The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
Oh, when it all (yeah)
It all falls down (this the real one, baby)
I'm tellin' you all (uh)
It all falls down (Chi-Town, stand up)
Oh, when it all (Southside, Southside)
It all falls down (we gon' set this party off right)
I'm tellin' you all (Westside, Westside)
It all falls down, oh, when it all (we gon' set this party off right)
Man, I promise, she's so self-conscious
She has no idea what she doin' in college
That major that she majored in don't make no money
But she won't drop out, her parents'll look at her funny
Now, tell me that ain't insecurr
The concept of school seems so securr
Sophomore, three yurrs, ain't picked a carurr
She like, "Fuck it, I'll just stay down hurr and do hair"
'Cause that's enough money to buy her a few pairs
Of new Airs, 'cause her baby daddy don't really care
She's so precious with the peer pressure
Couldn't afford a car, so she named her daughter Alexis
She had hair so long that it looked like weave
Then she cut it all off, now she look like Eve
And she be dealin' with some issues that you can't believe
Single black female addicted to retail, and well
Oh, when it all, it all falls down (uh)
And when it falls down, who you gon' call now?
I'm tellin' you all (c'mon, c'mon)
It all falls down
And when it falls down, oh, when it all (and when it all falls down)
Man, I promise, I'm so self-conscious
That's why you always see me with at least one of my watches
Rollies and Pashas done drove me crazy
I can't even pronounce nothin', pass that Ver-say-see
Then I spent four hundred bucks on this
Just to be like, "Nigga, you ain't up on this"
And I can't even go to the grocery store
Without some Ones that's clean and a shirt with a team
It seem we livin' the American Dream
But the people highest up got the lowest self-esteem
The prettiest people do the ugliest things
For the road to riches and diamond rings
We shine because they hate us, floss 'cause they degrade us
We tryna buy back our 40 acres
And for that paper, look how low we'll stoop
Even if you in a Benz, you still a nigga in a coupe
Oh, when it all (c'mon, c'mon)
It all falls down (and when it falls down, who you gon' call now?)
I'm tellin' you all (come on, come on)
It all falls down, oh, when it all (and when it all falls down)
I say, "Fuck the police," that's how I treat 'em
We buy our way out of jail, but we can't buy freedom
We'll buy a lot of clothes, but we don't really need 'em
Things we buy to cover up what's inside
'Cause they made us hate ourself and love they wealth
That's why shorty's hollerin', "Where the ballers at?"
Drug dealer buy Jordan, crackhead buy crack
And the white man get paid off of all of that
But I ain't even gon' act holier than thou
'Cause fuck it, I went to Jacob with twenty-five thou
Before I had a house and I'd do it again
'Cause I wanna be on 106 & Park, pushin' a Benz
I want to act ballerific like it's all terrific
I got a couple past-due bills, I won't get specific
I got a problem with spendin' before I get it
We all self-conscious, I'm just the first to admit it
Oh, when it all (yeah, c'mon, c'mon)
It all falls down (and when it falls down, who you gon' call now?)
I'm tellin' you all (c'mon, c'mon)
It all falls down (and when it falls down)
Oh, when it all (Southside, Southside)
It all falls down (we gon' set this party off right)
I'm tellin' you all (Westside, Westside)
It all falls down (we gon' set this party off right)
Oh, when it all (Chi-Town, Chi-Town)
It all falls down (We gon' show 'em how we get down)
I'm tellin' you all (Now, Syleena, you just like a safe belt)
It all falls down (you saved my life, c'mon)
Oh, when it all, it all falls down
I'm tellin' you all, it all falls down
I's can't keep workin' like this
This grave shift is like a slave ship
It all falls down (this the real one, baby)
I'm tellin' you all (uh)
It all falls down (Chi-Town, stand up)
Oh, when it all (Southside, Southside)
It all falls down (we gon' set this party off right)
I'm tellin' you all (Westside, Westside)
It all falls down, oh, when it all (we gon' set this party off right)
Man, I promise, she's so self-conscious
She has no idea what she doin' in college
That major that she majored in don't make no money
But she won't drop out, her parents'll look at her funny
Now, tell me that ain't insecurr
The concept of school seems so securr
Sophomore, three yurrs, ain't picked a carurr
She like, "Fuck it, I'll just stay down hurr and do hair"
'Cause that's enough money to buy her a few pairs
Of new Airs, 'cause her baby daddy don't really care
She's so precious with the peer pressure
Couldn't afford a car, so she named her daughter Alexis
She had hair so long that it looked like weave
Then she cut it all off, now she look like Eve
And she be dealin' with some issues that you can't believe
Single black female addicted to retail, and well
Oh, when it all, it all falls down (uh)
And when it falls down, who you gon' call now?
I'm tellin' you all (c'mon, c'mon)
It all falls down
And when it falls down, oh, when it all (and when it all falls down)
Man, I promise, I'm so self-conscious
That's why you always see me with at least one of my watches
Rollies and Pashas done drove me crazy
I can't even pronounce nothin', pass that Ver-say-see
Then I spent four hundred bucks on this
Just to be like, "Nigga, you ain't up on this"
And I can't even go to the grocery store
Without some Ones that's clean and a shirt with a team
It seem we livin' the American Dream
But the people highest up got the lowest self-esteem
The prettiest people do the ugliest things
For the road to riches and diamond rings
We shine because they hate us, floss 'cause they degrade us
We tryna buy back our 40 acres
And for that paper, look how low we'll stoop
Even if you in a Benz, you still a nigga in a coupe
Oh, when it all (c'mon, c'mon)
It all falls down (and when it falls down, who you gon' call now?)
