Songs Lyrics and YT- Youtube Music Videos

a-ha - The Sun Always Shines on T.V.

a-ha - The Sun Always Shines on T.V. Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Hunting High and Low
Released: 1986

The Sun Always Shines on T.V. Lyrics

Touch me
How can it be
Believe me
The sun always shines on TV
Hold me
Close to your heart
Touch me
And give all your love to me
To me

I Reached inside myself
And found nothing there
To ease the pressure of
My ever worrying mind
All my powers waste away
I fear the crazed and lonely looks
The mirror's sending me
These Days
Please don't ask me to defend
The shameful lowlands
Of the way I'm drifting
Gloomily through time

I reached inside myself today
Thinking there's got to be some way
To keep my troubles distant

Touch me
How can it be
Believe me
The sun always shines on TV
Hold me
Close to your heart
Touch me
And give all your love to me

Writer/s: PAL WAAKTAAR
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

The Sun Always Shines on T.V.

Phil Waaktaar, a-ha's guitarist and writer of this song is quoted in 1000 UK #1 Hits by Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh as saying: "The Sun Always Shines On TV was written on one of those down days. Me and Mags (Furuholmen, keyboards) were in a hotel watching English television on a rainy day and the guy announcing the program says, 'It's a rainy day but, as always, the sun always shines on TV.' The song is about the power of television and the way television presents life."

The video continues the story of the "Take On Me" video. At the beginning, Morten Harket turns back into a comic book character and then it shows television-like credits.

The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead

The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: The Queen Is Dead
Released: 1986

The Queen Is Dead Lyrics

Oh! Take me back to dear old Blighty,
Put me on the train for London Town,
Take me anywhere,
Drop me anywhere,
Liverpool, Leeds or Birmingham
But I don't care,
I should like to see my...

I don't bless them
Farewell to this land's cheerless marshes
Hemmed in like a boar between arches
Her very Lowness with a head in a sling
I'm truly sorry - but it sounds like a wonderful thing

I said Charles, don't you ever crave
To appear on the front of the Daily Mail
Dressed in your Mother's bridal veil?
Oh...
And so, I checked all the registered historical facts
And I was shocked into shame to discover
How I'm the eighteenth pale descendant
Of some old queen or other

Oh, has the world changed, or have I changed?
Oh has the world changed, or have I changed?

Some nine year old tough who peddles drugs
I swear to God
I swear : I never even knew what drugs were
Oh...
So, I broke into the palace
With a sponge and a rusty spanner
She said : "Eh, I know you, and you cannot sing"
I said : "That's nothing - you should hear me play piano"

We can go for a walk where it's quiet and dry
And talk about precious things
But when you're tied to your Mother's apron
No-one talks about castration
Oh...

We can go for a walk where it's quiet and dry
And talk about precious things
Like love and law and poverty
Oh, these are the things that kill me

We can go for a walk where it's quiet and dry
And talk about precious things
But the rain that flattens my hair...
Oh, these are the things that kill me

All their lies about make-up and long hair, are still there

Past the pub who saps your body
And the church who'll snatch your money
The Queen Is Dead, boys
And it's so lonely on a limb
Past the pub that wrecks your body
And the church - all they want is your money
The Queen is dead, boys
And it's so lonely on a limb

Life is very long, when you're lonely
Life is very long, when you're lonely
Life is very long, when you're lonely
Life is very long, when you're lonely

Writer/s: STEVEN MORRISSEY, JOHNNY MARR
Publisher: Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

The Queen Is Dead

This song shows Morrissey's unhappiness with the British monarchy. He makes reference to the Queen with her head in a sling. It's not quite as vengeful as "God Save The Queen," but still a scathing attack on the royals.

Morrissey explained to NME in 1986: "I didn't want to attack the monarchy in a sort of beer monster way but I find as time goes by this happiness we had slowly slips away and is replaced by something that is wholly grey and wholly saddening. The very idea of the monarchy and the Queen of England is being reinforced and made to seem more useful than it really is. The whole things seems like a joke. A hideous joke."

In the line "So I checked in the historical facts, and I was shocked into discover, I was the 18th pale decedent of some old queen or other," Queen is also an old English word for homosexual.

The album's cover image was designed by Morrissey himself and features French actor Alain Delon from the 1964 film L'Insoumis.

The music for this song emerged from a pounding 13-minute jam session with Marr capturing accidental feedback from his wah-wah pedal. "I held my breath for 10 minutes while I was doing it," he recalled to NMEJune 18, 2011. "Conceptually I was trying to do that Detroit thing, the MC5 and garage rock and I just got it wrong - but if you're lucky that stuff comes out sounding like yourself anyway."

The sample that opens the song features music hall veteran Cicely Courtneidge singing the World War I standard "Take Me Back To Dear Old Blighty," in Bryan Forbes' 1962 British film The L-Shaped Room.

The album title was taken from a section of American author Hubert Selby's 1964 novel, Last Exit To Brooklyn, which caused much controversy due to its frank portrayals of rape, drug use, homosexuality, transvestism and domestic violence.

At one point Morrissey sings, "That's nothing - you should hear me play piano." We got that chance on The Smiths next album Strangeways, Here We Come when Morrissey played piano on the song "Death of a Disco Dancer."

This song, "Panic" and "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out" formed part of a 13-minute short film, directed by the avant-garde filmmaker, Derek Jarman, in 1986. The Queen Is Dead, which compromises of evocative, nightmarish and fast-paced collages of urban decay, is available to view on YouTube .

Bassist Andy Rourke recalled the recording of the song to Mojo magazine: "When it started it was a schizophrenic kind of funky, punky instrumental that didn't really go anywhere. I think on the day we recorded it, Johnny had just got a new wah wah pedal so he was kind of putting it through its paces and we went back to this old rift with a different approach. Mike struck up this great drum beat and... it just kind of happened. Johnny's said it one of the best bass lines ever, and it is pretty good. I was dictating, in my most polite way, the groove."

