the waist and only employs them as tools with which they craft, build, a false, industrial image of the projects. Lupe writing from inside this machine as it continues to threaten the children of the projects--anyone born, raised, or aware of the "true" projects--demonstrates that he works from inside and manipulates the hodgepodge hip-hop machine that is the music industry.
Perhaps not. This just seemed like a relevant perusal of the lyrics.
Typo: I obviously meant "hip-hop" in the second line. My mistake.
Keeper you got it right, imho; but here is mine as well, a little more detailed.<br /> <br /> Lupe is talking about how the record labels want different people to record different songs as they seem fit. Sara Bareilles wrote "Love Song" because she did not want Epic to shape her like molding clay.<br /> <br /> "As I spy from behind my giant robot's eyes<br /> I keep 'em happy cause I might fall out if he cries"<br /> <br /> Meaning: Robot being the label, the mundane artist keeps the label "robot" happy because they won't support him anymore if he does not produce what they want. That sometimes gets the artist in trouble because it is not the true artists talent.<br /> The rest of this verse talks about corruption in the music industry. <br /> <br /> "Keep 'em on autopilot cause I can't drive" Means: the artist has become such a product of the label that he can no longer produce any real talent and is now producing solely what the label wants. (Think Ke$ha, she was singing country songs in Tennessee and now is a "slutty" pop singer. You think she wanted that, or to get rich? Also think America's Suitehearts from FOB and the movie The Rocker).<br /> The rest of the verse, as I was saying is about how the industry is a circus.<br /> <br /> The second verse is criticizing rap in general. It is set on a music video set, he criticizes different rappers and genres for making the items mentioned "cool." Lupe goes on saying he is tip-toeing with his robot, meaning the recording industry backs it because it sells and makes money. The baby could be just a human baby, and how the person in the song, <br /> <br /> "I had to turn my back on what got you paid<br /> I couldn�t see half the hood on me like Abu Ghraib"<br /> <br /> get so blinded by the industries push to make him what he is not that he quits. <br /> The last line, <br /> <br /> "But I like to thank the streets that drove me crazy<br /> And all the televisions out there that raised me," <br /> <br /> refers back to the man in the industry because he finally has something real to write about. He can now give his own voice to the world because some of the TV educated him (literally or metaphorically?) <br /> This song may be about Lupe himself or it may be about other rappers/hip-hop artists in general that he may or may not know.
Edit: "Keep 'em on autopilot cause I can't drive"<br /> Also could mean that the artist is making money so he or she doesn't care what they record, as long as the money keeps coming in.
I think the first verse is a metaphor to the ghetto as the robot. A sick, sickkkkk, metaphor. Maybe the Robot could represent something more, like his fame?
"Scared of heights, so I might pass out if he flies Keep 'em on autopilot cause I can't drive Room enough for one, I tell my homies they can't ride Unless they sittin' on the shoulders but that�s way too high Let's try, not to step on the children, The news camera's filmin', this walkin', project building"
The first line, is his rejection of fame. He doesn't want the fame, he just wants to send out his message. I think the second line just reaffirms that. The third line shows how the loss of friends comes with fame. The 5th line could mean "don't spit gangster lyrics that the kids are going to learn from and copy and ruin their lives", like stepping on them. And news cameras filming, obviously means fame.
This is what it means.
Lupe has a lot of songs in which not many people understand the full meaning of it, Daydreamin' is one of the. I say that because in late 2009, I started to notice that some of my favorite Lupe songs had a deeper meaning to them, the first being "American Terrorist." With this song, Lupe talks about two things, where he grew up or ghetto's in general and how rap/hiphop is potrayed in the videos.
He starts with the chorus, simply stating that he fell asleep and started to daydream or have visions on a beautiful day.
"As I spy from behind my giant robot's eyes"
To understand the bigger picture of this line, one has to know what the robot stands for. The robot is pretty much a project building. The hint comes from the single's album art.
