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Erika Jayne - PAINKILLR

Erika Jayne - PAINKILLR Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Glitz, Glamour, and Fun
Released: 2014

PAINKILLR Lyrics

PAINKILLR Song Chart

Erika Jayne's first single from her second album, Glitz, Glamour, and Fun, is the fruit of some difficulties the dance music performer encountered in her songwriting. "I wrote this record because I was going through a painful time creatively and I totally wanted to numb the pain," she told Billboard magazine. "It came from a darker place in my personality."

After landing six #1 slots on Dance Club Songs with singles released from her debut album, Jayne was grateful to achieve a seventh #1 on the dance chart with this song. She said: "It's incredible to come off of a nearly two-year hiatus, trying other things that I ultimately didn't enjoy, then return to my roots, my core, my authentic self … and hit #1!"

USA for Africa - We Are The World

USA for Africa - We Are The World Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: released as a single
Released: 1985

We Are The World Lyrics

There comes a time
When we heed a certain call
When the world must come together as one
There are people dying
And it's time to lend a hand to life
The greatest gift of all

We can't go on pretending day by day
That someone, somehow can soon make a change
We're all a part of God's great big family
And the truth, you know,love is all we need

We Are The World
We are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So let's start giving
There is a choice we're making
Were saving our own lives
It's true we'll make a better day, just you and me

Send them your heart
So they'll know that someone cares
And their lives will be stronger and free
As God has shown us by turning stones to bread
And so we all must lend a helping hand

We are the world
We are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So let's start giving
There is a choice we're making
Were saving our own lives
It's true we'll make a better day, just you and me

When you're down and out, there seems no hope at all
But if you just believe there's no way we can fall
Well, well, well, well let us realize oh!
That a change can only come
When we stand together as one

We are the world
We are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So let's start giving
There is a choice we're making
Were saving our own lives
It's true we'll make a better day, just you and me

We are the world
We are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So let's start giving
There is a choice we're making
Were saving our own lives
It's true we'll make a better day, just you and me

We are the world
(Are the world)
We are the children
(Are the children)
We are the ones who'll make a brighter day so lets start giving
(So let's start giving)

There is a choice we're making
Were saving our own lives
It's true we'll make a better day, just you and me

Oh let me hear you!

We are the world
(Are the world)
We are the children
(Are the children)
We are the ones who'll make a brighter day so lets start giving
(So let's start giving)

There is a choice we're making
Were saving our own lives
It's true we'll make a better day, just you and me

We are the world
(Are the world)
We are the children
(Are the children)
We are the ones who'll make a brighter day so lets start giving
(So let's start giving)

There is a choice we're making
Were saving our own lives
It's true we'll make a better day, just you and me

We are the world
(Are the world)
We are the children
(Are the children)
We are the ones who'll make a brighter day so lets start giving
(So let's start giving)

There is a choice we're making
Were saving our own lives
It's true we'll make a better day, just you and me

We are the world
(Are the world)
We are the children
(Are the children)
We are the ones who'll make a brighter day so lets start giving
(So let's start giving)

There is a choice we're making
Were saving our own lives
It's true we'll make a better day, just you and me

We are the world
(Are the world)
We are the children
(Are the children)
We are the ones who'll make a brighter day so lets start giving
(So let's start giving)

There is a choice we're making
Were saving our own lives
It's true we'll make a better day, just you and me

Writer/s: JACKSON, MICHAEL / RICHIE, LIONEL
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

We Are The World Song Chart

This was a benefit single for victims of famine in Africa. It raised over $60 Million, which was distributed to Ethiopia, Sudan, and other impoverished countries.

Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie wrote this song, and Quincy Jones produced it. This talented trio was perfect for the job: Quincy Jones was the hottest producer around, and his Rolodex (what would now be a contact list) was filled with the biggest names in music; Richie had written songs that went to #1 on the Hot 100 each of the previous seven years ("We Are The World" made it eight); Michael Jackson had the biggest album of 1984 with Thriller (produced by Jones) and was the biggest star in the world.

The USA For Africa project began as an idea calypso singer Harry Belafonte had for a benefit concert featuring black musicians. In late December 1984, looking for artists to participate, Belafonte called Ken Kragen, who managed an impressive roster of talent, including Lionel Richie. Kragen convinced Belafonte that they could raise more money and make a bigger impact with an original song; Belafonte agreed and Richie came on board to help.

Kragen asked Quincy Jones to produce, and Jones enlisted Michael Jackson. Richie got Stevie Wonder involved, and from there, word got out and many members of the music industry signed on to help. The project from conception to recording took about a month.

This all-star charity single was inspired by Band Aid, the British group Bob Geldof put together the year before to record "Do They Know It's Christmas?." Band Aid, which included Bono, Phil Collins, David Bowie, Paul McCartney, and Sting, served as a template, showing how a disparate group of famous artists could come together in one day to record a song.

This was recorded at A&M Studios in Los Angeles on January 28, 1985, the night of the American Music Awards. Since the artists were all in town for the awards, it was much easier to get them together to record the single.

The stars who sang solos were, in order, Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Kenny Rogers, James Ingram, Billy Joel, Tina Turner, Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, Dionne Warwick, Willie Nelson, Al Jarreau, Bruce Springsteen, Kenny Loggins, Steve Perry, Daryl Hall, Michael Jackson (again), Huey Lewis, Cyndi Lauper, and Kim Carnes. Bob Dylan and Ray Charles were also featured on the song and given close-ups in the video.

Harry Belafonte, who had the original idea for the project, was in the chorus but didn't get a solo, joining Bette Midler, Smokey Robinson, The Pointer Sisters, LaToya Jackson, Bob Geldof, Sheila E., and Waylon Jennings as backing singers.

Prince was asked to join the project, be he declined on the grounds that he does not record with other acts. Instead, he donated an exclusive track called "4 The Tears In Your Eyes" to the follow-up benefit album, which was also called We Are The World.

The 7-inch single (the radio version) runs 6:22; a 12-inch single running 7:19 was also released. Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie had to make the song this long to accommodate as many vocalists as they could - it was balance between getting as many star solos in and keeping it short enough for airplay.

Quincy Jones was responsible for managing the egos of all the stars. It went very smoothly considering some very famous people did not get to sing a line. Most of the singers knew Jones personally and respected his wishes that they check their egos at the door.

Before the session began, Jones decided where everyone would stand. He put tape on the floor with each singer's name on it.

