Great Lyrics

Music--delivered via radio, CD, TV, iPod or other systems--provides the soundtrack to our lives and music lyrics deliver the narrative. Lyrics can be brilliant, witty, humorous, insightful, outrageous or all of the above. Here are some lyrics that will inspire, amuse and/or offend you:

"Might not know it now
But, baby, I'm a star."-- Prince, "Baby I'm a Star"

"When my situation ain't improvin', I'm tryin' to murder everything movin'."--Jay-Z, "Hard Knock Life"

"Fool can't play the wise but the wise can act a fool
I stay cool and mild mannered and just put in my work
Don't push, you don't know what's up under my shirt
Don't you take me for soft, I got a heart that pump
Like a 12 gauge shotty when it starts to dump
You'se a mystery, cause you don't know who you runnin' towards
And got history, that shit is told by who won wars."--Dilated Peoples, "Kindness for Weakness"

"I got so much trouble on my mind
Refuse to lose."--Public Enemy, "Welcome to the Terrordome"

"Never question what I am
God knows
Cause it's comin' from the heart."--Public Enemy, "Welcome to the Terrordome"

"When it's sink or swim
You gotta think to win."--Ice Cube, "You Can Do It"

"I'm makin' moves, not fakin' moves."--L.L. Cool J, "Farmers Boulevard (Our Anthem)"

"Don't try to act crazy 'cause the shit don't faze me
If you ran like a punk it wouldn't amaze me."--Ice T, "Colors"

"Circumstances might not allow me to bust
Because they know I got more game than Toys 'R Us."--Tone Loc, "Cutting Rhythms"

"Every time u get some
People wanna take it back
They rather see u on the run
Than see u get it like that
Every time they stop u
Change up like a sock
Every time they try 2 clock u
Tick more than they tock."--Prince, "Push"

"Brother can you paradigm?
Pump, pump, fake, feint, fade, forward, jump, slam dunk...in your face
The tip-off, the tap-in, rushin', jumping, backboard crushing, dunking...in your face
Brother can you paradigm?
Shape-shifting
Shifting the shapes of things to come
Plays and instant replays are plays to come
Came and went, time well spent
Brother can you Paradigm?"--George Clinton/Prince, "Paradigm"

"Do fries go with that shake?"--George Clinton, "Do Fries Go With That Shake?"

"Sex is not all I think about
It's just all I think about...U."--Prince, "Shhh"

"Every time I comb my hair
Thoughts of U get in my eyes
U're a sinner, I don't care
I just want your creamy thighs."--Prince, "Erotic City"

"What if I called U silly names
Just like the ones that U call me?
What if I filled your eyes with tears
So many that U cannot see?"--Prince, "Billy Jack Bitch"

"You gotta love me or leave me alone."--Brand Nubian, "Love Me or Leave Me Alone"

"He came from somewhere back in her long ago
The sentimental fool don't see
Tryin' hard to recreate
What had yet to be created

Once in her life
She musters a smile
For his nostalgic tale
Never coming near what he wanted to say
Only to realize
It never really was."--Doobie Brothers, "What a Fool Believes"

"I keep your picture
Upon the wall
It hides a nasty stain that's lying there
So don't you ask me
To give it back
I know you know it doesn't mean that much to me
I'm not in love, no no, it's because..."--10CC, "I'm Not in Love"

"You could have been with me
Instead of alone and lonely."--Sheena Easton, "You Could Have Been With Me"

"Hey Nineteen
That's 'Retha Franklin
She don't remember
The Queen of Soul
Hard times have befallen
The Soul Survivors
She thinks I'm crazy
But I'm just growing old."--Steely Dan, "Hey Nineteen"

"I've seen your picture
Your name in lights above it
This is your big debut
It's like a dream come true
And when you smile for the camera
I know they're gonna love it."--Steely Dan, "Peg"

"I don't need you to worry for me cause I'm all right
I don't want you to tell me it's time to come home
I don't care what you say anymore this is my life
Go ahead with your own life leave me alone."--Billy Joel, "My Life"

"They say there's a heaven for those who will wait
Some say it's better but I say it ain't
I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints
The sinners are much more fun...
You know that only the good die young."--Billy Joel, "Only the Good Die Young"

"All you got is this moment."--INXS, "Need You Tonight"

"Well I'm sick of it
It's a load of shit
We could stop the world
And let off all the fools
And let them go live
With their guns in the sky."--INXS, "Guns in the Sky"

"Knowledge, wisdom and understanding brings long life and health
Think anything else and ya playin' yaself."--Jeru the Damaja, "Ya Playin' Yaself"

"I'm a true master you can check my credentials
Cause I choose to use my infinite potential...
I'm the mack so I don't need to tote a Mac
My attack is purely mental and its nature's not hate
It's meant to wake ya up out of your brainwashed state."--Jeru tha Damaja, "Come Clean"