I'm tellin' you all (come on, come on)
It all falls down, oh, when it all (and when it all falls down)
I say, "Fuck the police," that's how I treat 'em
We buy our way out of jail, but we can't buy freedom
We'll buy a lot of clothes, but we don't really need 'em
Things we buy to cover up what's inside
'Cause they made us hate ourself and love they wealth
That's why shorty's hollerin', "Where the ballers at?"
Drug dealer buy Jordan, crackhead buy crack
And the white man get paid off of all of that
But I ain't even gon' act holier than thou
'Cause fuck it, I went to Jacob with twenty-five thou
Before I had a house and I'd do it again
'Cause I wanna be on 106 & Park, pushin' a Benz
I want to act ballerific like it's all terrific
I got a couple past-due bills, I won't get specific
I got a problem with spendin' before I get it
We all self-conscious, I'm just the first to admit it
Oh, when it all (yeah, c'mon, c'mon)
It all falls down (and when it falls down, who you gon' call now?)
I'm tellin' you all (c'mon, c'mon)
It all falls down (and when it falls down)
Oh, when it all (Southside, Southside)
It all falls down (we gon' set this party off right)
I'm tellin' you all (Westside, Westside)
It all falls down (we gon' set this party off right)
Oh, when it all (Chi-Town, Chi-Town)
It all falls down (We gon' show 'em how we get down)
I'm tellin' you all (Now, Syleena, you just like a safe belt)
It all falls down (you saved my life, c'mon)
Oh, when it all, it all falls down
I'm tellin' you all, it all falls down
I's can't keep workin' like this
This grave shift is like a slave ship
Lyrics submitted by thewhitepony33
All Falls Down Lyrics as written by Kanye West Lauryn Hill
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
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Plastic Bag
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“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
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In my opinion Kanye's "hatred" of education goes not very far beyond his message of non-materialism. People go to college and get an education because they are rich and they do well in school. K. West is just saying that not all of lifes lessons are learned in the school. School teaches us from the books, while our parents, and families teach us the real life lessons. In West's opinion school is another one of those things that are the norms in society. You go to college once you are done with your regular schooling, and if you don't you are frowned upon, as being a rebel. Instead of worrying what everyone else thinks West preaches a different method. He frowns upon doing things just because everyone else does, buying a lot of clothes, and getting good cars. But she won't drop out, her parents will look at her funny, he also frowns upon the act of going to school because it is what is accepted. I don't think he necessarily hates schooling, he just wants people to do it for the right reasons, not just to fit in.
Thank you for reading this and feel free to agree or disagree it's why I write these things.
I love this song. "The concept of school seems so secure Sophmore three years aint picked a career"
Thats totally me, I plan to stay in school as long as i can. Get my master's then... it'll be scary as hell
"We shine because they hate us, floss cause they degrade us We trying to buy back our 40 acres"
Its obviously that Kanye is a young, intelligent hip-hop artist. This song is all about the reasons for the current hip-hop culture. This line makes reference to when the slaves were freed and promised 40 acres to start a life with. But they were taken advantage of and most ended up selling the land for much less than it was worth.
'the prettiest people do the ugliest things'
fuckin AMEN
Yeah, there's a lot of stuff i'm sure a lot of people relate to in this song. I'm sure there'll soon be loads of comments on The College Dropout.
i'm not the biggest fan of current hip-hop, but kanye west really stands out to me, in a good way. this song, like many of his others, is incredibly intelligent. he has an awesome way of exposing how woman, man, and society makes up for their personal "insecurrities" so blindly with material possessions, without thinking of the consequences...and does so without being incredibly preachy, because he realizes it's a way of getting by, but also a sort of disease. he gets his point across very well.
The best lyrics I have heard in awhile in hip hop. Awesome song
i honestly don't like rnb/rap...it never really appealed to me...this song does...finally someone is being real...telling it how it is...why we buy things like that...why we try to be "cool" why the goal is material instead of spiritual, emotional or anything like that....this song is good...he's being a young responsible intelligent black man...setting a standard... out J.Venrick
Man I promise, I'm so self conscious That's why you always see me with at least one of my watches Rollies and Pasha's done drove me crazy I can't even pronounce nothing, pass that Versace Then I spent 400 bucks on this Just to be like nigga you ain't up on this
This I can relate too..... and most others as well. For some reason we all believe we should be living the american dream. So many times in my life I said the same........ Cause fuck it, I went to Jacob with 25 thou Before I had a house and I'd do it again.
I'm so self concious-The Real
maybe Bill O'Reilly (anti-hiphop pundit who has a show on fox news) should read the lyrics to this song and realize that the white dominated American culture produced and supports the shallow, greedy, and materialistic nature that is pervasive in hiphop culture. kanye is saying that much of the materialism in hiphop is a direct response toward the past domination of blacks in America by whites.