Richie came up with the "We are the world, we are the children" line, and Jackson wrote most of the other lyrics, which are about how helping those in need benefits the giver ("We're saving our own lives"). This kind of compassionate songwriting would show up in Jackson's later work on tracks like "You Are Not Alone" and "Heal The World."

The song has just two verses and follows a basic structure of verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus, but in the "Hey Jude" model, that last chorus goes on for a while, with Bob Dylan, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder and Bruce Springsteen the featured voices.

There are seven vocalists on the first verse, but just three on the second; most of the solos come during lines of the chorus. Musically, the song isn't all that interesting, but that helps draw attention to the singers, and the barrage of distinct voices carries it home.

This won Grammy Awards for Song of the Year and Record of the Year.

The single exceeded expectations in terms of sales. Released on March 7, 1985, 800,000 copies were originally shipped, and they sold out the first weekend. Thanks to the wide array of star power, radio stations across a variety of formats put the song in rotation, and MTV gave the video plenty of airplay. The single went to #1 in the US on April 13, where it stayed for four weeks. In the UK, it hit the top spot on April 20 and stayed for two weeks. The song was also a #1 R&B hit, topping that chart on May 4 and staying for two weeks.

The recording session for the vocals (Quincy Jones recorded the instrumental tracks beforehand) took about 12 hours, which is very efficient considering the scope of the project. Since the recording took place after the American Music Awards, it served as a de facto after party, with the artists mingling and in some cases exchanging autographs. By 8 a.m. the next morning, all of the performers had left except for Lionel Richie, who was still there with Jones.

This project was very much an American effort, which makes sense considering it was recorded the night of the American Music Awards. The moniker "USA for Africa" made it clear that it was America's answer to Band Aid, and it showed that famine in Africa was an international concern. The only vocalist to participate who wasn't American was Bob Geldof, who that summer organized Live Aid with stages in London and Philadelphia.

Billy Joel (from Rolling Stone magazine, December 15, 2005): "Most of us who were there didn't like the song, but nobody would say so. I think Cyndi Lauper leaned over to me and said, 'It sounds like a Pepsi commercial.' And I didn't disagree."

As envisioned by Harry Belafonte, USA for Africa was going to be an effort by African-Americans to help Africans in need, and the first group of artists who signed on were black. When Bruce Springsteen came on board, it gave the project greater cultural and musical diversity, as more rock artists joined in.

According to Ken Kragen, Springsteen helped quell tensions in the studio, as the rockers weren't happy with the song and concerned about their credibility. Springsteen refused to take sides, and led by example with his wholehearted participation.

In his verse, Willie Nelson misquotes the Bible when he sings, "As God has shown us by turning stones to bread." Matthew 4 tells us that the devil tried to get Jesus to turn some stones into bread, but the Son of God refused, saying, "Man does not live on bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God."

Huey Lewis was supposed to be just part of the chorus, but he got his line because Prince didn't show up. Describing his good fortune to be part of the project, Lewis said, "I was a lucky son of a bitch to be there. Thank God I had a lot of hit records, because I wouldn't have been there any other way."

Lewis spent most of the session next to Michael Jackson, whose line came before Huey's. Lewis recalls that Quincy Jones called Jackson "Smelly" because he was always so clean.

To create the instrumental tracks, Quincy Jones used many of the same musicians he employed on Thriller, including Greg Phillinganes (keyboards), John Robinson (drums), Michael Boddicker (synthesizers), Paulinho da Costa (percussion), Louis Johnson (bass), Steve Porcaro (synthesizers) and David Paich (synthesizers). Michael Omartian was also a key contributor, credited on keyboards and

Exodus - Blood In, Blood Out

Exodus - Blood In, Blood Out Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Blood In, Blood Out
Released: 2014

Blood In, Blood Out Lyrics

We're throwing down the gauntlet
Chomping at the bit about to lay down the law
Show you all the way
Bare witness to genesis
Of the violence the way it was back in the day.
We've been here from the start with a one track mind,
We kept the hate alive.
Always had the power, now is zero hour,
Tonight we're gonna fight like it's 1985.

Blood In, Blood Out,
All I'm telling you is do anything you wanna do
Blood in, blood out,
This is a ****ing dynasty of trash notoriety.
Dive in or bow out,
If you have the pedigree, welcome to the family.
All in or all out,
Half way, no way. Give it all you've got!
We wrote the book, so you better know the plot
New breed, old creed
Let's see what you brought.
This shit has turned into a rout
Blood in, blood out.

Stand tall, show you've got no backbone.
Welcome all who never took more than gave
Punish all deceptions, no exceptions
Fortune always favors the brave
Bring your anger,
Bring the mayhem,
Anything you do is allowed.
You're the kings of pit insanity
Tonight we're gonna rage and make Paul Baloff proud.

Blood in, blood out,
All I'm telling you is do anything you wanna do
Blood in, blood out,
This is a ****ing dynasty of trash notoriety.
Dive in or bow out,
If you have the pedigree, welcome to the family.
All in or all out,
Half way, no way. Give it all you've got!
We wrote the book, so you better know the plot
New breed, old creed
Let's see what you brought.
This shit has turned into a rout
Blood in, blood out.

We're bringing down the thunder
Bottling the light, battering the way
Burning down the place
Our one stance, zero tolerance
Time to cut to the chase
We expect nothing less than a full scale riot
Give everything that you've got
Put an end to the peace and quiet
Let's start the pit that time forgot.

Blood in, blood out,
All I'm telling you is do anything you wanna do
Blood in, blood out,
This is a ****ing dynasty of trash notoriety.
Dive in or bow out,
If you have the pedigree, welcome to the family.
All in or all out,
Half way, no way. Give it all you've got!
We wrote the book, so you better know the plot
New breed, old creed
Let's see what you brought.
This shit has turned into a rout
Blood in, blood out.

Writer/s: HOLT, GARY
Publisher: Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Blood In, Blood Out Song Chart

Many fans have queried if the title track of Blood In, Blood Out refers to the firing of vocalist Rob Dukes during the recording of the album and his replacement by previous frontman Steve "Zetro" Souza .

However, guitarist Gary Holt told Billboard magazine the song has nothing to do with Dukes leaving the band. "A lot of people asked if [the song] had anything to do with Rob being replaced in the band, but as convenient as that sounds, the title, the lyrics, they were all there when Rob was recording it," said Holt with a laugh. "I hate to disappoint them on that one. It wasn't autobiographical."

