Songs Lyrics and YT- Youtube Music Videos

Stiff Little Fingers - Guilty as Sin

Stiff Little Fingers - Guilty as Sin Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: No Going Back
Released: 2014

Guilty as Sin Lyrics

Guilty as Sin

This song is about child abuse and the hypocrisy of the church. Bassist Ali McMordie told Artist Direct : "It is provocative and disturbing, not least because the words have rekindled friends' memories of abuse as children."

C.W. McCall - Convoy

C.W. McCall - Convoy Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Black Bear Road
Released: 1975

Convoy Lyrics

Was the dark of the moon on the sixth of June
In a Kenworth pullin' logs
Cab-over Pete with a reefer on
And a Jimmy haulin' hogs
We is headin' for bear on I-one-oh
'Bout a mile outta Shaky Town
I says, "Pig Pen, this here's the Rubber Duck.
"And I'm about to put the hammer down."

'Cause we got a little ol' Convoy
Rockin' through the night.
Yeah, we got a little ol' convoy,
Ain't she a beautiful sight?
Come on and join our convoy
Ain't nothin' gonna get in our way.
We gonna roll this truckin' convoy
'Cross the U-S-A.
Convoy!

By the time we got into Tulsa Town,
We had eighty-five trucks in all.
But they's a roadblock up on the cloverleaf,
And them bears was wall-to-wall.
Yeah, them smokies is thick as bugs on a bumper;
They even had a bear in the air!
I says, "Callin' all trucks, this here's the Duck.
"We about to go a-huntin' bear."

'Cause we got a great big convoy
Rockin' through the night.
Yeah, we got a great big convoy,
Ain't she a beautiful sight?
Come on and join our convoy
Ain't nothin' gonna get in our way.
We gonna roll this truckin' convoy
'Cross the U-S-A.
Convoy!

Well, we rolled up Interstate 44
Like a rocket sled on rails.
We tore up all of our swindle sheets,
And left 'em settin' on the scales.
By the time we hit that Chi-town,
Them bears was a-gettin' smart:
They'd brought up some reinforcements
From the Illinois National Guard.
There's armored cars, and tanks, and jeeps,
And rigs of ev'ry size.
Yeah, them chicken coops was full'a bears
And choppers filled the skies.
Well, we shot the line and we went for broke
With a thousand screamin' trucks
An' eleven long-haired Friends a' Jesus
In a chartreuse micra-bus.

Well, we laid a strip for the Jersey shore
Prepared to cross the line
I could see the bridge was lined with bears
But I didn't have a dog-goned dime.
I says, "Pig Pen, this here's the Rubber Duck.
"We just ain't a-gonna pay no toll."
So we crashed the gate doing ninety-eight
I says "Let them truckers roll, 10-4."

'Cause we got a mighty convoy
Rockin' through the night.
Yeah, we got a mighty convoy,
Ain't she a beautiful sight?
Come on and join our convoy
Ain't nothin' gonna get in our way.
We gonna roll this truckin' convoy
'Cross the U-S-A.
Convoy! Convoy! Convoy! Convoy!

Writer/s: BOXCAR WILLIE
Publisher: MIZ BOX MUSIC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Convoy

This is a novelty song inspired by the CB radio craze of the mid-'70s. The story of "Convoy" was told in CB jargon and with a Country and Western (the "C.W.") twang. (thanks, Edward Pearce - Ashford, Kent, England)

C.W. McCall is a character created by songwriter Bill Fries. While he displayed musical promise as a child, he was more interested in graphic design. While attending the University of Iowa, Fries studied music and played in the school's concert band, but his major was in fine arts, and after graduation he began handling the art chores at an Omaha, Nebraska television station. After 5 years there, he was hosting his own program, where he drew caricatures of celebrities. Fries signed on as the art director for an Omaha advertising agency in the early '60s, and it was there that he created the character C.W. McCall as a selling tool for an area bakery. A trucker for the fictional Old Home Bread company who spent much of his time in a diner called The Old Home Filler-Up-an'-Keep-On-a-Truckin' Cafe, the McCall character was a huge hit with viewers, and the radio campaign won Fries the advertising industry's prestigious Clio Award. In 1974, Fries decided to cut a record under the McCall moniker, and the single, a monologue with country backing titled after the aforementioned cafe, became a hit. A follow-up single, "Wolf Creek Pass," was even more successful.

This hit #1 on both the Pop and Country charts, and a national craze was born.

Sam Peckinpah made a 1978 movie based on the song starring Kris Kristofferson and Ally McGraw. By the time the movie was released, however, McCall's music career was largely over. He released two more albums, but in 1977, McCall turned his back on the music industry to focus on the burgeoning environmental movement and moved to the small town of Ouray, CO. He was elected mayor of the town in 1982. An attempt at a comeback in 1990 proved unsuccessful. (thanks, Bob - Knoxville, TN, for above 3)

There was a serious side to this song. It dealt with the struggles truckers were facing with restrictive speed limits, tolls, bureaucracy and fuel costs.

"Old Home Bread" was a real bread company in Iowa, where the ads were broadcast. They were filmed in Pisgah, a small town in the Western part of the state. (thanks, Scott - Eugene, OR)

Some of the CB terms used and their meanings:

Got a Copy - do you hear me?

