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37 votes
Accepted

Is the double negative in 'we don't need no education' intentional?

This is quite certainly intentional. While the double negative used as an intensified negative is considered ungrammatical in "standard" English, it is very common in many English dialects, ...
Chris Sunami's user avatar
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16 votes

Is the double negative in 'we don't need no education' intentional?

I've been unable to find any comments directly from Roger Waters (writer of the music and lyrics of the song) on the meaning of those lines. Looking at the lyrics on Genius.com, the annotation for the ...
Joe Kennedy's user avatar
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16 votes
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Du Hast - You Have or You Hate?

It's an intentional play on words. When we hear the opening lyrics: Du Du hast Du hast mich It's unclear if they're saying "Du hast mich" ("You have me") or "Du hasst mich" ("You hate me"). It's ...
Richard is stepping down's user avatar
12 votes
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What is meant by "Grandma Plays the Numbers"?

The "numbers" were indeed the lottery, but this was back before the government decided to get in on the action, so it was an illegal lottery run by gangsters. Basically, it was a common, but ...
Chris Sunami's user avatar
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11 votes

Was the radio talk in "Right Here, Right Now" real or created for the song?

It was real. The station, WBCN in Boston was an alt-rock station that was HUGE in the 90's but was shuttered in 2009, though it lives on online. Bradley Jay was a DJ and is currently a talk-radio host ...
Jeremiah True's user avatar
11 votes
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In the Beatles' "I'm So Tired", why is Sir Walter Raleigh "such a stupid git"?

Sir Walter Raleigh is credited as the one who introduced tobacco to the UK from the (then) colony of Virginia. So the reference is to the cigarette in the lyrics, and the love-hate relationship with ...
Angst's user avatar
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10 votes
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Who is Hozier's goddess?

It's to refer to his lover. The whole section is actually: If I'm a pagan of the good times My lover's the sunlight To keep the Goddess on my side She demands a sacrifice It can be ...
Dom's user avatar
  • 4,191
10 votes

What is meant by "Run me like a river"?

After asking this question, it was pointed out to me that "running a river" is a way to refer to travelling down a turbulent river, usually on a raft, kayak, or canoe. So, I think I was reading that ...
DCShannon's user avatar
  • 495
10 votes
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What kind of bird are you if you can't swim?

Prokofiev referred to the bird in Peter and the Wolf as simply 'the little bird'. "Of course we shall have the flute as a little bird." [†Schlifstein, p.450.] Although parakeets are smallish - ...
Old Brixtonian's user avatar
9 votes
Accepted

NOFX's song "Linoleum" - what's the meaning of this song?

As always, genius is a good source for analyzing of song meanings. This particular song has been extensively analyzed by multiple users. Having said this, most of the time a song's meaning is subject ...
Magnilex's user avatar
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8 votes
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Rock song with lyric "walking in your shoes", gruff voice singer like Linkin Park

You might be thinking of another Linkin Park song, "Numb". Looking at the lyrics, it has a few lines very close to the ones you remembered from it (emphasis mine), but it's missing "something I am not ...
Joe Kennedy's user avatar
  • 4,325
8 votes

What is meant by the chorus of "I Am the Highway" by Audioslave

This is one of my favorite songs, it means so much to me. The meaning is this: It has to do with being neglected, mistreated, overlooked and taken for granted by people you care about. They might ...
Jim's user avatar
  • 81
8 votes
Accepted

"Ex's and Oh's" by Elle King- What is "Oh's"?

There are multiple possible interpretations according to contributors on Genius: The metaphorical x’s (hugs) and o’s (kisses) of the relationships haunt her, symbolizing her running away from ...
BCdotWEB's user avatar
  • 2,854
8 votes
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Lyrics confusion in Queen's "I Want to Break Free"

The annotations for these lines on Genius.com suggests a few potential explanations. Annotation for "I've fallen in love/I've fallen in love for the first time". The narrator says that he ...
Joe Kennedy's user avatar
  • 4,325
8 votes

What does "I'm a loser, baby, so why don't you kill me?" mean?

It's a hard song to understand unless you remember the ironic-nihilist, slacker culture of the times. At the time, Gen-X teenagers and young adults were dismissed by their elders as aimless, apathetic,...
Chris Sunami's user avatar
  • 15.4k
8 votes

What do the lyrics in "Master of Puppets" mean?

The song is about the effects of drugs. According to the website Story of Song, “Master of Puppets” was written by all members of Metallica and is a song about the eventual side effects drugs will ...
Aaron's user avatar
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7 votes
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60s/70s song, lyrics "Sweet my little baby", possibly Led Zeppelin

"Sweet little baby" is a recurrent lyric in Led Zeppelin's song "Dazed and Confused" song from their 1969 Album "Led Zeppelin". That's about as far as I can get to identify the song you are looking ...
eegodinez's user avatar
  • 126
7 votes
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"I wanna know have you ever seen the rain?" What did the singer really want to express?

The song you are referring to is Have You Ever Seen the Rain? (Wikipedia) by the band Creedence Clearwater Revival, written by the singer and guitarist John Fogerty. According to Wikipedia, the ...
Magnilex's user avatar
  • 1,163
7 votes
Accepted

What's the name of this french song by Dalida?

The English version of this song is best known as "Those Were the Days." It was a huge hit in 1968 for Mary Hopkins. The French version is called "Le Temps des Fleurs," ("...
Chris Sunami's user avatar
  • 15.4k
7 votes

What is the exact meaning of the song "Hotel California" & its album cover image?

Like a lot of great songs, which stick in people's heads, it was written to suggest a lot of things, rather than have a specific meaning. The public statements by various band members about the song ...
Angst's user avatar
  • 4,242
7 votes
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Deuce - The One, homophobic?

I think you have it exactly backwards. I think the song is about a person who is on the receiving of homophobia. The song seems to be about a homosexual/bisexual male who is upset that he is not ...
cat40's user avatar
  • 789
7 votes

Meaning of "Blowing in the Wind"?

I think the interpretation of these lyrics is still somewhat open and that's partly why people like this song so much. I think they can be taken in the context of the time period, the 60s. Using this ...
jomki's user avatar
  • 429
7 votes
Accepted

Get Up, Stand Up: Almighty God is a living man

I think you're right; it's almost certainly a reference to Haile Selassie. Here we see that Marley once said in an interview: I would say to the people, Be still, and know that His Imperial Majesty, ...
Richard is stepping down's user avatar
6 votes
Accepted

What is the significance behind so many uses of the word "murder" in old school reggae lyrics?

Murder means "serious business". A reggae performer of that era once explained it like that in a radio interview on a London radio station back then. So not literally murder, but a colourful word for "...
Angst's user avatar
  • 4,242
6 votes
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What does "Fortune fame mirror vain" mean in Metallica's The Memory Remains?

Sachi speculates: The first two lines probably go together in a sentence as “Fortune, fame mirror vain” and can translate to “both fortune and fame mirror what is vain.” So this basically says ...
BCdotWEB's user avatar
  • 2,854
6 votes

What is Robyn singing in the music video for Royksopp's Monument?

According to YouTube user "Rob RIN" in his comment here, the lyrics are as follows, with the inaudible in parentheses: Make a space, (please let us love) For my body, (so that I have enough)...
Leates's user avatar
  • 146
6 votes
Accepted

What is the source of the "That boy needs therapy" song from Frontier Psychiatrist?

It's from the comedy sketch “Frontier Psychiatrist” by Johnny Wayne and Frank Shuster. Source And the mp3
jaycer's user avatar
  • 226

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