The disc's title was inspired by Holt's television viewing. "When I was working on the record, I was sitting around watching TV series like Gangland and all these locked-up prison reality shows," said Holt. "And I thought, 'Yeah, that's like Exodus.' It's a brotherhood. You bleed to get in, you bleed to get out."

The song's music video was directed by Shan Dan Horan, who is Vice President of Operations at Artery Recordings. The clip features hundreds of dedicated Bay Area Exodus fans moshing and brawling to the tune. "Directing this music video has been a pleasure. Having the task to find hundreds of metal heads to fill up a dark room with very limited time seemed like a tough task," said Horan. "What I found however, was an overwhelming response from some of the most positive and energetic fans I've ever met. I feel honored to have played a small role in that."

"Old metalheads, young ones, to even a guy that showed up in his wheelchair," he added. "The fact of the matter is everyone was accepted and everyone picked up their brethren when they would fall in the pit. To me that's what 'Blood In, Blood Out' is about. While we all come from different backgrounds – once a metal head, always a metal head. That's something that stays in your blood."

Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here

Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Wish You Were Here
Released: 1975

Wish You Were Here Lyrics

So, so you think you can tell
Heaven from Hell,
Blue sky's from pain.
Can you tell a green field
From a cold steel rail?
A smile from a veil?
Do you think you can tell?

And did they get you to trade
Your heroes for ghosts?
Hot ashes for trees?
Hot air for a cool breeze?
Cold comfort for change?
And did you exchange
A walk on part in the war
For a lead role in a cage?

How I wish, how I Wish You Were Here.
We're just two lost souls
Swimming in a fish bowl,
Year after year,
Running over the same old ground.
And how we found
The same old fears.
Wish you were here.

Writer/s: WATERS, ROGER/GILMOUR, DAVID JON
Publisher: Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., IMAGEM U.S. LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Wish You Were Here Song Chart

This song is about the detached feeling most people go through life with. It is a commentary on how people cope with the world by withdrawing physically, mentally, or emotionally. In the commentary of The Wall, Roger Waters states that the inspiration was Pink Floyd founding member Syd Barrett and his ordeal with schizophrenia. (thanks, Roxanne - Denver, Colorado)

Roger Waters has said this song was based on a poem he wrote about Syd Barrett's fall from reality. It was said that Syd's friends would lace his coffee with LSD, which eventually lead to his mental breakdown. (thanks, Matt - Ruston, LA)

This was a rare case of the Pink Floyd primary songwriters Roger Waters and David Gilmour mutually collaborating on a song - they rarely wrote together. Gilmour had the opening riff written and was playing it in the studio at a fast pace when Roger Waters heard it and asked him to play it slower. The song built from there, with the pair writing the music for the chorus and verses together, and Waters adding the lyrics.

The song reflected the feeling of the band while they were recording the album. Waters felt they were not putting a full effort into the recording sessions.

When this song starts, it sounds like it is coming from an AM radio somewhere in the distance. It represents the distance between the listener and the music.

At the end, when the wind is blowing, you can hear the sound of a violin that was played by Stephane Grappelli, a Jazz musician who was recording in nearby studios. Pink Floyd asked him to guest on this when they found out he was there.

The theme of the album is absence. They chose this as the title track because it summed up the message. The man who did their cover art, Storm Thorgerson, was the first to suggest this as the album title.

The album contains images relating to the theme of detachment. The most prominent image shows 2 businessmen shaking hands, with one of them on fire. This represents an insincere business deal, with one of the men about to get burned. In all of the images, there is something missing, like the diver who does not make a splash.

Like many Pink Floyd albums, this does not translate nearly as well to CD. A lot of work went into choosing which songs were on the front and back sides of the album, which is eliminated on the CD, and there is also a lot less room for the artwork, which goes along with the music.

When Pink Floyd was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996, they played this at the induction ceremony. Nick Mason accepted the award but didn't join the performance, while Roger Waters and Syd Barrett didn't attend. (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France)

In the 26th second of the song you can hear a small cough. This was to create the effect of a man listening to the radio and playing along with his guitar. In the 31st second you can hear a sniff. Rumors say that it symbolizes Gilmour quitting smoking, but it could just be the radio and the man. (thanks, Long - Houston, TX)

This is one of the few songs Roger Waters continued to play at his shows after leaving Pink Floyd that David Gilmour helped him write.

Fred Durst and Wes Borland of Limp Bizkit and Johnny Rzeznik of The Goo Goo Dolls performed this at the 2001 "Tribute To Heroes" telethon to benefit victims of the terrorist attacks on America. Durst, Rzeznik, and Borland appealed to a younger audience, but this song was familiar to the older viewers as well. Almost 60 million people watched the telethon.

Wyclef Jean does a Soul-Reggae version on his 2 Side II a Book album. He pays credit to Pink Floyd in additional lyrics at the end of the track. (thanks, Shades - London, England)

The song was performed at the Closing Ceremony of the London 2012 Summer Olympics. Nick Mason played drums and he was assisted by singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran, Richard Jones of The Feeling and Mike Rutherford of Genesis. Their version entered the UK singles chart at #34 the following week. The Pink Floyd original simultaneously landed at #68, marking the first time it had entered the UK top 75.

Jessie J - Burnin' Up

Jessie J - Burnin' Up Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Sweet Talker
Released: 2014

Burnin' Up Lyrics

Walking through the fire, please don't let me go
Take me to the river, I need you to know

I'm Burnin' Up
Come put me out
Come and put me out
I'm burnin' up
Come put me out
Come and put me out

Hot in the kitchen like a thousand degrees
That's how I'm feeling when you're next to me
I got a fever, tell me, what did you do?
Temperature rising when I look at you, look at you

Subliminal, sex
Drippin' in, sweat
I'm losing my, breath
Look what I've, found
It's about to go, down
I want it right, now

Walking through the fire, please don't let me go
Take me to the river, I need you to know

I'm burnin' up
Come put me out
Come and put me out
I'm burnin' up
Come put me out
Come and put me out

I'm burnin' up
Come put me out
Come and put me out
I'm burnin' up
Come put me out
Come and put me out

I got the matches, you got the gasoline
Light up the floor like it's Billie Jean
The way we're movin' by the end of the song
They're gonna have to pull the fire, fire alarm

Subliminal, sex
Drippin' in, sweat
I'm losing my, breath
Look what I've, found
It's about to go, down
I want it right, now