Bruce Hornsby & the Range - The Way It Is

Bruce Hornsby & the Range - The Way It Is Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: The Way It Is
Released: 1986

The Way It Is Lyrics

Standing in line marking time--
Waiting for the welfare dime
'Cause they can't buy a job
The man in the silk suit hurries by
As he catches the poor old ladies' eyes
Just for fun he says "Get a job"

That's just The Way It Is
Some things will never change
That's just the way it is
But don't you believe them

They say hey little boy you can't go
Where the others go
'Cause you don't look like they do
Said hey old man how can you stand
To think that way
Did you really think about it
Before you made the rules
He said, Son

That's just the way it is
Some things will never change
That's just the way it is
But don't you believe them

Well they passed a law in '64
To give those who ain't got a little more
But it only goes so far
Because the law another's mind
When all it sees at the hiring time
Is the line on the color bar

That's just the way it is
Some things will never change
That's just the way it is
But don't you believe them

Writer/s: BRUCE HORNSBY
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

The Way It Is

This song deals with the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. The line in the lyrics that mentions "The law passed in '64" is the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The law was supposed to prohibit discrimination in public places, the government and employment.

The lyrics in this song deal with the need to resist complacency and never resign yourself to racial injustice as the status quo.

This is a very unusual hit, lacking a big chorus, shifts in momentum, catchy hooks and most other elements of typical chart-toppers. With a consistent tempo and a jazz-inflected sound, it appealed to a more adult audience and added a welcome diversity to Top 40 playlists that were dominated by uptempo, synth-driven songs. It was a song grown-ups loved and their kids could tolerate, reaching the top of both the Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary charts.

Hornsby grew up in Virginia, which isn't where you would expect a song about racial and economic tolerance to originate. He was raised with these values though. Hornsby told NME: "My mother came from the New England area, and she was a little more enlightened about racial subjects than a lot of people in the South. So I had a different attitude to a lot of my friends whose parents were more conservative."

He added: "When I was brought up, the vibe I got of Martin Luther King in my town was that he was a real evil man - just the vibe in the air, that he was terrible. And if you grow up in that environment you can't help but be affected by it a little bit. Luckily, I came from a family that guarded us against that conservatism, but sure, I grew up in the thick of all that bad feeling."

Hornsby had been working as a staff songwriter for years with no luck getting a record deal. With his attempts to appeal to popular taste falling short, he decided to make a demo of songs in his own style - ECM jazz - and included this track. He sent the demo to a new label called Windham Hill, which specialized in vocal groups. They offered him a deal, but so did some major labels that also got a hold of it. Hornsby signed with RCA because they offered him creative freedom. They were rewarded when this song and the album became huge hits.

The conservative radio host Sean Hannity used an instrumental portion of this song as his show's theme for many years. Hornsby, a liberal democrat, had vastly different political views, but there was nothing he could do about Hannity using the song as long as royalties were paid.

The rapper Tupac Shakur used this as the basis for his song "Changes," which is a look at racism and urban life from a black perspective.

This was the second single released from the album, following "Every Little Kiss." It was issued in the US in September 1986 and hit the top spot on December 13.

Hornsby and his band were not exactly MTV-ready, but the video for this song did well on the network. In the stark performance clip, none of the musicians ever stand up - some folks were surprised when they saw Hornsby in person and realized he was 6' 4".

The Psychedelic Furs - Heartbreak Beat

The Psychedelic Furs - Heartbreak Beat Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Midnight to Midnight
Released: 1986

Heartbreak Beat Lyrics

I'm a Heartbreak Beat, yea, all night long
And nobody don't dance on the edge of the dark
We've got the radio on
And it feels like love,
But it don't mean a lot
And it feels like love
And it's all that we

[Chorus:]
There's a heartbreak beat, playing all night long
Down on my street
And it feels like love, got the radio on
And it's all that we need
There's a heartbreak beat, and it feels like love
There's a heartbreak beat, and it feels like love

Well, the feet don't stop, the way you talk so tough
And there's a perfect kiss, somewhere out in the dark
But a kiss ain't enough
And the world don't stop, every time that you call
And the world don't stop, every time that you call

[Chorus]

I'm a heartbreak beat, yea, all night long
And nobody don't dance on the edge of the dark
We've got the radio on
And it feels like love,
But it don't mean a lot
And it feels like love
And it's all that we

[Chorus]

There's a heartbreak beat
There's a heartbreak beat

Writer/s: BUTLER, RICHARD/BUTLER, TIMOTHY/ASHTON, JOHN /
Publisher: EMI Music Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Heartbreak Beat

Although he was born in the UK, the Furs' frontman Richard Butler considers himself a bona-fide New Yorker and often finds inspiration from the Big Apple. With the Midnight to Midnight album, he hoped to capture the "very urban, very nighttime" feeling of the city after dark. He told Winner magazine in 1986: "It's my interpretation of being in a place. There's a song called 'Heartbreak Beat,' and it's about that feeling when you walk through Washington Square Park and you've got all the boxes going and it sounds like this huge phase-shifter. New York has definitely affected the feel of the songs. I very much pick up on what's around me, steal things, phrases, the feeling of being out at night in New York."

Butler's co-writers on the song were the group's guitarist John Ashton and bass player Tim Butler (Richard's brother).

This was the biggest US hit for The Psychedelic Furs, and their only Top 40 entry in that country. Early in 1986, their song "Pretty In Pink" was revived when it was used in the movie of the same name starring Molly Ringwald (the film was titled after the song), giving them a big bump in America.

Looking to expand their fanbase, the group created more accessible songs for their next album, Midnight to Midnight. "Heartbreak Beat," deemed the most radio-friendly track, was released as a single in the UK in October 1986, but wasn't issued in America until March 1987. It peaked at #26 in May, and in July the band started their tour of the US. "Heartbreak Beat" ended up being their last Hot 100 entry, although dedicated fans stuck with them for two more albums, Book of Days (1989) and World Outside (1991).

A heartbreak beat is an emotional condition, not a medical one, but Richard Butler suffered from something similar after the band set out on tour to promote the Midnight to Midnight album. Butler wasn't pleased with the album ("there's nothing lyrically I'm proud of on it at all," he declared), and hated performing songs from it. As the tour progressed, the band found themselves dropping new material and inserting older songs in their place. It all was very stressful for Butler, who at one point had an EKG heart scan to find out if there was something wrong. He underwent a program to manage his stress, but had to be talked into staying with the band, since he was so disillusioned.

He agreed to make another album, but insisted on returning to their early form. The resulting Book Of Days had little commercial appeal, but Butler was proud of it.

Glee made the most out of the lyrics "But a kiss ain't enough, and the world don't stop" when the song was used as a soundtrack to Rachel and Finn's kiss on the season one episode "The Rhodes Not Taken."