So when he's looking out the eyes, he's watching his neighborhood through the windows of his building. He goes on and says he wants to keep the robot happy from crying because he might fall out. This could mean tyding up his room, or paying for his rent(keep him happy or get kicked out). The scared of heights part seems to be about having a room on the top floor so he sticks to the lower level.
"Room enough for one so I tell my homies they can't ride"
This is saying that the room he has is only big enough for him and so no one else is able to come in, unless they want to stay outside by the door.
The next 3 lines are also a hint to let us know what the Robot actually stands for.
"Let's try not to step on the children The news cameras filmin This walkin project buildin"
Stepping on the children is saying harming the innocent by standers and not literally kids. He's saying that since this building is recieving attention (news cameras filming this WALKING PROJECT BUILDING, lets keep what were doing low so that negative attention isn't drawn. This then leads to the rest of the verse.
He starts to describe what he is seeing in his neighbourhood. From prostitution, crack heads, crooked cops, and violence (drive-bys). He is seeing all this from the face of the robot, through the eyes or the windows.
That very last line, I had a hard time interpreting it, but thanks to Wikipedia, I was able to understand it. Apparently, Lupe had a different idea for the songs video. A quick rundown of it is that he was going to have an actual robot go and fight other robots(hoods fighting against each other) and the one that Lupe was in, would come to a realization that they shouldn't be fighting amongst each other. So that robot would go for the white house. During that battle, the robot would get injured and have to retreat, thus "I still got some damage from fighting the white house"
The second verse then changes topics, and changes the meaning of the chorus. The is this "Daydream" or un-real world created in rap videos that seems to be popular. When I first heard this song back in 2006, I thought that first line, "Come on everybody lets make cocaine cool" meant that he wanted everybody to join him and become as cool as cocaine is. But it is quite the opposite.
To help me interpret this verse, I pictured that I was on the set of a rap video and Lupe was the director and he was talking to me.
"Come one, let take cocaine and make it cool. Now get some of those sexy models and put them by the pool. Next grab these guns(MAC-10) that are covered in jewels." He then turns to a model and tells her to put her titties closer to the big shinny rims. He turns back to me and asks, "where's the champagne? Don't you know we need the champagne?!" When the champagne is brought, he tells me to look 'hard' and hold a blunt, and at the same time hold up my shinny chain and walk through the flames, in the same style as you would see in a movie. To add some final touches, we need some fake rain and a smoke machine to add to the whole scene.
When he speaks of the sleeping baby, he is referencing to someone who is unaware of what's going on. He doesn't want it to be done too loud because the sleeping baby might wake up and realize whats going on. He then brings the robot back into the mix and saying that the project building can be involved in the whole thing.
"I had to turn my back on what got you paid"
With this line, Lupe is personally speaking of himself. He turned his back on all the drug dealing etc, (which is what got you paid). But he goes on to that the streets and the TVs that raised him because they are what educated him and made him who he is.
thanks for reading it. its an amzing song as it is but once you know what it means its even better. F&L 2
Now come on everybody let’s make..??..and cool We need a few more half naked women up in the pool And hold this mack ten that’s all covered in jewels And can you please put your..??..closer to the 22’s And where’s the champagne, we need champagne Now look as hard as you can with this blunt in your hand And know hold up your chain Slow motion through the flames Now queue the smoke machines and the simulator rain But not too loud cuz the baby’s sleepin
this is the best part of the song. really telling it like it is in terms of all the forced fake hip-hop on mtv. love it.
HERE YOU GO: Now come on everybody let’s make cocaine and cool We need a few more half naked women up in the pool And hold this mack ten that’s all covered in jewels And can you please put your titties closer to the 22’s
it's giant robot, not john roebuck
Amazing song! I love the chorus,the man singing sounds haunting, and it kinda reminds me of Oompa Loompas. I think the songs poking fun at the fact that hip hop videos today are all basically the same. Lupe's a phenom.
i like the girl's voice (:
but seriously...what's the song about?
[i'm really happy songmeanings is back on!!!!]
Jill Scott -- Look Her Up! =o))