Walking through the fire, please don't let me go
Take me to the river, I need you to know

2 Chainz!
Everything hot like it's fresh off the grill
Million dollar grill look fresh on the hill
Plus I'm 6'5", she need to step in some heels
Before you step up in here you need to step up your gear
Wish a Lamborghini had four doors
From the corner store to the corridor
Me and my homie on the damn floor
White girl in the middle, looking like an Oreo
(I'm burnin' up)
Roof on fire, we can burn up
Turn up for what nigga turn up
Mother fucker must ain't learned
Back in the day used to down with a burn coat
(I'm burnin' up)
Light got the Lord on the top floor
In a Ford, wearin' Tom Ford
Walk in the club and her ass start clappin'
Tell shawty I want a encore

Come put me out
Come and put me out
I'm burnin' up
Come put me out
Come and put me out

Come put me out
Come and put me out
I'm burnin' up
Come put me out
Come and put me out

I'm burnin' up
Come put me out
Come and put me out
I'm burnin' up
Come put me out
Come and put me out

I'm burnin' up
Come put me out
Come and put me out
I'm burnin' up
Come put me out
Come and put me out

Writer/s: LEWIS, GAMAL / ANGELIDES, CHLOE / CORNISH, JESSICA / FREDERIC, ERIC / SCHULLER, ANDREAS / EPPS, TAUHEED / KASHER HINDLIN, JACOB / GORANSSON, RICKARD
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Burnin' Up Song Chart

This tribal-influenced dance track finds Jessie losing control due to the heat of her lover:

Walkin' through the fire
Please don't let me go
Take me to the river
I need you to know I'm burnin' up!

Jessie first teased the song in an acoustic set at Grammys HQ on August 28, 2014.

Guest rapper 2 Chainz's verse adds more fuel to the flames as he continues the song's fire as a metaphor for lust theme. The Southern US rapper scored an international hit in 2013 with his Wiz Khalifa collaboration from the Fast & Furious 6 soundtrack,"We Own It (Fast & Furious)."

The song was produced by Swedish hitmaker Max Martin, who also helmed Jessie's "Bang Bang" single, Norwegian producer Andreas Schuller, whose working name is Axident and Oakland hip hop artist Ricky Reed who records under the pseudonym of Wallpaper. The latter pair's previously collaborations include Far East Movement's UK hit "Turn Up The Love."

Mariah Carey - Hero

Mariah Carey - Hero Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Music Box
Released: 1993

Hero Lyrics

There's a Hero
If you look inside your heart
You don't have to be afraid
Of what you are
There's an answer
If you reach into your soul
And the sorrow that you know
Will melt away

[Chorus]
And then a hero comes along
With the strength to carry on
And you cast your fears aside
And you know you can survive
So when you feel like hope is gone
Look inside you and be strong
And you'll finally see the truth
That a hero lies in you

It's a long, road
When you face the world alone
No one reaches out a hand
For you to hold
You can find love
If you search within yourself
And the emptiness you felt
Will disappear

[Chorus]

Lord knows
Dreams are hard to follow
But don't let anyone
Tear them away
Hold on
There will be tomorrow
In time you'll find the way

And then a hero comes along
With the strength to carry on
And you cast your fears aside
And you know you can survive
So when you feel like hope is gone
Look inside you and be strong
And you'll finally see the truth
That a hero lies in you
That a hero lies in you
That a hero lies in you

Writer/s: AFANASIEFF, WALTER/CAREY, MARIAH
Publisher: Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Hero Song Chart

Carey claims this was intended for the 1992 Dustin Hoffman movie, also called Hero. The producers of the movie used Luther Vandross' "Heart Of A Hero" instead. Walter Afanasieff explained in Fred Bronson's Book of Billboard #1s that the original intention was that Gloria Estefan would be asked to sing the title theme. He was recording the Music Box album with Carey at the time, and during a break he, "was sitting at the piano and told Mariah about this movie. Within two hours, we had this incredible seed for this song, 'Hero.'" Afanasieff added: "It was never meant for Mariah to sing. In her mind, we were writing a song for Gloria Estefan for this movie. And we went into an area that Mariah didn't really go into - in her words, it was a little bit too schmaltzy or too pop ballady or too old-fashioned as far as melody and lyrics."

When it was nearly finished, they played the song to the president and COO of Sony Music Entertainment and Carey's fiancé Tommy Mottola, (later her husband), explaining that it was a song for the film Hero. Afanasieff recalled that Mottola responded, "Are you kidding me? You can't give this song to this movie. This is too good. Mariah, you have to take this song. You have to do it."

A limo driver named Chris Selletti sued Carey, claiming he wrote the lyrics and has them in an envelope he mailed to himself in 1990. His suit was dismissed in court, but Selletti claimed he would open the envelope on live TV to prove his case.

Carey sang this with opera singer Luciano Pavarotti at the 1999 benefit concert, "Pavarotti and Friends For Guatemala and Kosovo."

Carey recorded a live version for the album Diana, Princess of Wales: Tribute

This was produced and arranged by Walter Afanasieff, who also wrote the music. Carey wrote the lyrics.

This was released shortly after Carey married Sony Music President Tommy Mottola. They divorced four years later.

Carey didn't like this song at first, feeling it was too sappy. After receiving letters from fans claiming it touched their lives, she came to realize that it was a very powerful song and appreciate it for the feelings it brings out in people.

On December 7, 1993, Colin Ferguson started shooing people on a Long Island Railroad train, killing six and injuring 19. Carey, who grew up in Long Island and rode that train often, dedicated this song to the victims.

Carey performed this on the 2001 "Tribute To Heroes" telethon for the victims of the terrorist attacks in the US. It was Carey's first public appearance since her nervous breakdown a month earlier.

Included on the 2001 benefit album God Bless America, which helped the Twin Towers Fund.

This was covered by the 12 finalists of the fifth series of the United Kingdom music talent show The X-Factor for a charity single. Each contestant took it in turns to section of the track. All proceeds went to the British Legion charity Help for Heroes. The song leapt to the top of the UK chart and 313,244 copies were sold in its first week of release, more than the remainder of the top 10 combined.

In 2015, this was used in a commercial for the video game Game of War: Fire Age. In the spot, a battle rages and a knight pulls out his smartphone to summon help, which arrives in the form of reinforcements accompanied by this song. A dragon enters, and is shot from they sky by... Mariah Carey, who puts down her crossbow and delivers the line, "Time to be heroes, guys."