Jimmy - a GMC truck. GMC no longer builds class 8 trucks.

Headin' for bear - coming up on a police blockade. "Bear" is the CB slang term for "police."

Shakeytown - Los Angeles, California

Put the hammer down - speed up

Tulsa-town - Tulsa, Oklahoma

Smokies - highway state patrol officers

Bear in the air - police helicopter

Ten-nine (10-9) - repeat message

Swindle Sheets - truckers' logs. Truckers have to keep logs of what they were hauling. These "swindle sheets" must be presented to Department Of Transportation officers on request.

Chi-town - Chicago, Illinois

Chicken Coop - weigh station

Longhaired friends of Jesus - hippies

Microbus - Volkswagen Microbus. Very popular vehicle among the hippies during the 1960s and 1970s. Another popular song that mentions the Volkswagen Microbus is "Alice's Restaurant Massacree" by Arlo Guthrie.

"Keep the bugs off your glass and the bears off your... tail" - The real phrase is "keep the bugs off your glass and the bears off your a**". A typical CB sign-off that means to drive carefully and watch out for speedtraps.

"What's your twenty?" - "Where are you?"

"Catch you on the flip-flop" - "I'll talk to you on my return trip (on the way back home)." (thanks, Patrick - Tallapoosa, GA)

This song is referenced in chapter 5 of the textbook Infrared Detectors and Systems by Dereniak and Boreman. In the same way a journal article or textbook is referenced, the authors point to the song as proof that semitrailer trucks travel in convoys to draw an analogy to how photons, or light quanta, tend to bunch up as they are emitted. (thanks, Alejandro - Albuquerque, NM)

Echo & the Bunnymen - Holy Moses

Echo & the Bunnymen - Holy Moses Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Meteorites
Released: 2014

Holy Moses Lyrics

Holy Moses

Vocalist Ian McCulloch explained the song's meaning to Mojo magazine: "It's about God waking up one morning and his garden's f--ked, so he gets Moses, the gardener, to fix it for him," he said. "Every one of us can get lost in the undergrowth."

by Dionne Warwick - Walk On

by Dionne Warwick - Walk On Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Make Way for Dionne Warwick
Released: 1964

Walk On Lyrics

If you see me walking down the street
And I start to cry each time we meet
Walk On by, walk on by

Make believe
That you don't see the tears
Just let me grieve
In private 'cause each time I see you
I break down and cry
And walk on by (don't stop)
And walk on by (don't stop)
And walk on by

I just can't get over losing you
And so if I seem broken and blue
Walk on by, walk on by

Foolish pride
Is all that I have left
So let me hide
The tears and the sadness you gave me
When you said goodbye
Walk on by
And walk on by
I just can't get over losing you
And so if I seem broken and blue
Walk on by, walk on by

Foolish pride
Is all that I have left
So let me hide
The tears and the sadness you gave me
When you said goodbye
Walk on by
And walk on by
Walk on by (don't stop)
Walk on by (don't stop)

Writer/s: BACHARACH, BURT / DAVID, HAL
Publisher: Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Walk On

The songwriting team of Burt Bacharach and Hal Davis wrote this. Bacharach came up with the music, and David wrote the lyrics about a woman asking her former lover to leave her alone.

This was released as the B-side to Warwick's single "Any Old Time Of The Day." She'd had several releases that went nowhere, and her latest tune was, in the opinion of her label, her manager, and herself, her last shot at making the Top 40. Murray the K, whose show on radio station WINS was the top-rated program in New York, wouldn't play it. No matter how many people called and pleaded with him, he played the B-side instead because he knew that was the tune with potential. Warwick's record company wasn't happy with this, but listeners agreed with Murray and "Walk On By" became the hit. (thanks to Peter at the Murray the K archives)

Isaac Hayes did a 12-minute version on his album Hot Buttered Soul. A Punk band called The Stranglers also recorded it.

Other artists who have covered this song include the Carnival, D Train, the Four Seasons, Connie Francis, Aretha Franklin, Gabrielle, Gloria Gaynor, Kool & the Gang, Cyndi Lauper, Steve Lawrence, The Lettermen, Little Anthony And The Imperials, Johnny Mathis, The Miracles, Mitch Ryder And The Detroit Wheels, Helen Shapiro, and Mel Torme. (thanks, Jerro - New Alexandria, PA)

Burt Bacharach (from Record Collector magazine): "'Walk On By' was the first time that I tried putting two grand pianos on a record in the studio. I can't remember if I played and Artie Butler played or if Paul Griffin and Artie Butler played but here were two grand pianos going on. I knew the song had something. It was a great date. I walked out of that studio and we had done two tunes in a three-hour session, 'Walk On By' and 'Anyone Who Had A Heart.' I felt very good leaving knowing that I had two monster hits on my hands. You never know for sure but you feel a great satisfaction."