Steve Winwood - Higher Love

Steve Winwood - Higher Love Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Back In The High Life
Released: 1986

Higher Love Lyrics

Think about it, there must be Higher Love
Down in the heart or hidden in the stars above
Without it, life is a wasted time
Look inside your heart, I'll look inside mine
Things look so bad everywhere
In this whole world, what is fair?
We walk blind and we try to see
Falling behind in what could be

Bring me a higher love
Bring me a higher love
Bring me a higher love
Where's that higher love I keep thinking of?

Worlds are turning and we're just hanging on
Facing our fear and standing out there alone
A yearning, and it's real to me
There must be someone who's feeling for me
Things look so bad everywhere
In this whole world, what is fair?
We walk blind and we try to see
Falling behind in what could be

Bring me a higher love
Bring me a higher love
Bring me a higher love
Where's that higher love I keep thinking of?

Bring me a higher love
Bring me a higher love
Bring be a higher love
I could rise above on a higher love

I will wait for it
I'm not too late for it
Until then, I'll sing my song
To cheer the night along

Bring it, oh bring it.

I could light the night up with my soul on fire
I could make the sun shine from pure desire
Let me feel that love come over me
Let me feel how strong it could be

Bring me a higher love
Bring me a higher love
Bring me a higher love
Where's that higher love I keep thinking of?

Writer/s: WINWOOD, STEVE/JENNINGS, WILL
Publisher: Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Higher Love

Winwood played many of the instruments on Back In The High Life and wrote the music for the songs, but for this and many other songs on the album, Will Jennings wrote the lyrics. Jennings is a very successful songwriter who also collaborated with Winwood on the albums Arc Of A Diver and Talking Back To The Night, and went on to write "My Heart Will Go On" with James Horner for the movie Titanic. Jennings told us:
"I was born in East Texas and my mother and father's families were from Arkansas and the generations before were from the Deep South. My father's father was a Methodist preacher, a circuit rider, in Arkansas. My earliest memories are of the music in church and of my aunts and uncles singing the beautiful old hymns. 'Higher Love' is a generation past that, when things were not so much taken for granted, so that one has to plea, 'Bring me a higher love,' and the lines are all trying to explain why there must be higher love. A modern hymn, you might call it." (Check out our Will Jennings interview.)

This Track was Winwood's first #1 single as a solo artist. It also won 2 Grammys in 1987: Record Of The Year (beating Peter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer" and Robert Palmer's "Addicted To Love"), and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.

Chaka Khan sang on this with Winwood, helping give the song a Gospel feel.

The Irish folk singer James Vincent McMorrow recorded this song for his 2010 debut album Early In The Morning. McMorrow's stripped down, almost ethereal version became a hit in the UK after featuring in a television commercial for the video rental company, LoveFilm.

Slayer - Angel Of Death

Slayer - Angel Of Death Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Reign In Blood
Released: 1986

Angel Of Death Lyrics

Auschwitz, the meaning of pain
The why that I want you to die
Slow death, immense decay
Showers that cleanse you of your life

Forced in
Like cattle
You run
Stripped of
Your life's worth
Human mice, for the Angel Of Death
Four hundred thousand more to die
Angel of Death
Monarch to the kingdom of the dead

Sadistic, surgeon of demise
Sadist of the noblest blood

Destroying, without mercy
To benefit the Aryan race

Surgery, with no anesthesia
Fell the knife pierce you intensely
Inferior, no use to mankind
Strapped down screaming out to die
Angel of Death
Monarch to the kingdom of the dead
Infamous butcher,
Angel of Death

Pumped with fluid, inside your brain
Pressure in your skull begins pushing through your eyes
Burning flesh, drips away
Test of heat burns your skin, your mind starts to boil
Frigid cold, cracks your limbs
How long can you last
In this frozen water burial?
Sewn together, joining heads
Just a matter of time
'Til you rip yourselves apart
Millions laid out in their
Crowded tombs
Sickening ways to achieve
The holocaust
Seas of blood, bury life
Smell your death as it burns
Deep inside of you
Abacinate, eyes that bleed
Praying for the end of
Your wide awake nightmare
Wings of pain, reach out for you
His face of death staring down,
Your blood running cold
Injecting cells, dying eyes
Feeding on the screams of
The mutants he's creating
Pathetic harmless victims
Left to die
Rancid Angel of Death
Flying free

[ Angel of Death
Monarch to the kingdom of the dead
Infamous butcher,
Angel of Death

Angel of Death]

Writer/s: HANNEMAN, JEFFERY JOHN
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Angel Of Death

This song is about Josef Mengele (The Angel Of Death), a doctor at Aushwitz who performed gruesome experiments on prisoners during the Holocaust. Many people who don't fully understand metal or Slayer have branded them Neo-Nazis and Satanists, but the song was written by guitarist Jeff Hanneman because he has an interest in World War II. His father landed on the beaches of Normandy on June 6, 1944.

"Angel of Death" has become one of Slayer's signature songs and a classic of the thrash metal genre. It is included in all of their live albums and band-produced DVDs. It also appears in the soundtrack to many films, including Gremlins 2, Jackass: The Movie, and the 2005 documentary Soundtrack to War.

This was one of Rick Rubin's early productions. Slayer were signed to Rubin's Def Jam label, which also had Beastie Boys (that's how Slayer guitarist Kerry King ended up doing the solo on "No Sleep Till Brooklyn"). Def Jam's output was distributed by Columbia, but they refused to issue this one, so Rubin turned to Geffen, which handled the distribution.

Rick Rubin took a different approach to producing this track in order to get a very clean sound. Since Slayer plays very fast, Rubin left the reverb off to keep it from turning to mush. He also boosted the drums, which kept the guitars at bay. He explained in Rolling Stone: "Dave Lombardo is this incredible, unbelievably great drummer. One thing that we did was make the drums louder. The nature of distorted electric guitars is that they sound loud regardless of how loud they are. Whereas drums, because it's a natural instrument, depending on how loud they are in the mix really changes that feeling of how hard they're being hit. If you're in a room with the drums and somebody's hitting them hard, they're much louder. So, psychologically, by making the drums louder, it made everything seem louder."

This song has also been covered by other metal bands, including Monstrosity, Apocalyptica, Asinesia, and the Slayer tribute band Dead Skin Mask. Slayer having headlined Ozzfest several times, "Angel of Death" is also found in compilation albums from the annual hard rock festival.