Kendrick Lamar - I

Kendrick Lamar - I Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: To Pimp A Butterfly
Released: 2014

I Lyrics

I done been through a whole lot
Trials and tribulations, but I know God
Satan wanna put me in a bow-tie
Praying that the holy water don't go dry, yeah yeah
As I look around me
So many motherfuckers wanna down me
But ain't no nigga never drown me
In front of a dirty double-mirror they found me

And I love myself
(The world is a ghetto with guns and picket signs)
I love myself
(But it can do what it want whenever it wants and I don’t mind)
I love myself
(He said I gotta get up, life is more than suicide)
I love myself
(One day at the time, sun gone shine)

Everybody looking at you crazy (Crazy)
What you gone do? (What you gone do?)
Lift up your head and keep moving (Keep moving)
Or let the paranoia haunt you? (Haunt you)
Peace to fashion police I wear my heart
On my sleeve let the runway start
You know the miserable do love company
Fuck do you want from me and my scars?
Everybody lack confidence, everybody lack confidence
How many times our potential was anonymous?
How many times the city making me promises?
So I promise this

And I love myself
(The world is a ghetto with guns and picket signs)
I love myself
(But it can do what it want whenever it wants and I don’t mind)
I love myself
(He said I gotta get up, life is more than suicide)
I love myself
(One day at the time, sun gone shine)

They wanna say there's a war outside and a bomb in the street
And a gun in the hood and a mob of police
And a rock on the corner and a line full of fiends
And a bottle full of lean and a model on a scheme, yup
These days of frustration keep y'all on tucking rotation
I duck these gold faces, post up fee-fi-fo-fum bases
Dreams of realities peace
Blow steam in the face of the beast
The sky can fall down, the wind can cry now
The strong in me, I still smile

I love myself
(The world is a ghetto with guns and picket signs)
I love myself
(But it can do what it want whenever it wants and I don’t mind)
I love myself
(He said I gotta get up, life is more than suicide)
I love myself
(One day at the time, sun gone shine)

Walk my barefeet (Walk my barefeet)
Down, down valley peak (Down, down valley peak)
I keep my fee-fi-fo-fum (Fee-fi-fo-fum)
I keep my heart undone (My heart undone)

And I love myself
(The world is a ghetto with guns and picket signs)
I love myself
(But it can do what it want whenever it wants and I don’t mind)
I love myself
(He said I gotta get up, life is more than suicide)
I love myself
(One day at the time, sun gone shine)

I went to war last night
With an automatic weapon, don’t nobody call a medic
I'mma do it 'til I get it right
I went to war last night
I've been dealing with depression ever since an adolescent
Duckin' every other blessin', l can never see the message
I can never take the lead, I can never bob and weave
For my nigga that be letting ‘em alienate me
And the sound is moving in a meteor speed
From a 100 to a billion lay my body in the street
Keep my money in the ceiling let my mama know I'm free
Give my story to the children and the lesson they can read
And the glory to the feeling of all of y'all scenes
Seen enough, make a motherfucker scream, "I love myself!"

I lost my head, I must've misread what the good book said
Oh woes keep me, it's a jungle inside
Give myself again 'til the well runs dry

Writer/s: ISLEY, O'KELLY / JASPER, CHRISTOPHER / ISLEY, ERNIE / ISLEY, RUDOLPH / ISLEY, RONALD / ISLEY, MARVIN / LAMAR, KENDRICK / SMITH III, COLUMBUS
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

I Song Chart

The first single from Kendrick Lamar's third studio album finds him rapping about the need for self-assurance to get by in this world. While premiering the song on LA's Power 106, Lamar explained the confidence boosting anthem was inspired by what he's experienced on the streets of Compton. "It's about self love [which] comes from within," he said. "A lot of cats that go to jail, be in these homes, or in foster homes they grew up in from these hoods, they never had that love within themselves. They thinking they get it from their parents or their mothers or big homies or grandmas, but it starts with themselves and that's why we carry ourselves the way we do."

The track kicks off with a pastor preaching about Kendrick:

We got a young brother who believes in all of us
Brother Kendrick Lamar
He's not a rapper
He's a writer
He's a lover
If you read in between the lines
We'll learn to love one another

The preacher sets the tone for the religious theme of the first verse.

The funk-infused track was produced by Los Angeles musician Rahki, who previously provided the beat for the good kid, m.A.A.d city bonus track "Black Boy Fly."

Rahki's production incorporates a sample from Isley Brothers' 1973 hit "That Lady." Lamar told Flaunt magazine in 2013 that he hadn't been "listening to rap for the last six months. I bought the whole Isley Brothers collection."

Speaking to Zane Lowe on BBC Radio One, Lamar revealed that he turned up at Ronald Isley's house to personally ask permission to sample his song. "I actually had to go to St. Louis and get the blessings from Ronald Isley," he said. "That was a trip. We got in the studio and just vibed and talked about how things were back then and how they are now, and you can actually hear him on the record with a few ad libs that he actually did. We got it on camera and things like that, it's a beautiful thing."

The single's striking cover art shows a Crip and a Blood making "heart" signs with their hands. Speaking with Carson Daly on the Los Angeles radio station KAMP, Lamar explained the message behind the image: "Where I'm from, there's a lot of gang culture and things like that," he said, "so instead of throwing on up gang signs, which we used to, I put a Blood and I put a Crip together and we're throwing up hearts."

Lamar performed the song live for the first time when he made a surprise appearance during the We Day Toronto event at the Air Canada Centre on October 2, 2014.

This was only the fifth song with a title containing just one character to reach the Hot 100. So what were the previous four? They were:

1993 "7" by Prince and the New Power Generation

2005 "O" by Omarion

2009 "3" by Britney Spears

2014 "X" by Chris Brown.

The jubilant video, directed by Alexandre Moors and the Little Homies, finds Lamar rapping, dancing and spreading the love through the Los Angeles streets. Look out for Ronald Isley's cameo as the rapper's driver.

The feel-good song actually came from a time when Lamar was feeling low. "The record feels great; it feels good," the rapper said during an interview with 93.7 The Beat in Houston. "But it comes from a place of depression. It comes from a place of insecurity. Not only for [other people], but for myself. It's a lot of things that I deal with personally. That you deal with, that everyone in this room deals with."

"So, it touches on so many different things, as far as equality within us as human beings, and accepting one another," K-Dot continued. "People that wanna commit suicide; people that just don't respect themselves or like the way they look, feel, talk, dress, and not accept who they are. We all put on this world to be kings, and walk in his image, and that's how it starts - that song."