On May 12, 2002 Warwick was arrested at Miami International Airport after baggage screeners found marijuana inside a lipstick container she was carrying. The UK publication The Sun reported the story with the headline: "Walk on high, Dionne." (thanks, Alexander Baron - London, England)

This was given the Q Classic Song honor at the 2012 Q Awards. Presenting the gong to Dionne Warwick, Tim Burgess (frontman of The Charlatans UK) said: "The song involves tears in the street, unrequited love and Groundhog Day-style heartbreak. If you listen properly it's everything but easy listening. It's utter devastation, given dignity by Dionne's rich, beautiful voice - one of the most soulful performances ever given."

Jack White - Lazaretto

Jack White - Lazaretto Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Lazaretto
Released: 2014

Lazaretto Lyrics

Lazaretto

The first single from Jack White's second solo album, the song also serves as its title track. The record takes its name from the quarantine stations built for maritime travelers between the 15th and 19th centuries. White told The Observer he is so busy these days that the idea of such a place became almost exotic: "I fantasise about living in one-room apartments and being in a work camp somewhere, where there's absolutely nothing around me but a cot and a teapot and a sink," he said.

A limited edition 7-inch of the song was recorded, pressed and released in 3 hours, 55 minutes and 21 seconds, breaking the world record for the world's fastest released disc. Swiss polka trio Vollgas Kompanie, previously held the record when they issued their album Live one day after they recorded it.

The B-side of the single is a cover of Elvis Presley's song "Power of My Love."

The song features some Spanish lyrics: "Yo trabajo duro, como en madera y yeso," roughly translates to "I work hard, like in wood and plaster." White explained his use of Spanish to NPR: "The character who's singing this song is bragging about himself, but he's actually bragging about real things he's actually accomplished and real things that he actually does, not imaginary things or things he would like to do," he said. "Because sometimes you see people who, they sing from the heart, but they haven't done anything, you know? And their lives are not very interesting or whatever. So this character in this song actually has worked very hard in his life and he's done some interesting things."

You can't sing a lyric like 'I work hard,'" White added. "You can't get away with saying it. So I had to change it to Spanish: 'Yo trabajo duro.' 'I work hard, like in wood and plaster.' There's sort of a triple meaning, that wood and plaster are hard surfaces — as in a painter who 'works in oils.' It's sort of bad Spanish, because you wouldn't say como [to mean] 'as in.'"

Some of Lazaretto's lyrics were inspired by short stories and plays White wrote when he was 19 after he'd dropped out of Wayne State University. He came across the box containing his prose in his attic and though much of it was embarrassing, the odd phrase and character was salvageable. "I thought, 'What if you write a song with yourself?' Collaborate with your 19-year-old self on a song," White told The Observer, before quipping: "And don't give him any royalties."

Lazaretto topped the Billboard 200 album chart in its debut week. The vinyl LP version also sold 40,000 copies in its first seven days, setting the record for the largest sales week for a vinyl album since SoundScan began tracking sales in 1991.

The vinyl LP's high sales were helped by its unique features, which include including hidden tracks under the inner label, the ability to play the album at three different speeds and holograms that appear on the record's surface when it's being played.

This won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance at the 2015 ceremony.

Joan Jett - I Hate Myself For Loving You

Joan Jett - I Hate Myself For Loving You Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Up Your Alley
Released: 1988

I Hate Myself For Loving You Lyrics

Midnight, gettin' uptight. Where are you?
You said you'd meet me, now it's quarter to two
I know I'm hangin' but I'm still wantin' you.

Hey, Jack, It's a fact they're talkin' in town.
I turn my back and you're messin' around.
I'm not really jealous, don't like lookin' like a clown.

I think of you every night and day.
You took my heart, then you took my pride away.

I Hate Myself For Loving You.
Can't break free from the the things that you do.
I want to walk but I run back to you, that's why
I hate myself for loving you.

Daylight, spent the night without you.
But I've been dreamin' 'bout the lovin' you do.
I won't be as angry 'bout the hell you put me through.

Hey, man, bet you can treat me right.
You just don't know what you was missin' last night.
I want to see your face and say forget it just from spite.

I hate myself for loving you .
Can't break free from the the things that you do.
I want to walk but I run back to you, that's why
I hate myself for loving you.

I hate myself for loving you.
Can't break free from the things that you do.
I want to walk but I run back to you, that's why
I hate myself for loving you.

I think of you every night and day.
You took my heart, then you took my pride away.

I hate myself for loving you.
Can't break free from the the things that you do.
I want to walk but I run back to you, that's why
I hate myself for loving you.
I hate myself for loving you.
I hate myself for loving you.

Writer/s: CHILD, DESMOND/JETT, JOAN /
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group, BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

I Hate Myself For Loving You

Joan Jett's producer Kenny Laguna told us that Joan came up with the guitar riff for this song and wrote it as "I Hate Myself Because I Can't Get Laid." She took it to the writer/producer Desmond Child , who thought the title would never fly and convinced Joan to change it to something with "Love" in the title. Child, who got a co-writing credit on the song, knows something about the hit potential of love: he also co-wrote "I Was Made For Lovin' You" for Kiss and "You Give Love A Bad Name" for Bon Jovi. He has a knack for finding the right hook and making a song sound larger than life.