How did Slayer come to write a song about Josef Mengele, of all people? In the book Precious Metal: Decibel Presents the Stories Behind 25 Extreme Metal Masterpieces , the interview for Reign in Blood reveals that while the band was touring from their previous album, they did not yet have a tour bus, so they were just driving around in a car, with not much for amusement but paperback books they'd buy at rest stops. Jeff Hanneman ended up reading a book on the topic which sparked his interest.

In Precious Metal, Slayer co-lead guitarist Kerry King has this to say on the controversy over this song: "People get this thought in their heads - especially in Europe - and you'll never talk them out of it. They try to talk you into what they're thinking. When you ask them a question and you give them an answer they don't want, they'll be like 'Well, don't you mean...' And I'm like 'No, dude, I don't mean that.' It's just like, wake up."

A mini-essay about controversy: Why does Slayer go through life with such a target on its chest? Dozens of bands produce material that's far gorier. Almost every heavy metal band you can name pins a pentagram or 666 or other "Satanic" imagery to their album cover. Here is the Reign in Blood album cover , which is part of the reason Def Jam's distributor, Columbia Records, refused to release it - compare it to the work of Hieronymus Bosch . As for subject matter, there's a song out there which makes light of violence against women, murder, mutilation, necrophilia, and cannibalism. That song is "I Hold Your Hand in Mine ," by noted satirist Tom Lehrer. Now, where's the protests and picket groups and censorship and album-burning when it comes to Lehrer? Science needs to find out why bands like Slayer draw so much fire while others get a free pass. In the mean time, we're going to have to assume that Slayer is scary while Lehrer and Bosch are not, and so people are reacting based on raw emotions and not on any kind of logic at all.

Kate Bush - Experiment IV

Kate Bush - Experiment IV Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: The Whole Story
Released: 1986

Experiment IV Lyrics

We were working secretly for the military
Our experiment in sound was nearly ready to begin
We only know in theory what we are doing
Music made for pleasure, music made to thrill
It was music we were making here until
They told us all they wanted
Was a sound that could kill someone from a distance
So we go ahead and the meters are over in the red
It's a mistake in the making

From the painful cries of mothers to a terrifying scream
We recorded it and put it into our machine

They told us all they wanted
Was a sound that could kill someone from a distance
So we go ahead and the meters are over in the red
It's a mistake in the making

It could feel like falling in love
It could feel so bad
It could feel so good
It could sing you to sleep
But that dream is your enemy!!

We won't be there to be blamed
We won't be there to snitch
I just pray that someone there can hit the switch

They told us all they wanted
Was a sound that could kill someone from a distance
So we go ahead and the meters are over in the red
It's a mistake in the making

And the public are warned to stay off

Writer/s: BUSH, KATE
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Experiment IV

This song is about how sometimes scientists get so caught up in the pure science of what they are developing that they don't realize what purpose others may have for it. For example,when scientists started splitting atoms they probably did not think of the possible future applications as weapons.

The origin of this song came from Kate's consideration of music as such a beautiful thing and a positive force. The idea of something so beautiful being used to kill people was fascinating. There likely are sonic experiments of a similar type actually being carried out by militaries somewhere.

The Whole Story is a greatest hits album. This was the only new song included with songs from previous albums.

Megadeth - Devil's Island

Megadeth - Devil's Island Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?
Released: 1986

Devil's Island Lyrics

The light that fill my lonely cell,
Is blocked out by the key,
That locks the door to this hell,
The place they wanted me.
Time's racing like the wind,
Execution's near.
Oh Lord, I wait for death,
And yes, I have no fear.
I recall that night, my every breath,
And step along the way.
Closed my eyes, walking,
As danger paved the way.
The devil and the darkness
Let her evil wander free.
And here on Devil's Island,
The final stop for me.
Devil's Island! Devil's Island!
Oh there's no escape,
The sea is full of sharks.
The tides take you way
And smash you on the rocks.
The sun is shining,
But feel not today,
Its warmth, it's dying,
And fading away.
Devil's Island! Devil's Island!
Oh hear the call,
From the grave beyond
Oh so pernicious,
Her soul could, it creates song.
As there is no man that is
Here upon the earth,
Able to terminate our
Noisome will since birth.
The priest that reads the sermons,
Is walking next to me,
To the stake, my last request,
To have her burn with me.
But so it did, the heavens opened,
Rain began to fall.
The final judgment came.
And was spread before you all.
Final Judgment!
Old, weak, and feeble,
But the lesson taught to me,
To stay away from evil,
She doesn't care for me.
She haunts me in my sleep,
Though I tore that page away.
And here on Devil's Island,
I'll always have to stay.
Devil's Island! Devil's Island!
Here I am
Devil's Island! Devil's Island!
Writer/s: MUSTAINE, DAVE
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Devil's Island

Devil's Island was a penal colony in French Guiana active from 1852-1946. Even by island prison standards, it was notoriously brutal, and most inmates died there (the book Papillon, made into a movie in 1973, is written by Henri Charrière, who escaped from the island and told his story).

Dave Mustaine of Megadeth wrote this song from the perspective of a prisoner on the island, hopeless and confronting his inevitable death there.

Depeche Mode - But Not Tonight

Depeche Mode - But Not Tonight Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Modern Girls soundtrack
Released: 1986

But Not Tonight Lyrics

Oh God, it's raining
But I'm not complaining
It's filling me up
With new life

The stars in the sky
Bring tears to my eyes
They're lighting my way
Tonight

And I haven't felt so alive
In years

Just for a day
On a day like today
I'll get away from this
Constant debauchery

The wind in my hair
Makes me so aware
How good it is to live
Tonight

And I haven't felt so alive
In years

The moon
Is shining in the sky
Reminding me
Of so many other nights
But they're not like tonight

Oh God, it's raining
And I'm not containing
My pleasure at being
So wet

Here on my own
All on my own
How good it feels to be alone
Tonight

And I haven't felt so alive
In years

The moon
Is shining in the sky
Reminding me
Of so many other nights
When my eyes have been so red
I've been mistaken for dead
But Not Tonight

Writer/s: GORE, MARTIN
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

But Not Tonight

This was the theme song to the 1986 romantic comedy Modern Girls, which starred Cynthia Gibb, Daphne Zuniga, and Virginia Madesen. The lyrics celebrate the simple pleasure of being alone in the rain and away from the crowds. In that respect, it's similar to their single "Enjoy The Silence," which is also about solitude away from the throngs.