Lamar rapped this song on the November 15, 2014 episode of Saturday Night Live. K Dot adopted a wild hair style during his performance with parts of his dreads combed out and he also wore some creepy black contacts, which made his eyes look dilated. This was in homage to Method Man whose Tical album was celebrating its twentieth anniversary.

Kendrick Lamar told Billboard magazine the song's "I love myself" chorus was a self-conscious effort to make himself happier. "That's a psychological trick I wanted to play on myself," he explained. "Now that I put this song in the atmosphere, what's going to happen? I have to perform it every night for the next three years when we go on tour. Every time I'm in a weird mood or something goes on at home that I can't handle, I've got to perform it anyway."

This won the 2014 Grammy Awards for Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance.

Kendrick Lamar attempts to reclaim the N-word as a source of black pride by exploring its (allegedly African) roots on the song's extended version.

Well, this is my explanation straight from Ethiopia
N-E-G-U-S definition: royalty; King royalty – wait listen
N-E-G-U-S description: Black emperor, King, ruler, now let me finish
The history books overlook the word and hide it
America tried to make it to a house divided
The homies don't recognise we been using it wrong
So I'ma break it down and put my game in a song
N-E-G-U-S, say it with me
Or say no more
Black stars can come and get me.

Speaking to NME in a 2015 interview, Lamar admitted that he doesn't feel ready to omit the N-word from his lyrics. "The closest I can do to stopping is putting the root word, negus, on my album," he said. "But I don't know if I'm there mentally to stop saying the N-word yet. I dunno, maybe one day. That's 27 years of reversing that word, I probably been saying that since I was one-year-old."

The Clash - Police and Thieves

The Clash - Police and Thieves Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: The Clash
Released: 1977

Police and Thieves Lyrics

We're going through a tight wind

Police and Thieves in the streets, oh yeah
Scaring the nation with their guns and ammunition
Police and thieves in the street, oh yeah
Fighting the nation with their guns and ammunition

From genesis to revelation
The next generation will be, hear me
From genesis to revelation
The next generation will be, hear me
And all the crowd comes in, day by day
No one stops it in any way
All the peacemaker, turn war officer
Hear what I say, he-e-ey

Police and thieves in the streets, oh yeah
Scaring the nation with their guns and ammunition
Police and thieves in the street, oh yeah
Fighting the nation with their guns and ammunition

From genesis to revelation
The next generation will be, hear me
Throw it up, throw it up, throw it up, throw it up, throw it up
Oh yeah
Throw it up, throw it up, throw it up, throw it up, throw it up
Oh yeah

And all the crowd come in, day by day
No one stop it in anyway
All the peacemaker, turn war officer
Hear what I say, he-e-ey

Police, police, police and thieves, oh yeah
Police, police, police and thieves, oh yeah
From genesis-is-is-is-is-is-is-is-is-is, oh yeah
Police, police, police, police and thieves, oh yeah

And I'm scaring, I'm fighting the nation, oh yeah
Shooting, shooting their guns and, guns and ammunition, oh yeah
Oh yeah, police, police, police and thieves, oh yeah
I'm scaring, oh yeah
I'm scaring the nation, police, police, police, police, oh yeah

Here come, here come, here come
The station is bombed, oh yeah
Get out, get out, get out you people
If you don't want to get blown up, oh yeah
The police, the police and the thieves, oh yeah
You got an extra grand
But you got trapped in the middle of police, police, police
Police, police, police, police
Police, police, police, police
Police, police, police, police
Police, police, police, police

Writer/s: MURVIN, JUNIOR / PERRY, LEE
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Police and Thieves Song Chart

This was written by the reggae artist Junior Murvin, who recorded it in his falsetto style in 1976. The Clash, who were huge reggae fans, covered the song. It's the first example of The Clash incorporating reggae into their repertoire, something that can be heard in original songs like "White Man in Hammersmith Palais" and "Guns of Brixton." At the time, reggae was the music of Britain's oppressed Jamaican population.

The album was The Clash's first, and it was released only in the UK. As the band gained popularity in the US, there became a huge demand for it there, and about 100,000 copies were sold in the States as an import. A greatly altered version was finally released in the US in 1979.

Lacuna Coil - Nothing Stands in Our Way

Lacuna Coil - Nothing Stands in Our Way Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Broken Crown Halo
Released: 2014

Nothing Stands in Our Way Lyrics

Nothing Stands in Our Way Song Chart

Co-vocalist Cristina Scabbia told the All Things Metal radio show this driving rocker summarizes the story of Lacuna Coil. "All these years together, going through ups and downs, but still strong," she said. "We won't stop for anything," the singer added. "We're really confident, and we really go for what we want. So I believe that this song connects very much with the crowds. It's sort of like our message to whomever is out there. It's just, like, if you have a dream, go for it, because we are the perfect example that if you go for it, you can get there."

The song was released as the lead single from Lacuna Coil's seventh studio album, Broken Crown Halo. Asked by Loudwire what the "Broken Crown Halo" title means to him personally, co-singer Andrea Ferro said: "We were looking for a title that could represent a kingdom and crown, something to separate real and fake. Some things that you try to perfect and make perfect usually aren't as perfect as it seems."

"The main concept was to portray the reality of today, which is very shallow and fake," he added. "We don't want to live in a fabricated illusion; we want to accept existence even if it's sometimes in darkness. It's not always easy, but we're going to keep going and following our dreams no matter what."

Speaking to Amb Pirate of Capital Chaos TV, Andrea Ferro explained the track's lyrical message. "The inspiration for the song came from the very negative situation we were surrounded [by] while we were writing the album, and there was all this news about how much the economies were collapsing in Europe, and not only in Europe, and then how [many] people were getting fired or losing their jobs and [committing] suicide because of that," he said. "And all this negativity around us pushed us towards focusing on our dreams. Even if your dream is very far away, and maybe you will never reach it, or maybe you will reach ten percent, or fifty percent, you need to be focused on your dreams, even in very negative times. That's why you need the strength, you need to not be stopped by anything. Even if you can have the worst thing happening to you, you still need to find that special energy to go on. And that's the message of the song. Because that's the reality. That's how we have approached our career, and in the end it pays off."