Desmond Child is a prolific songwriter and producer who has gone on to work with Ricky Martin, Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, Cher, and many others. Kenny Laguna, who has worked with Joan Jett since she started her solo career, explains how they got Child to work with them: "There was a friend of ours at Epic Records who was friends with Desmond, and before the Bon Jovi record came out, he played me the song 'Livin On A Prayer.' I said, 'Whoa, I want to meet this guy,' so I started chasing Desmond around. He didn't want any part of it because he was busy looking for really important acts like Michael Bolton. I just chased him around until he couldn't take it anymore. There was something about his style I liked, it reminded me of The Four Seasons. Sure enough, he had worked with Bob Crewe."

When we spoke with Desmond, he said, "I had really strong mentors, like Bob Crewe, who taught me how to analyze the structure of songs so that even though you're emotionally invested in it, you also have to have a detachment - there can be no ego."

Mick Taylor, who was the lead guitarist in The Rolling Stones in the early '70s, played guitar on this track, including the solo.

Pink recorded a version of this song for use on NBC's Sunday Night Football in 2006. In her version, the lyrics are changed to "Waiting all day for Sunday night." The next year, Faith Hill took over from Pink. In 2013, she was replaced by Carrie Underwood.

In Steven Tyler's 2011 book Does The Noise In My Head Bother You?, the Aerosmith frontman tells the story about showing up naked at Joan Jett's hotel room door while they were touring together. When she opened, he said, "I hate myself for loving you," and was soundly rejected.

This was featured in the movies Striptease (1996) and Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2009). It also appeared in a 2002 episode of Dawson's Creek.

Mac DeMarco - Passing Out Pieces

Mac DeMarco - Passing Out Pieces Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Salad Days
Released: 2014

Passing Out Pieces Lyrics

Passing Out Pieces

American Songwriter magazine asked Mac DeMarco what exactly is it that "mom don't know" in this song? He replied: "All kinds of stuff. Terrible stuff. I couldn't tell you. Just a young man getting thrown into like… We're at the point where people want to give us stuff and I don't say no much to anybody really. But we've been in some strange situations. So you know, it's just my life I guess."

Joan Jett - Bad Reputation

Joan Jett - Bad Reputation Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Bad Reputation
Released: 1981

Bad Reputation Lyrics

I don't give a damn 'bout my reputation
You're living in the past it's a new generation
A girl can do what she wants to do and that's
What I'm gonna do
An' I don't give a damn 'bout my Bad Reputation

Oh no not me
An' I don't give a damn 'bout my reputation
Never said I wanted to improve my station
An' I'm only doin' good
When I'm havin' fun
An' I don't have to please no one
An' I don't give a damn
'Bout my bad reputation

Oh no, not me
Oh no, not me

I don't give a damn
'Bout my reputation
I've never been afraid of any deviation
An' I don't really care
If ya think I'm strange
I ain't gonna change
An' I'm never gonna care
'Bout my bad reputation

Oh no, not me
Oh no, not me

Pedal boys!
An' I don't give a damn
'Bout my reputation
The world's in trouble
There's no communication
An' everyone can say
What they want to say
It never gets better anyway
So why should I care
'Bout a bad reputation anyway
Oh no, not me
Oh no, not me

I don't give a damn 'bout my bad reputation
You're living in the past
It's a new generation
An' I only feel good
When I got no pain
An' that's how I'm gonna stay
An' I don't give a damn
'Bout my bad reputation

Oh no, not me
Oh no, not
Not me, not me

Writer/s: JOAN JETT, RITCHIE CORDELL, MARTIN KUPERSMITH, KENNETH BENJAMIN LAGUNA
Publisher: BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Bad Reputation

Jett wrote this with Kenny Laguna, who produced the album and helped her establish a solo career after her group, The Runaways, broke up. In our interview with Laguna, he said: "It's about Joan having been kind of a wild woman in The Runaways, and us trying to make a record deal, going around having people say, 'No, she's too crazy, like the punks and nazis.' Joan had this bad reputation, no label would sign her - that's why we own the records. It was so frustrating, we thought we should write a song about it. One day Joan said something and I said, 'You shouldn't do this.' I was trying to give her the advice of an old man, but she was a teenager at the time, and she says, 'Look, I don't care about my bad reputation.' I said, 'Whoa, there's the song.'"

This song made a very bold statement, establishing Jett as an independent-minded rocker with no concern for traditional gender roles in rock. Her co-writer Kenny Laguna told us: "'I don't give a damn about my reputation, it's a new generation,' that was the whole thing, a girl could do what she wants to do. When she was singing those lyrics, it was radical because there were no girls doing anything other than what they were supposed to do, they were all supposed to be like the girl groups. They were supposed to be dainty, wear dresses. They weren't supposed to play instruments. The song was definitely autobiographical."

Laguna had worked for The Who's European record company and was friends with the band. The Who fronted money so he and Jett could make the album, which was called Joan Jett. In Europe, the album was released on a German label called Ariola Records. They didn't want to use this song as a single, and instead released "Jezebel" and "You Don't Know What You Got." They didn't do very well and Laguna bought the record back from Ariola for $10,000. In the US, they released the album on their own label, Blackheart Records, and changed the track order so this led off the album.

Joan Jett made the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015 and developed a reputation as a leading lady of rock, but around this time, she was struggling to get noticed and trying to get airplay.