R.E.M. - Superman

R.E.M. - Superman Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Lifes Rich Pageant
Released: 1986

Superman Lyrics

[Chorus]
I am, I am, I am Superman and I know what's happening
I am, I am, I am Superman and I can do anything

You don't really love that guy you make it with now do you
I know you don't love that guy cause I can see right through you

[Chorus]

If you go a million miles away I'll track you down girl
Trust me when I say I know the pathway to your heart

If you go a million miles away I'll track you down girl
Trust me when I say I know the pathway to your head

[Chorus: x3]

Writer/s: BOTTLER, MITCH / ZEKLEY, GARY
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Superman

This is a slightly stalkerish song about a guy who sees himself as Superman. He believes he can "see right through" the girl (presumably using his X-ray vision) so he knows that she doesn't really love the guy she's with. Where it gets a little creepy is when he threatens to find her even if she's "a million miles away."

It's all in good fun though. R.E.M. don't take it too seriously - Mike Mills sang lead on the track instead of Michael Stipe.

This song was originally recorded by a group from Beaumont, Texas called The Clique, who released it as the B-side of their only Top-40 hit: "Sugar On Sunday." The song was written by the group's producer Gary Zekley along with Elliot Bottler, Mitchell Bottler and Brandon Chase.

311 covered this song at one of their Halloween shows. Lead singer Nick Hexum dressed up as... you guessed it... Superman. On their DVD Enlarged To Show Detail 2, you can see them practicing it in the bus before the show, and then you see them perform it in concert. 311 site R.E.M. as one of their major influences. Hexum and Doug "S.A." Martinez have both commented on their love of R.E.M.

Van Halen - 5150

Van Halen - 5150 Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: 5150
Released: 1986

5150 Lyrics

The love line is never straight and narrow
Unless your love is tried and true
We take a chance with new beginnings
Still we try win or lose
Take the highs with the blues

Always one more
You're never satisfied
Share one for all with you
It's only one for me
Ah, why draw the line
And meet you half the way
And you don't know
What the means, oh yeah!

I feel like a runnning politician, oh!
Just trying to please you all the time
I've given you myself with no conditions
Going wide, running long
Feeling lost but not for long...

Always one more
You're never satisfied
Share one for all with you
It's only one for me
So why draw the line
And meet you half the way
When you don't know
What that means, oh yeah!

Solo
Always one more
You're never satisfied
Share one for all with you
It's only one for me
So why draw the line
And meet you half the way
When you don't know
What that means.

I'll meet you half the way
Whoa yeah.
I'll meet you half the way
Whoa yeah.

Writer/s: VAN HALEN, ALEX/VAN HALEN, EDWARD/ANTHONY, MICHAEL/HAGAR, SAMMY
Publisher: Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

5150

5150 is police code for an escaped psychiatric patient. It is also the name of Eddie Van Halen's studio. In 1983 the 5150 Studio was built; it begins as a forty-foot-long room with an adjustable ceiling height of up to 18 feet.

Revolting Cocks - Attack Ships On Fire

Revolting Cocks - Attack Ships On Fire Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Big Sexy Land
Released: 1986

Attack Ships On Fire Lyrics

Time and time and time again
Tossing and turning and freezing and burning
Time and time and time again
Another bad dream and another dead end

Someone somewhere wake me up! (x4)

Time and time and time again
Same old story till the night time ends
Time and time and time again
Same dark covers and same [?]

WAKE ME UP!

Time and time and time again
Wake up screaming and wake up dead
Time and time and time again
Wake up sweating and out of my head

Someone somewhere wake me up! (x3)
Someone somewhere WAKE ME UP!

Time and time and time again
I´m waking up shaking and waking in front
Time and time and time again
Same be -movie in black and white

Someone somewhere....

Writer/s: AL JOURGENSEN, LUC MARIA RENE VAN ACKER, RICHARD JEAN JONCKHEERE
Publisher: BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC, THE BICYCLE MUSIC COMPANY
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Attack Ships On Fire

The title is a reference to Rutger Hauer's dying soliloquy at the end of the movie Blade Runner.

Genesis - Tonight, Tonight, Tonight

Genesis - Tonight, Tonight, Tonight Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Invisible Touch
Released: 1986

Tonight, Tonight, Tonight Lyrics

I'm coming down, coming down like a monkey, but it's alright
Like a load on your back that you can't see but it's alright
Try to shake it loose, cut it free, let it go, get it away from me.

Cause Tonight, Tonight, Tonight I'm gonna make it right
Tonight, tonight, tonight.

I'm going down, going down, like a monkey, but it's alright
Try to pick yourself up, carry that weight that you can't see, don't you know
it's alright
It's like a helter skelter, going down and down, round and round but just get
it away from me.

Because tonight, tonight, tonight
We're gonna make it right
Tonight, tonight, tonight.

I got some money in my pocket, about ready to burn
I don't remember where I got it, I gotta get it to you
So please answer the phone, cause I keep calling, but you're never home
What am I gonna do
Tonight, tonight, tonight
I'm gonna make it right
Tonight, tonight, tonight.

You keep telling me I've got everything, you say I've got everything I want
You keep telling me you're gonna help me, you're gonna help me, but you don't
But now I'm in too deep
It's got me so that I just can't sleep
Get me out of here, please get me out of here
Just help me I'll do anything, anything if you'll just help me get out of here.

I'm coming down, coming down like a monkey, but it's alright
Like a load on your back that you can't see but it's alright
Try to shake it loose, cut it free, let it go
But just get it away from me
Cause tonight, tonight, tonight
Maybe we'll make it right
Tonight, tonight, tonight.

Please get me out of here
Someone get me out of here
Just help me I'll do anything, anything
If you'll just help get me out of here
Tonight I'm gonna make it right
Tonight, tonight, tonight.
Writer/s: RUTHERFORD, MICHAEL/COLLINS, PHIL/BANKS, TONY
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, IMAGEM U.S. LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Tonight, Tonight, Tonight

This song is about meeting with a cocaine dealer. The lyrics detail withdrawal symptoms from a cocaine high and the relief of knowing tonight is the night cocaine will be purchased. It deals with the struggle against the highly addictive drug. Phil Collins wrote the lyrics to this one.

In 1986, this was featured in commercials for Michelob beer as part of their "The night belongs to Michelob" campaign. It was a case of an advertising agency and/or client looking at the title and chorus of the song without regard for the lyrics, which reek of pain and desperation.

Genesis keyboard player Tony Banks explained that using the song in the commercial was a big break for the band, since it helped it become a hit. Banks said that if it wasn't in the commercial, it probably would have remained an album track like their song "Domino."