"We never expected, when we started in Milan, Italy, to become an international band, being able to play these kinds of events or touring the world," Ferro continued. "We never expected it, because there was no history of other Italian rock/metal bands doing this. But we believed in our dream. We got lucky, we got unlucky, we did mistakes, we've been up high, we've been low down… everything happened in our career, and we're still here, we're still doing it. So it's important that you stay focused on your dreams, even in negative times."

Afroman - Because I Got High

Afroman - Because I Got High Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: The Good Times
Released: 2001

Because I Got High Lyrics

I was gonna clean my room until I got high
I gonna get up and find the broom but then I got high
My room is still messed up and I know why
'Cause I got high

I was gonna go to class before I got high
I coulda cheated and I coulda passed but I got high
I am taking it next semester and I know why
'Cause I got high
Because I Got High
Because I got high

I was gonna go to work but then I got high
I just got a new promotion but I got high
Now I'm selling dope and I know why
'Cause I got high
Because I got high
Because I got high

I was gonna go to court before I got high
I was gonna pay my child support but then I got high
They took my whole paycheck and I know why
'Cause I got high
Because I got high
Because I got high

I wasn't gonna run from the cops but I was high
I was gonna pull right over and stop but I was high
Now I am a paraplegic, and I know why, 'cause I got high
Because I got high
Because I got high

I was gonna pay my car note until I got high
I wasn't gonna gamble on the boat but then I got high
Now the tow truck is pulling away and I know why
'Cause I got high
Because I got high
Because I got high

I was gonna make love to you but then I got high
I was gonna eat yo pussy too but then I got high
Now I'm jacking off and I know why
'Cause I got high
Because I got high
Because I got high

I messed up my entire life because I got high
I lost my kids and wife because I got high
Now I'm sleeping on the sidewalk and I know why
'Cause I got high
Because I got high
Because I got high

I'm gonna stop singing this song because I'm high
I'm singing this whole thing wrong because I'm high
And if I don't sell one copy I know why
'Cause I'm high
Because I'm high
Because I'm high

Writer/s: FOREMAN, JOSEPH
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Because I Got High Song Chart

Afroman (real name: Joseph Foreman) wrote this as a joke for his friends. The song is about his experiences with marijuana and all the things he couldn't do because he was high. He said in 1000 UK #1 Hits by Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh: "I wanted to take my negativity and generate something positive. I would wake up in the morning ready to take on the world and I was doing it, but then I got high and I messed around and I lost the entire day doing nothing." He added to Rolling Stone, "Some chronic weed inspired it. It took me two minutes and eleven seconds to write."

The first song Afroman released was called "Sell Your Dope" in 1999. You can see a pattern developing.

Afroman released this on an independent label in 2000. It got him signed to Universal Records, who released it the next year. The song gained a great deal of popularity when Howard Stern started playing it on his radio show.

The B-Side of the single is a song called "She Won't Let Me F--K."

This plays over the closing credits of the 2001 movie Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. Recalling getting the call from the film's director Kevin Smith, Afroman said, "I was high and was like, whassup, dude."

This was included on Afroman's second album. His first major-label album in 2001 is a combination of songs from his first two independent albums.

In the UK, this was the most popular ringtone downloaded to British mobile phones in 2002. It beat out "Somethin' Stupid" by Robbie Williams and Nicole Kidman and "Can't Get You Out Of My Head" by Kylie Minogue.

In December 2001, a judge ordered a 17-year-old boy to listen to this and write a three-paragraph summary of the song after he was caught driving with a marijuana pipe. The judge also told him he was an embarrassment to his mother.

On the music-swapping service Napster, this song was huge. When a fan started circulating the song on Napster, it created a lot of buzz and led to Afroman's record deal with Universal. Many artists objected to having their songs swapped on the Internet, but for an unknown singer who couldn't get much exposure, Napster could lead to a big break.

This was a worldwide hit. It has sold over one million copies across the globe, and was #1 in Germany, The UK, Ireland, New Zealand and Australia. Afroman was not able to follow it up with another hit, despite efforts like A Colt 45 Christmas and Waiting to Inhale. By the late '00s, he was on the college bar circuit, playing about 250 shows a year to frat boys with fond memories of the song.

In 2014, Afroman released the "Positive Remix" of this song, explaining the practical benefits of marijuana, including its medical uses. The release was timed to coincide with votes on legalizing marijuana in several US states.

Lee Ann Womack - Same Kind Of Different

Lee Ann Womack - Same Kind Of Different Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: The Way I'm Livin'
Released: 2014

Same Kind Of Different Lyrics

I am a far cry, you are a whisper
I am sinking sand, you are a pillar
We’re nothin’ alike but I can clearly see
You are the Same Kind Of Different as me

A distant relative, a lion and a lamb
You got me by the right holding to my left hand
I am anthem, you are poetry
You are the same kind of different as me

Never together but always right in time
The struggles you went through resemble non of mine
You are the complement that I always need
You are the same kind of different as me

I couldn’t find myself, you lost your family
I had a broken heart, you had your shattered dreams
Before we ever me we shared a suffering
You are the same kind of different as me

Never together but always right in time
The struggles you went through resemble non of mine
You are the complement that I always need
You are the same kind of different as me

I am a far cry, you are a whisper
I am sinking sand, you are a pillar
We’re nothin’ alike but I can clearly see
You are the same kind of different as me

Writer/s: ADAM HOOD
Publisher: Bluewater Music Services
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Same Kind Of Different Song Chart

This tribal drum building Natalie Hemby and Adam Hood penned ballad finds Womack recognizing the potential in a relationship with a seemingly incompatible person as, "you are the same kind of different as me."

"Our world is so divisive," said Womack, "everyone hates somebody else... people are all angry and focused on what's wrong or different."

"I think there's so much similar about all of us," she continued. "If we'd focus on how we all hurt, hope and want to fall in love, to take care of the people we love, we might be able help each other heal."

The Clash - Should I Stay or Should I Go?

The Clash - Should I Stay or Should I Go? Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Combat Rock
Released: 1982

Should I Stay or Should I Go? Lyrics

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

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

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

This indecision's bugging me
Esta indecision me molesta
If you don't want me, set me free
Si no me quieres, librame
Exactly whom I'm supposed to be
Digame quien tengo ser

Don't you know which clothes even fit me?
Sabes que ropas me queda?
Come on and let me know
Me tienes que decir
Should I cool it or should I blow?
Me debo ir o quedarme?