Kenny Laguna told us how this song ended up on one very influential station, which gave it the push it needed. "I remember Dan Neer, who was one of the top DJs in New York at WNEW, his girlfriend was helping us out with publicity," he said. "She brought him down to see Joan play in Brooklyn and he left after three songs - I thought he hated it. The next day WNEW started playing 'Bad Reputation,' which is not the song we wanted them to play, we wanted them to play 'Do You Wanna Touch Me,' but it became their breakout song of the week. In those days, the AOR stations were alternative, but real alternative, not like today's alternative which is really a Top 40 format and is all about record company priorities. These guys were playing something on an independent label. Every time a station didn't want to play 'Touch Me' or burned it out, we would make them play 'Bad Reputation.' That was the beginning of the song becoming known. Then there were a few bands that covered it, and it just took off."

When this started getting airplay, it attracted the attention of record labels and Jett signed a deal with Boardwalk Records. The album was then remixed and the title was changed to Bad Reputation. The next year, Jett released "I Love Rock And Roll," which was a huge hit, but not the one Jett wanted to be known for the rest of her life - she didn't write that one.

This became Jett's signature song, and although it's very well known, it was never released as a single.

Speaking about recording this song, Kenny Laguna said: "We tried to do one of those speedy punk rock songs. The day we recorded it, we didn't know it too well, we just managed to get a good drum track. Joan had to play all the guitars - the rhythm track was pretty good. I put on like a Jerry Lee Lewis piano, but until the piano went on, it really sounded kind of unfinished."

This was the theme song to the NBC TV show Freaks And Geeks. The show was about a group of kids trying to deal with high school. It was canceled after one season in 1999-2000, but had a large cult following and was praised by critics who felt it would have gotten better ratings if NBC gave it a chance.

Some of the movies this has been used in include Shrek, Wonderland, Kingpin Baby Mama, Kick-Ass and 10 Things I Hate About You. It's very popular for scenes that portray an outcast in a lighthearted way.

The MMA champion fighter Ronda Rousey uses this song as her entrance theme.

When Jett was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015, she was the first to perform at the ceremony, and opened her set with this song.

Meridian Dan - German Whip

Meridian Dan - German Whip Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Single Release Only
Released: 2014

German Whip Lyrics

Driving a German Whip
Driving a German whip
Yo! (Driving a German whip)
Driving a German whip

If you see man driving a German whip
Blacked out window, leaning back
See man driving a German whip
Look like a balla, P's and dat
I don't kick ball, do I look like a balla?
See man driving a German whip
Who told you I move like pauper?
See man driving a german whip

If you see man driving a german whip
Blacked out window, leaning back
See man driving a german whip
Look like a balla, P's and dat
I don't kick ball, do I look like a balla?
See man driving a german whip
Who told you I move like pauper?
See man driving a german whip

Who told you I serve and flip?
Ride my bike on a burnham dip
Man talk but I'm gonna burn 'em quick
Mad man nutty on a sherman tip
Dem man wanna mess with my aura
Someone said that's bang out of order
Can't make 6 foot man feel smaller
Treat dem man like private caller

And I don't wanna box man trust me
Who told you that I got rusty?
Trawl for the WD40
Punch up big man, I'll like 40
Big boy buy big ting 650
Moving along on the road too quickly
Though big dogs in this biz
I never see no man chasing frisbees

If you see man driving a German whip
Blacked out window, leaning back
See man driving a German whip
Look like a balla, P's and dat
I don't kick ball, do I look like a balla?
See man driving a german whip
Who told you I move like pauper?
See man driving a German whip

When I big over there
Dem man don't live over there
Man will take off ya wig over there
Don't care who you're with over there
When mana-mans hungry, mana-man eat
Mana-mans tired, mana-man sleep
Mana-man talking, mana-man speak
They link girls that mana-man beat
Don't be on a hero ting
Keep it moving earphones in
Lickle man, man had to chief up him
Punch up scratchy, cheif up trim
When mana-mans driving, mana-man speed
Mana-mans smoking mana-mans weed
Give mana-man space, let mana-man breathe
When I arrive, mana-man leave

If you see man driving a German whip
Blacked out window, leaning back
See man driving a German whip
Look like a balla, P's and dat
I don't kick ball, do I look like a balla?
See man driving a German whip
Who told you I move like pauper?
See man driving a German whip

Bad boy krep, German whip
Not white Vans, or white vans
When boy dem try ask for my name
I say oldskool Meridian man
Guys better show respect
If they see man pullin up in a TT (trust!)
Guys better show respect
If they see man fillin up in BP (trust!)
20 Pound of Diesel mate
If I fill up my tank it'll make me late
I ain't gonna lie
I see you man on foot on the high road moving bait
Man's just try'na stack paper
Don't watch what man's earning
Man paid over 30 bags sterling
German whip but I ain't in Berlin

If you see man driving a German whip
Blacked out window, leaning back
See man driving a German whip
Look like a balla, P's and dat
I don't kick ball, do I look like a balla?
See man driving a German whip
Who told you I move like pauper?
See man driving a German whip

If you see man driving a German whip
Blacked out window, leaning back
See man driving a German whip
Look like a balla, P's and dat
I don't kick ball, do I look like a balla?
See man driving a German whip
Who told you I move like pauper?
See man driving a German whip

Writer/s: LAWRENCE LONDON, KOFFI MANOU WILFRED KOUASSI, JAMIE ADENUGA, BIG H
Publisher: THE ROYALTY NETWORK
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

German Whip

In the early 2000's Meridian Dan and some of his Grime colleagues decided to get together to form a rap group called Meridian Crew, which consisted of other UK artists including JME, his brother Skepta and Big H. They started performing regularly on Heat FM and DéjÁ  Vu FM.