With the release of Invisible Touch, Genesis left their Prog-Rock roots behind and were taking over the pop charts with predictable criticisms. Phil Collins took a lot of the heat from the old-school Genesis fans, who figured his solo Pop success had wormed its way into the band. Collins responded in a 1987 Creem interview by saying: "People tend to say now we're just a commercial group who write pop songs, but 'Domino' and 'Tonight, Tonight, Tonight' are more like the old Genesis. We have always written collectively, and any individual songs have been credited to the group anyway. We thought if one person got the credits he would get all the royalties and it would create an unfair imbalance."

On the album, this song runs 8:49. The radio version was edited down to 4:32.

Janet Jackson - What Have You Done For Me Lately

Janet Jackson - What Have You Done For Me Lately Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Control
Released: 1986

What Have You Done For Me Lately Lyrics

Used to be a time when you would pamper me
Usta brag about it all the time
Your friends seem to think that you're so peachy keen
But my friends say neglect is on your mind - Who's right?

What Have You Done For Me Lately?
Ooh ooh ooh yeah
What have you done for me lately?
Ooh ooh ooh yeah

Used to go to dinner almost every night
Dancin' 'til I thought I'd lose my breath
Now it seems your dancing feet are always on my couch
Good thing I cook or else we'd starve to death - Ain't that a shame?

What have you done for me lately
Ooh ooh ooh yeah
What have you done for me lately
Ooh ooh ooh yeah

I never ask for more than I deserve
You know it's the truth
You seem to think you're God's gift to this earth
I'm tellin' you no way

You 'ought to be thankful for the little things
but little things are all you seem to give
You're always putting off what we could do today
Soap opera says
you've got one life to live
Who's right, who's wrong?

What have you done for me lately
Ooh ooh ooh yeah...

Ooh ooh ooh yeah...

Get wit it...Uh
What have you done for me lately Ooh ooh ooh yeah
Ooh ooh ooh yeah

This is wild, I swear

Writer/s: LEWIS, TERRY / HARRIS III, JAMES
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

What Have You Done For Me Lately

Janet Jackson thought she was done recording the Control album and returned home to Los Angeles only to be summoned back to Minneapolis to belt out one more: "What Have You Done For Me Lately." A&M label exec John McClain wanted one more uptempo song to round out the album. When she got back to the studio, songwriters/producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis had the song cranked at full blast. Jam remembered: "She was sitting outside in the lounge and said, 'Man, that's a funky track. Who's that for?' And we said, 'It's for you,' and she said, 'Oh, cool.' I think she was very pleased when she heard the track."

This song was nominated for two Grammy Awards in 1987: Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and Best R&B Song.

The song cuts to the crux of many relationship problems: the inertia that sets in once you are established as a couple. The guy who used to take the lady out for sushi and dancing finds himself on the couch watching football once he gets comfortable.

The song found its way into the cultural lexicon, and Eddie Murphy used it as the basis for a comedy bit in his 1987 Raw concert film. Murphy gave his interpretation of the song: You better have money, or you won't get any loving from the ladies (Eddie used a different term, but we'll keep it clean). He points out that women love this song, as its encourages women to keep wanting more from their men - and sweet talk won't cut it.

The music video for this song features a few notable cameo appearances. Paula Abdul, who choreographed the video, appeared as Janet's friend, along with Tina Landon, who later became a choreographer on the world tours for janet. and The Velvet Rope. Actor-dancer Rudy Huston, who played Janet's boyfriend, knew the singer from when they both worked on the Fame TV series a few years earlier. Huston was a familiar face on other videos of the decade, including R&B singer Pebbles' "Girlfriend" and "Mercedes Boy."

Although this was the last song recorded for the album, it was the first song to be released as a single. Jimmy Jam thought it was the perfect set up: "I think it was very representative of the sparseness and the funkiness that the rest of the album had and the attitude Janet had about being in control, being mature to the point where she had definite opinions about what she wanted to say."

La Toya Jackson ironically chose to sample her sister Janet's song on an album called No Relations (1991) on the track "Wild Side."

Megadeth - Good Mourning/Black Friday

Megadeth - Good Mourning/Black Friday Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?
Released: 1986

Good Mourning/Black Friday Lyrics

Hey, I don't feel so good.
Something's not right,
Something's coming over me
What the fuck is this?

Killer, intruder, homicidal man
If you see me coming run as fast as you can.
A bloodthirsty demon who's stalking the street
I hack up my victims like pieces of meat.
Blood thirsty demon, sinister fiend,
Bludgeonous slaughters, my evil deeds.
My hammer's a cold piece of blood lethal steel,
I grin while you writhe with the pain that I deal.
Swinging the hammer, I hack through their heads,
Defiant defiler, you're next to be dead.
I unleash my hammer with sadistic intent.
Pounding, surrounding, slamming through your head, yeah!
Their bodies convulse in agony and pain.
I mangle their faces 'til no features remain.
A blade for the butchering, I cut them to shreds.
First take out the organs then cut off the head.
The remains of their flesh now sop under my feet.
One more bloody massacre, the murder's complete.
I seek to dismember, a sadist fiend.
And bloodbaths are my way of getting clean.
I lurk in the alleys, wait for the kill
I have no remorse for the blood that I spill.
A merciless butcher who lives underground.
I'm out to destroy and I will cut you down.
I see you and I'm waiting for Black Friday
Killer, intruder, homicidal man
If you see me coming run as fast as you can.
A bloodthirsty demon who's stalking the street.
I hack up my victims like pieces of meat.
I lurk in the alleys, wait for the kill.
I have no remorse for the blood that I spill.
A merciless butcher who lives underground.
I'm out to destroy and I will cut you down.
It's Black Friday, paint the devil on the wall.

Writer/s: MUSTAINE, DAVE
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Good Mourning/Black Friday

This song uses a lot of mendacious imagery and showcases some of Megadeth's darkest lyrics. It is about a man who is possessed by a demon and goes on a gruesome killing spree, which becomes known as "Black Friday."

In the closing lyrics, "It's Black Friday, paint the devil on the wall," "Paint the devil on the wall" could be referring to the reason for possession or a means of exempting oneself from Black Friday.

Dijon Carruthers is mentioned in the liner notes to the album as inspiring this song and "Bad Omen." Carruthers was the band's drummer for a short time, and according to Dave Mustaine, he had a friend who was into the occult and would write down strange symbols, making the band wonder if he was a Satanist. This friend served as inspiration for this song.