Split

Should I stay or should I go now?
Me entra frio por los ojos
Should I stay or should I go now?
Me entra frio por los ojos
If I go there will be trouble
Si me voy va a haber peligro
And if I stay it will be double
Si me quedo va a ser doble
So you gotta let me know
Me tienes que decir
Should I cool it or should I blow?

Should I stay or should I go now?
Me entra frio por los ojos
If I go there will be trouble
Si me voy va a haber peligro
And if I stay it will be double
Si me quedo va a ser doble
So you gotta let me know
Should I stay or should I go

Writer/s: JONES, MICK / STRUMMER, JOE
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Should I Stay or Should I Go? Song Chart

One of the more popular songs by The Clash, this one uses a very unusual technique: Spanish lyrics echoing the English words.

Singing the Spanish parts with Joe Strummer was Joe Ely, a Texas singer whose 1978 album Honky Tonk Masquerade got the attention of The Clash when they heard it in England. When Ely and his band performed in London, The Clash went to a show and took them around town after the performance. They became good friends, and when The Clash came to Texas in 1979, they played some shows together. They stayed in touch, and when The Clash returned to America in 1982, they played more shows together and Ely joined them in the studio when they were recording Combat Rock at Electric Ladyland Studio in New York.

In our 2012 interview with Joe Ely, he explained: "I'm singing all the Spanish verses on that, and I even helped translate them. I translated them into Tex-Mex and Strummer kind of knew Castilian Spanish, because he grew up in Spain in his early life. And a Puerto Rican engineer (Eddie Garcia) kind of added a little flavor to it. So it's taking the verse and then repeating it in Spanish."

When we asked Ely whose idea the Spanish part was, he said, "I came in to the studio while they were working out the parts. They'd been working on the song for a few hours already, they had it sketched out pretty good. But I think it was Strummer's idea, because he just immediately, when it came to that part, he immediately went, 'You know Spanish, help me translate these things.' (Laughs) My Spanish was pretty much Tex-Mex, so it was not an accurate translation. But I guess it was meant to be sort of whimsical, because we didn't really translate verbatim."

According to Strummer, Eddie Garcia, the sound engineer, called his mother in Brooklyn Heights and got her to translate some of the lyrics over the phone. Eddie's mother is Ecuadorian, so Joe Strummer and Joe Ely ended up singing in Ecuadorian Spanish.

About two minutes in, you can hear Mick Jones say, "Split!" While it sounds like it could be some kind of statement related to the song, Joe Ely tells us that it had a much more quotidian meaning. Said Ely: "Me and Joe were yelling this translation back while Mick Jones sang the lead on it, and we were doing the echo part. And there was one time when the song kind of breaks down into just the drums right before a guitar part. And you hear Mick Jones saying, 'Split!' Just really loud, kind of angry. Me and Joe had snuck around in the studio, came up in the back of his booth where he was all partitioned off, and we snuck in and jumped and scared the hell out of him right in the middle of recording the song, and he just looked at us and says, 'Split!' So we ran back to our vocal booth and they never stopped the recording."

The line, "If you want me off your back" was originally the sexually charged line "On your front or on your back." In April 1982, the famed '60s producer Glyn Johns was brought in to slash the album down and make it into a mainstream-friendly single-LP. In addition to cutting parts of songs out, he insisted that Mick Jones re-record this line, fearing that US radio stations would not touch a record with such a sexually suggestive line.

These sessions as a whole were in bad blood, with Jones furious that his original mixes of his songs were being massacred against his will, and it was this combined with other factors (such as the return of controversial manager Bernie Rhodes) which resulted in the breakdown of the band and Jones' sacking in 1983.

Mick Jones in 1000 UK #1 Hits by Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh said, "Should I Stay Or Should I Go? wasn't about anything specific and it wasn't pre-empting my leaving The Clash. It was just a good rocking song, our attempt at writing a classic."

In a 2009 Rolling Stone article on The Clash, they state that Jones wrote this song about his girlfriend Ellen Foley, who acted on the TV series Night Court and sang with Meat Loaf on "Paradise By the Dashboard Light."

It was speculated that the song was also a comment on Jones' position in the band, pre-empting his sacking in 1983 by over a year and a half. Strummer pondered this in interviews, as did Jones. "Maybe it was pre-empting my leaving" he noted in 1991, although he did conclude that it was more likely about a "personal situation" - presumably his relationship with Foley.

Psychobilly is the punk version of rockabilly; it's a fusion genre which also gets a nice sound out of elements of everything from doo-wop to blues, but with that punk edge to it. "Should I Stay or Should I Go?" resembles early punk, almost retro style, and so could be called rockabilly. More than anything, it compares very nicely with The Cramps.

"Should I Stay Or Should I Go?" is possibly one of the most covered Clash songs by dint of being one of the most popular. Just some of the groups to cover this song include Living Colour, Skin, MxPx, Weezer, ZZ Top, and The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain. Anti-Flag covered the song at various festival dates in 2012, and more memorable versions exist by Die Toten Hosen and Australian pop star Kyle Minogue. It even shows up in "Weird Al" Yankovic's "Polkas On 45" medley - a takeoff on the "Stars On 45 Medley."

As a UK #1 single, what song did it replace as #1 on the UK charts? "Do the Bartman" by The Simpsons. Speaking of charts, while this song was their only #1 in the UK, The Clash got even less respect in the US; their highest chart on the Billboard was #8 for "Rock the Casbah". That's amazing when you consider how much airplay they get on the radio.

Introduced into The Clash's live set in Paris in September 1981, "Should I Stay or Should I Go?" sat awkwardly in the set after Jones was fired - it was a hugely popular song so fans expected it to be played, but its author and singer was no longer in the band.

For a while in 1984 it was performed with new guitarist Nick Sheppard singing lead vocals, with the song developing into an aggressive Metal thrash with bellowed Punk-style vocals. In the end The Clash Mark II dropped the song altogether, although not before they also added some nasty lyrics about Jones (as was common in the post-Jones Clash, sadly). Two much more representative versions are the version of the song filmed at Shea Stadium in 1982 (supporting The Who) for the music video, and the version from Boston in 1982 that features on the From Here To Eternity live compilation.

Ice Cube and Mack 10 did a rap remake of this song for the 1998 Clash tribute album Burning London.

This was re-released as a single in February 1991 after it was used in a Levi's jeans television ad. It went to #1 in the UK, but didn't chart in the US.

Cheekily, Mick Jones used a vocal sample from this track on one of his post-Clash projects, Big Audio Dynamite. You can hear it on their song "The Globe."