When Skepta and JME created the Boy Better Know label and left the Meridian Crew in late 2005, Meridan Dan and the other members of The Meridian Crew created their own crew and label called the Bloodline Family Collective, referring to the family ties within the group. This enabled Meridian Dan to emerge further in the underground rap scene and in 2014 he released his breakthrough single "German Whip."

The song also features Meridian Dan's grime colleagues JME and Big H.

Lyrically, the song is celebrating German-made cars (or whips). Wonder why automobiles are called whips? The reason dates back to the days of horse-driven carriages when whips were used to control the direction and speed of the horses. Then when the steering wheel was first used in a car, it was called the "whip", because the steering wheel controls the vehicle. Many years later, various rappers noticed that the Mercedes-Benz logo resembled a steering wheel, so they proceeded to use the old term "whip" to describe any Mercedes-Benz automobile. The term has since been generalized to classify any car.

Charlene - I've Never Been To Me

Charlene - I've Never Been To Me Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: I've Never Been To Me
Released: 1976

I've Never Been To Me Lyrics

Hey lady, you, lady, cursin' at your life
You're a discontented mother and a rich inventive wife
I've no doubt you dream about the things you'll never do
But I wish someone had a talked to me like I wanna talk to you

Ooh I've been to Georgia and California, oh, anywhere I could run
Took the hand of a preacher man and we made love in the sun
But I ran out of places and friendly faces because I had to be free
I've been to paradise, but I've Never Been To Me

Please lady, please, lady, don't just walk away
Cause I have this need to tell you why I'm all alone today
I can see so much of me still living in your eyes
Won't you share a part of a weary heart that has lived a million lies

Oh I've been to Nice and the isle of Greece
While I sipped champagne on a yacht
I moved like Harlow in Monte Carlo and showed 'em what I've got
I've been undressed by kings and I've seen some things
That a woman ain't s'posed to see
I've been to paradise, but I've never been to me

Hey, you know what paradise is? It's a lie. A fantasy we create about
People and places as we'd like them to be. But you know what truth is?
It's that little baby you're holding, and it's that man you fought with
This morning, the same one you're going to make love with tonight.
That's truth, that's love

Sometimes I've been to cryin' for unborn children
That might have made me complete
But I, I took the sweet life and never knew I'd be bitter from the sweet
I spent my life exploring the subtle whoring that cost too much to be free
Hey lady, I've been to paradise, but I've never been to me

I've been to paradise, never been to me
(I've been to Georgia and California, and anywhere I could run)
I've been to paradise, never been to me
(I've been to Nice and the isle of Greece
While I sipped champagne on a yacht)
I've been to paradise, never been to me
(I've been to cryin' for unborn children)

Writer/s: Hirsch, Kenneth W / Miller, Ronald N.
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

I've Never Been To Me

Charlene originally recorded this in 1976, and it got to #97 in the American charts. Six years later, it was re-released after a Florida radio station started playing it to great public acclaim, by which time Charlene had moved to England and was working in an Ilford, Essex sweet shop. The re-release became a huge hit in England as well. (thanks, Edward Pearce - Ashford, Kent, England)

The song was originally written from a male perspective but was rewritten by Ron Miller for Charlene. The use of the line "I've been to crying for unborn children" was not written about abortion. The line refers to a woman who is at a point in her life that she wished she had taken the time to have children.

There are many misconceptions about this song. The spoken bridge in the song was not about or did it mention abortion - it was deemed too feminist and when Charlene's first album was re-released in 1977, the spoken bridge had been deleted. When the song became an unexpected hit in 1982 it was the version WITH the spoken bridge intact that was released. It has also been widely reported that the 1982 single was a re-recording, it is not. (thanks, Shawn - Los Angeles, CA)

Charlene was signed to Motown Records, but this was her only hit.

When this song was first released in America in 1976, Charlene's full name was Charlene Duncan through her marriage to record producer Larry Duncan, but when the song was released for a second time in 1982, her name was then Charlene Oliver because of her marriage to Englishman Jeff Oliver. (thanks, Terry - Northampton, England)

This was used in the 1994 movie The Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert.

There have been several cover versions of this song by both male and female artists, including Nancy Wilson, Randy Crawford, The Temptations, Walter Jackson and Howard Keel.