The Smithereens - In A Lonely Place

The Smithereens - In A Lonely Place Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Especially For You
Released: 1986

In A Lonely Place Lyrics

I heard it said somewhere that one day all good things come to an end.
I turn around to see you. And if I do or not, it all depends.
I was born the day I met you,
Lived a while when you loved me,
Died a little when we broke apart.
Yesterday, it would have mattered.
Now today, it doesn't mean a thing.
All my hopes and dreams are shattered now.

I'm In A Lonely Place without you.
I'm in a lonely place without you.

I walk the streets alone at night sometimes and think about you.
I look as strangers pass, and wonder how I'll live without your love.
I was born the day I met you,
Lived a little when you loved me,
Died a little when we broke apart.
Suddenly, this world's no longer bright.
I'm alone and lonely every night.
Won't you bring back your love that's out of sight?

I'm in a lonely place without you.
I'm in a lonely place without you.

Writer/s: Dinizio, Pat
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, THE BICYCLE MUSIC COMPANY
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

In A Lonely Place

The title was taken from a 1950 Humphrey Bogart movie directed by Nicholas Ray (the director of Rebel Without A Cause). In it, Bogart plays a screenwriter accused of murder. This inspires and then sours a romance with Gloria Graham, leading to dialog such as "I was born the day I met you" and "Yesterday that might have mattered, not it doesn't mean a thing," which was cut and pasted into the lyrics for the song.

Van Halen - Why Can't This Be Love?

Van Halen - Why Can't This Be Love? Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: 5150
Released: 1986

Why Can't This Be Love? Lyrics

Oh here it comes
That funny feeling again winding me up inside
Every time we touch
Hey I don't know
Oh, tell me where to begin cause I never ever
Felt so much

And I can't recall any love at all
Baby this blows 'em all away

It's got what it takes
So tell me Why Can't This Be Love?
Straight from my heart
Oh, tell me why can't this be love?

I tell myself
Hey only fools rush in and only time will tell
If we stand the test of time
All I know
You've got to run to win and I'll be damned if
I'll get hung up on the line

Hey

No I can't recall anything at all
Oh baby this blows them all away

Woo

It's got what it takes
So tell me why can't this be love?
You want it straight from the heart
Oh tell me why can't this be love?

It's got what it takes
So tell me why can't this be love?
Straight from my heart
Oh, tell me why can't this be love?

Woo!

It's got what it takes
So tell me why can't this be love
Straight from the heart
Oh, tell me why can't this be love

Tell me why can't this be love
Got to know why can't this be love
I wanna know why can't this be love

Writer/s: VAN HALEN, EDWARD/VAN HALEN, ALEX/ANTHONY, MICHAEL/HAGAR, SAMMY
Publisher: Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Why Can't This Be Love?

Eddie Van Halen wrote this song on an Oberheim OB-8 keyboard. It was one of his first songs where Sammy Hagar said, "You don't mind if I follow your keyboard melody do you?" And Eddie said, "No, not at all," though he really didn't like the vocals to follow his instrumental parts. Eddie would rather the vocal line act as a counterpoint.

When Van Halen was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007, only Hagar and bass player Michael Anthony attended the ceremony. Hagar performed this song with Paul Shaffer's band backing him up.

5150 was the first Van Halen album without David Lee Roth. His replacement, Sammy Hagar, pushed to get Bachman–Turner Overdrive as the opening act, since the Canadian rockers could play a set of hits that would keep the crowd enthralled. BTO agreed, and dutifully delivered their hits. At the conclusion of their set, Van Halen wasted no time taking the stage; the short changeover was designed to minimize the inevitable "Where's Dave" calls from the audience.

The ploy worked, as fans had no time for catcalls. Randy Bachman remembers jokingly referring to this song as "Why Can't This Be Lunch," with the BTO hit thus "Takin' Care of Breakfast."

Janet Jackson - Control

Janet Jackson - Control Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Control
Released: 1986

Control Lyrics

This is story about Control
My control Control of what I say
Control of what I do
And this time I'm gonna do it my way
I hope you enjoy this as much as I do
Are we ready?
I am 'Cause it`s all about control,
And I've got lots of it

When I was 17 I did what people told me
Did what my father said,
and let my mother mold me
But that was a long ago,

I'm in Control - Never gonna stop
Control - To get what I want
Control - I like to have a lot
Control - Now I'm all grown up

First time I fell in love, I didn't know what hit me
So young and so naive, I thought it would be easy
Now I know I got to take

Control - Now I've got a lot
Control - To get what I want
Control - I'm never gonna stop
Control - Now i'm all grown up

Jam, woo woo...
Rebel, that's right
I'm on my own,
I'll call my own shots
Thank you

Got my own mind
I want to make my own decisions
When it has to do with my life, my life
I wanna be the one in control

So let me take you by the hand,
and lead you on this dance (Control)
Is what I've got, because I do with chance
I don't wanna rule the world,
just wanna run my life (ooh
So make your life a little easier ...
When you get the chance just take control

Control - Now I've got a lot, ooh
Control - To get what I want, oww!
Control - I'm never gonna stop
Control - Now I'm all grown up, ohh!

Free...at last
Out here on my own
Ooh ooh ooh yeah, hee
Now control this...

Uh Control - That's right
Control - Career moves
Control - I do what's right for me
Control - And me wants to groove, Is that ok?
Yeah...Oooh, Control

I've got own mind
Ooh baby
Yeah yeah, yeah yeah
I've got my own mind
Wanna make my own decisions
When it has to do with my life
I wanna be the one in control

Hop to it
I'm in control, and I love it, hahaha... thats right
Control
Now I've got a lot
Control
Now I'm all grown up Aahh!
I'm in control - Uhhh
I'm in control - Ahhhh I'm in control
Uhhh Don't make me lose it!

Writer/s: Lewis, Terry / Harris Iii, James Samuel
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Ultra Tunes
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Control

In the title song of her breakthrough album, Janet proclaims her independence for the first time in her life. It doesn't take much reading between the lines to figure out the whole album represents a break from her famous family, including superstar brother Michael and father, Joe, who was primarily interested in being a manager rather than a dad. "'Control' came from the heart," she told the Los Angeles Times. "It was all about stepping out, taking control of your life... a certain point in your life when you ask yourself who you are and what you want to do."

The album hooked her up with producers/songwriters Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, who helped her create a sexy and funky image. Jam and Lewis went on to write and produce most of her hits, including this one (Janet also has a writing credit on the track).