"You wouldn't let me say the words I longed to say
You didn't want to see life through my eyes
[Express yourself, don't repress yourself]
You tried to shove me back inside your narrow room
And silence me with bitterness and lies
[Express yourself, don't repress yourself]."--Madonna, "Human Nature"

"Don't care what people say
Just follow your own way
Don't give up and use the chance
To return to innocence
That's not the beginning of the end
That's the return to yourself
The return to innocence."--Enigma, "Return to Innocence"

"I ask you lord why you enlightened me
Without the enlightenment of all my folks
He said 'cause I set myself on a quest for truth
And he was there to quench my thirst
But I am still thirsty..."--Arrested Development, "Tennessee"

"Count the Days" is a powerful song with a deceptively simple melody that almost sounds like a lullabye--and that melody is completely incongruous with the song's harsh but understandably strident lyrics directed toward oppressors of all kinds:

"Count the Days"

I have been "counting the days" my entire life but I doubt that I will live long enough to see things turn out the way that they are supposed to be.

Whatever Happened to Jeru the Damaja?

Jeru the Damaja (whose given name is Kendrick Jeru Davis) burst on to the music scene in the early 1990s, showcasing a distinctive flow and thought-provoking lyrics. His 1993 song "Come Clean" peaked at #10 on the Billboard Hot Rap Singles chart:


"Come Clean" features Jeru's trademark free verse couplets, including these two gems:

I'm a true master you can check my credentials
'Cause I choose to use my infinite potential

My attack is purely mental and its nature's not hate
It's meant to wake ya up out of ya brainwashed state

Jeru's second album, "The Wrath of the Math," peaked at number three on the R&B chart. The single "Ya Playin' Yaself" urges listeners to focus on "knowledge, wisdom, understanding," words that are repeated throughout the song; here are some of the lyrics:

Knowledge, wisdom, understanding like King Solomon's wealth
You're a player but only because you be playin' yourself...

The race is on, but I won't compete
In this competition, because I have a greater mission
I hope that you listen
Knowledge, wisdom and understanding brings long life
And health, think anything else and ya playin' yaself

It is interesting to note that the Hebrew acronym Chabad--which is the name adopted by one of the Hasidic movements in Orthodox Judaism--refers to Chochmah, Binah and Da'at, meaning Wisdom, Understanding and Knowledge. Knowingly or not, Jeru delivered a quintessentially Jewish message--intellectual/spiritual development is more important than the accumulation of material wealth--that needs to be heard by all of humanity.

In an October 2009 interview, Jeru explained that he "wrote the whole treatment for 'Ya Playin' Yaself' and came up with the concept." Jeru has studied the martial arts, so the "Ya Playin' Yaself" video includes martial arts set pieces while presenting a message favoring the pursuit of long term enlightenment over the pursuit of short term frivolity:



"The Wrath of the Math" also included a brief track titled "Tha Bulls--t," a raw declaration of war against anyone who values commerce over art:

Jump up in my Rolls Royce, top choice
Make 'em holler, everything I do is for a dollar
F--k being civilized, I got dollar signs in my eyes
One day I'll fall but for now, I'll rise

The end of the song makes it clear that Jeru is not promoting such a decadent lifestyle but in fact considers such a world view to be a nightmare vision that he would not want his children to follow. With those lyrics, Jeru the Damaja rejects the assumption that the primary purpose of life is just to accumulate more and more toys and he seeks to reclaim Hip Hop as a poetic art form as opposed to a crass celebration of "gangsta" life. Visit any bookstore or music store or just glance at the bestseller lists in either genre and it is easy to find many examples of the shoddy work that Jeru the Damaja passionately decries--and not just in Hip Hop; works that display technical craftsmanship and that contain enduring artistic/intellectual worth are exceedingly rare.

Jeru's talents are not limited to music; he is also a photographer. Jeru the Damaja has not appeared on any U.S. Billboard charts since the 1990s but he is still producing music and he is still entertaining his fans worldwide. His November 20, 2012 post at JerutheDamaja.com explains his current activities (the quoted passage retains the original spelling and punctuation):

While other guys are Stressing getting their song played on hot whatever, or thinking they made it because they have a hundred thousand followers on twitter, I have millions of loyal fans worldwide and this number increases daily. Actually, I take that back...theses people are not fans, they're family! who have, and continue to support me in all musical endeavors. 

See, I'm like a stealth bomber flying under the radar. Dropping bombs on my targets whenever and wherever I please. It's the classic case of, if a tree falls in the forest. Just because you didn't see it or hear it doesn't mean that it didn't take place or had some type of huge effect on something you know nothing about. For example... I have records with dudes all over the world you never heard of, Those same records are platinum in those countries with millions of hits on youtube.

Disregard the few random typos and focus on the larger message: Jeru the Damaja is pursuing his artistic vision on his own terms, expressing himself creatively without paying attention to what the "mainstream" critics and charts say.