Charlene filmed the video for the song at Blicking Hall, Norfolk, England in the very same dress that she got married in. (thanks, Terry - Northampton, England)

Neon Jungle - Welcome To The Jungle

Neon Jungle - Welcome To The Jungle Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Welcome To The Jungle
Released: 2014

Welcome To The Jungle Lyrics

Tonight I'll hunt you down
Boy can you make me growl with the wild things on the prowl
Welcome To The Jungle
Welcome to the jungle
Welcome to the (Jungle)

La la la la la la
La di da di hands on my body
La la la la la la oh just love me down
La la la la la la
La di da di hands on my body
La la la la la la oh just love me down

Sitting boy hit me up at a bar
Dark and smooth like a jaguar
Ask one time and I’ll make you my star
And you know you want to
If you wanna get deep in the club
Must ruffle up give me that jungle love
Only one winner one bad man time
And I know I want you

Tonight I'll hunt you down
Boy can you make me growl with the wild things on the prowl
Welcome to the jungle
Welcome to the jungle
Welcome to the (Jungle)

La la la la la la
La di da di hands on my body
La la la la la la oh just love me down
La la la la la la
La di da di hands on my body
La la la la la la oh just love me down

When you hungry then I'll be your cow
Come now help me make the kitty cat purr
Top of the food chain, top of the world
And you know you want to
On your toes unpredictable
One on one, done wild animal
Instinct kicks in I can’t control
And you know I want you

Welcome to the jungle
Be hot like Rocky no A$AP
Got game like A-Trak
You want that, I stay strapped
You not down, don't say that
Super faded, ready gone
She super bad, hardly wrong
Do your dust while they play my song
Excuse me shorty, you o-o-owned
Too trilled? Then I'm sorry
Got two seats in this 'Rari
For this pussy popping safari
So fuck, let's party
It’s two cliques, one crew
Tutus in my two coupes
Girl do you, but let me too

Welcome to the jungle
Welcome to the jungle

Tonight I'll hunt you down
Boy can you make me growl with the wild things on the prowl
Welcome to the jungle

Writer/s: DAVIS, CASSIE MAREE / MULLINS, SEAN RAY / JUDRIN, RAPHAEL DAVID / MELKI, PIERRE-ANTOINE JOSEPH MICHEL / CHIRESCU, YOAN MARKUS
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Welcome To The Jungle

Formerly titled just 'Jungle,' this was released as Neon Jungle's third single. Asami from the group told DirectLyrics : "This song is our statement song we think. It's our 'we are here to stay and not going anywhere anytime soon' song! It's about just having fun, letting loose and just enjoying everything!"

The four-piece girl group took their name from the song. Asami explained: "We had so many other potential names but none of them had the right ring! It took forever, we literally had to be introduced as 'the girls' until we finally picked it."

Just in case you're wondering, this is an entirely different song to Guns N' Roses' hit tune of the same title.

Kurtis Blow - If I Ruled The World

Kurtis Blow - If I Ruled The World Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: The Best Of Kurtis Blow
Released: 1985

If I Ruled The World Lyrics

Yes yes y'all
The best y'all, yes yes y'all
Huh, huh, huh, huh, yes y'all

If I Ruled The World, was king on the throne
I'd make peace in every culture, build the homeless a home
I'm not runnin', for Congress or the President
I'm just here, to tell the world, how my story went
You see, first it was a dream, I was livin' in Rome
And then I moved to London, bought a brand new home
And everywhere I went, I drew lots of attention
Like a stretch limousine, one of those new inventions
It took a few years 'fore the day had come
But I was ruler of the WORLD ranked number one
So I headed towards Washington to claim the crown
Let the whole world know that, the King was in town
As I, arrived, the crowd started to cheer
And then someone yelled out, "The King is here!"
So I headed toward stage, to make a speech
about the new style of living I was gonna teach, uh-huh

If I ruled the world
Huh-huh, huh-huh uh-huh uh-huh
I'd love all the girls, I love 'em love 'em baby!
Black diamonds and pearls, ooh yeah yeah
If I ruled the world

People started flowin' as they reached for my hand
I said, "Thank you for bringin' me to the Promised Land
But now I must go, say goodbye to everybody
Tonight I'll see you all at my Super Dinner Party"
And late that night, at my Super Dinner Party
I was dancin' to the beat and entertainin' La-Di-Da-Di
The music started endin', it was time for a speech
The crowd started sittin' as I rose from my feet
And this was once a dream, I explained to the crowd
But now, I rule the world, and I feel, so very proud
Excuse me please, for stoppin' this show
I just had to thank you all, huh, and me so
My first day in office, the King on the throne
I spent my first three hours on the telephone
You know with newsmen reporters, and votes too
I had so many calls, I didn't know what to do
You know out that office I continued to work
I signed so many papers, my fingers started to hurt
Then I shook off the pain, say this ain't no thing
'Cause there's nothin' in the world like bein' number one king!