Although Janet wanted a fresh start, she didn't want to forget about her past or her old friends. Ja'net Dubois, her former co-star from the '70s sitcom Good Times, played her mother in the music video for this song.

The unique break in this song came about by accident during the production of "Nasty," another hit from the album. Jimmy Jam explained: "When you program drum machines, you program a lot of different patterns in. But the way we do it, we never put the programs in a sequence. We play and change the sequences by hand. So at one point in 'Nasty,' I changed to the wrong sequence and it made this weird drum break. A lot of times when that happens, we leave it and figure out what to do with it musically later. That's what happened on 'Control.' There are two or three breaks where it stops and there's a little 'do-do-do-do-do,' and that was the creation of hitting the wrong drum program at the wrong time. But it worked."

Producing the music video for this song was one of the worst experiences in Sharon Oreck's career. Behind the scenes, Janet's soon-to-be-fired manager Joe Jackson was trying to sabotage the project by making wild demands (which were last-ditch efforts to control his daughter). He angrily insisted Janet be insured for $1 million before she was allowed to be lowered onstage via trapeze. Meanwhile, the live footage was being recorded at the Grand Olympics Auditorium in Los Angeles in front of an audience who expected a free Janet Jackson concert, not "50 takes of Janet lip-synching," Oreck remembered. The crowd was disgruntled over that, but nearly rioted when white members of the audience, who had been scattered throughout, were slowly being moved to the front. An A&M label representative was able to calm everyone down when he explained the migration wasn't an act of segregation but a trick to make it look like the audience was more diverse. The video later won a Soul Train Music Award for Best R&B/Soul or Rap Video, but Oreck called it her "worst nightmare."

Glee's Dianna Agron, Darren Criss and Kevin McHale covered this song on the season 3 episode "Hold On to Sixteen."

Beastie Boys - Rhymin & Stealin

Beastie Boys - Rhymin & Stealin Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Licensed to Ill
Released: 1986

Rhymin & Stealin Lyrics

Because mutiny on the bounty's what we're all about
I'm gonna board your ship and turn it on out
No soft sucker with a parrot on his shoulder
'Cause I'm bad gettin' bolder, cold getting colder
Terrorizing suckers on the seven seas
And if you've got beef, you'll get capped in the knees
We got sixteen men on a dead man's chest
And I shot those suckers and I'll shoot the rest

Most illingest be-boy - I got that feeling
'Cause I am most ill and I'm rhymin' and stealin'

Snatching gold chains, vicking pieces of eight
I got your money and your honey and the fly name plate
We got wenches on the benches, and bitties with titties
Housing all girlies from city to city
One for all and all for one
Taking out M.C.'s with a big shotgun
All for one and one for all
Because the Beastie Boys have gone A.W.O.L.
Friggin' in the riggin' and cuttin' your throat
Big biting suckers getting thrown in the moat
We got maidens and wenches, man they're on the ace
Captain Bly is gonna die when we break his face

Most illingest be-boy, I got that feeling
'Cause I am most ill and I'm rhymin' and stealin'

Ali Baba and the forty thieves
Ali Baba and the forty thieves
Ali Baba and the forty thieves
Ali Baba and the forty thieves
Ali Baba and the forty thieves
Ali Baba and the forty thieves
Ali Baba and the forty thieves
Ali Baba and the forty thieves

Torching and crackin' and rhymin' and stealin'
Robbin' and raping, busting two in the ceiling
I'm wheeling', I'm dealin', I'm drinking, not thinking
Never cower, never shower, and I'm always stinking
Yo ho ho and a bottom glass boat
And when my girlie shakes her hips, she sure gets funky
Skirt chasing, free basing, killing every village
We drink and rob and rhyme and pillage

Most illingest be-boy, I got that feeling
'Cause I am most ill and I'm rhymin' and stealin'

I've been drinking my rum, a def son of a gun
I fought the law and I cold won
Black Beard's weak, Moby Dick's on the tick
'Cause I pull out the jammy and squeeze off six
My pistol is loaded, I shot Betty Crocker
Deliver Colonel Sanders down to Davey Jones' locker
Rhymin' and stealin' in a drunken state
And I'll be rockin' my rhymes all the way to Hell's gate

Most illingest b-boy, I got that feeling
I am most ill and I'm rhymin' and stealin'
Most illingest b-boy, I got that feeling
I am most ill and I'm rhymin' and stealin'
Most illingest b-boy, I got that feeling
'Cause I am most ill and I'm rhymin' and stealin'
Most dillingest b-boy, I got that feeling
I am most ill and I'm rhymin' and stealin'
Most chillingest b-boy,
I am most ill and I'm rhymin' and stealin'
Most chillingest b-boy,
I am most ill and I'm rhymin' and stealin'

Most dustin' out b-boy, I'm tossin' my dust
Most finkinest b-boy, I'm doin' that finkin'
Most rhyminest b-boy, I'm stretchin' my shade
Most shootinest b-boy, I think you're shit

Most rhyminest b-boy, I'll steal your shit homeboy
Most taxinest b-boy, I'll tax you boy
Most illingest illingest illingest b-boy
Taxin' all y'all squares, yeah!

Writer/s: RUBIN/HOROWITZ/DIAMOND/YAUCH
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Rhymin & Stealin

Beastie Boys opened their Licensed to Ill album with this track, which samples John Bonham's drum introduction from Led Zeppelin's "When The Levee Breaks." Producer Rick Rubin had previously explored the crossover between Rock and Hip-Hop in his work with Run–D.M.C., most famously with the cover of Aerosmith's "Walk This Way"."

"Rhymin & Stealin" also samples Black Sabbath's "Sweet Leaf" and The Clash version of "I Fought The Law."

Beastie Boys were the first artists to sample the drums on "When The Levee Breaks," but many others have gone on to do so, including Björk on "Army Of Me," Eminem on "Kim," Enigma on "Return To Innocence" and Sophie B. Hawkins on "Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover." The Beasties returned to the Zeppelin tune again for their 1989 Paul's Boutique track, "B-Boy Bouillabaisse."

The group didn't have a sampler when they recorded Licensed to Ill, so getting the Led Zeppelin sample required recording it to a reel-to-reel tape machine and looping it.

Like many of their songs, this one finds the Beasties rapping about a life of crime, with plenty of historical references along the way. Ali Baba, Captain Bly and Davey Jones all get a mention, and fittingly considering the John Bonham drum sample, so does Moby Dick.