If I ruled the world
Huh huh huh huh, huh-huh huh-huh
I'd love all the girls, I love 'em love 'em baby!
Black diamonds and pearls, ooh yeah yeah
If I ruled the world, whoa yeah
If I ruled the world

Now I rule the world and now, I'm on top
And I'm rollin' with folks that could never be stopped
And I'm here to let you know this is where I belong
And to you sucker emcees that sing my song
And it's a song that's strong about right and wrong
And I'm rock it to you baby baby all night long
And it's a song about love, and happiness
In a world of peace, and you know that's fresh
Now I'm the king, and I want you to know
That I'm the Master Blaster Rapper who's runnin' the show

And to all of you rappers in every country
You better stop what you're doin', and listen to me
'Cause we gotta stop war, and use unity
To fight crime and hunger and poverty
'Cause the African baby is dyin' overseas
While you sucker mission politicians bustin' out Z's
Huh, twenty million people all unemployed
While the rich man try to play Pretty Boy Floyd
While the working class just struggles hard
Try to make ends meet against all odds
While the poor man can't even deal with life
You know he tried to escape, and smoked the coke on the pipe

And it's time for a change, to a better way
'Cause the sun has gotta shine through the cloudy day
So listen up world, while I teach this class
And take heed to the message or we ain't gonna last
'Cause I know, the solution, is the contribution
Of woman and man to just join the revolution
That'll take your brain to a higher plane
And help you deal in a world that's gone insane
With the problems that I know we can stop
From the ruler of the world and the man on top
But the years went by, and time was up
And the ruler of the world had ran out of luck
And all the people at the time who said they were my friends
Didn't know me when my job had come to an end
They came up to my face, as happy as can be
He was running his mouth like, Muhammad Ali
So I shook his hand calmly as I headed to the door
On my way to the ghetto to treat once more

If I ruled the world
I'd love all the girls, I love 'em love 'em baby!
Black diamonds and pearls, ooh yeah yeah
If I ruled the world, yeah
If I ruled the world, if I ruled the world
I'd love all the girls, I'd love 'em love 'em baby!
Black diamonds and pearls, ooh yeah yeah, oh yeah yeah
If I ruled the world, whoa yeah
If I ruled the world, yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
Yeah yeah yeah, yeah yeah yeah

I'd love all the girls, you know I'd love 'em love 'em baby!
Diamonds and pearls, ooh yeah yeah, oh yeah yeah
If I ruled the world, yeah yeah yeah yeah baby baby
If I ruled the world, if I ruled the world
I'd love all the girls, yes you, you, you and you
Black diamonds and pearls, where those diamonds, where those pearls?
If I ruled the world
If I ruled the world
I'd love all the girls, I'd love 'em love 'em baby

Writer/s: KURTIS WALKER, KURTIS BLOW, AARON O'BRYANT, AJ SCRATCH, DAVID REEVES, DAVY D, N. JONES, L. SMITH
Publisher: UNIVERSAL MUSIC PUB GROUP, RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

If I Ruled The World

This was the first time a sample loop was used on a Hip-Hop record. With the help of producers J.B. Moore and Robert Ford, Kurtis was the first to use a drum machine, and the first to use a sampler, which was a $250,000 Fairlight machine. For this, they used an AMS sampler and created a loop. A loop is continuous play of a section of a record, usually the break. If you have a drum loop of one bar, you can loop it to play it repeatedly so there's no pause between the loop and it sounds like a continuous drum beat.

Kurtis was the first rapper signed to a major label. With the backing of Mercury Records, he and his producers were able to afford these expensive drum machines and samplers and pioneer their use on Hip-Hip records.

The song they sampled was "Pump Me Up," which was released in 1982 by a Go-Go group from Washington, DC called Trouble Funk. They looped the percussion section that plays after the chorus of "Pump, pump, pump me up."

Kurtis: "We used this machine to sample a whole section of a record. That's how the DJs used to play, they used to take the sections of a record and repeatedly play them. You'd have 2 records of the same song and keep the break going by looping it with your turntables. You'd play the records over and over and have just the break play for 5 minutes, and that's what we used to rap over - the DJ extended the break. That whole concept evolved into the studio. When we started making records we wanted to keep that funky loop going, that funky break and that quick mix so we could rap over it."

Before drum machines, rap songs used live musicians, which limited what they could accomplish in the studio. Using these machines had drawback, however, that Kurtis explains: "Drum machines revolutionized the whole industry, but it made the music sound mechanical and electronic. There wasn't a live drummer, the soul of a live band was lost. In the '70s, when we first started with Hip-Hop, we'd have a whole band come in. Now, musicians come in and record onto a track. When that evolution happened, things got mechanical. When the sample loop came around we used to sample old records in the '70s, those breaks we used to play in Hip-Hop, that Cool Herc and all the old DJs used to play. Those breaks were live drummers and when you sampled and looped it, it made the live drummer feel come back into the music, so it brought the soul back into the music. The sample loop revolutionized the music industry once again by bringing soul back into the music with a live drummer."

This was used in the 1985 movie Krush Groove, one of the first movies based on Hip-Hop culture. Kurtis was in the movie along with Run-D.M.C., The Fat Boys, LL Cool J, New Editon and The Beastie Boys. Kurtis worked on the soundtrack to the album and was also producing The Fat Boys and working on his own album at the time. They shot the film in 3 weeks.

Nas covered this as "If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)" in 1996, and it became his biggest hit. Says Kurtis: "They sent me a tape of the song, I heard Lauryn Hill in the background and I knew it was her. I played it over and over, it was incredible. I knew it was going to be a mega-hit." (thanks to Kurtis for speaking with us about this song)