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.
I'm going to San Bernardino ring-a-ding-ding
Milkshake mixers, that's my thing, now
These guys bought a heap of my stuff
And I gotta see a good thing sure enough, now
Or my name's not Kroc, that's Kroc with a 'k'
Like 'crocodile' but not spelled that way, yeah
It's dog eat dog, rat eat rat
Kroc-style boom, like that
The folks line up all down the street
And I'm seeing this girl devour her meat, now
And then I get it, wham, as clear as day
My pulse begins to hammer and I hear a voice say
These boys have got this down
Oughtta be a one of these in every town
These boys have got the touch
It's clean as a whistle and it don't cost much
Wham, bam you don't wait long
Shake, fries, patty, you're gone
And how about that friendly name?
Heck, every little thing oughtta stay the same
Or my name's not Kroc, that's Kroc with a 'k'
Like 'crocodile' but not spelled that way, now
It's dog eat dog, rat eat rat (x3)
Kroc-style boom, like that
You gentlemen ought to expand
You're going to need a helping hand, now
So, gentlemen, well, what about me?
We'll make a little business history, now
Or my name's not Kroc. Call me Ray
Like 'crocodile' but not spelled that way, now
It's dog eat dog, rat eat rat
Kroc-style, boom, like that
Well, we build it up and I buy 'em out
But man, they made me grind it out, now
They open up a new place flipping meat
So I do too, right across the street
I got the name, I need the town
They sell up in the end and it all shuts down
Sometimes you gotta be an s.o.b.
You want to make a dream reality
Competition? Send 'em south
If they're gonna drown
Put a hose in their mouth
Do not pass 'Go', go straight to hell
I smell that meat hook smell
Or my name's not Kroc, that's Kroc with a 'k'
Like 'crocodile' but not spelled that way, now
It's dog eat dog, rat eat rat (x3)
Kroc-style boom, like that.
Milkshake mixers, that's my thing, now
These guys bought a heap of my stuff
And I gotta see a good thing sure enough, now
Or my name's not Kroc, that's Kroc with a 'k'
Like 'crocodile' but not spelled that way, yeah
It's dog eat dog, rat eat rat
Kroc-style boom, like that
The folks line up all down the street
And I'm seeing this girl devour her meat, now
And then I get it, wham, as clear as day
My pulse begins to hammer and I hear a voice say
These boys have got this down
Oughtta be a one of these in every town
These boys have got the touch
It's clean as a whistle and it don't cost much
Wham, bam you don't wait long
Shake, fries, patty, you're gone
And how about that friendly name?
Heck, every little thing oughtta stay the same
Or my name's not Kroc, that's Kroc with a 'k'
Like 'crocodile' but not spelled that way, now
It's dog eat dog, rat eat rat (x3)
Kroc-style boom, like that
You gentlemen ought to expand
You're going to need a helping hand, now
So, gentlemen, well, what about me?
We'll make a little business history, now
Or my name's not Kroc. Call me Ray
Like 'crocodile' but not spelled that way, now
It's dog eat dog, rat eat rat
Kroc-style, boom, like that
Well, we build it up and I buy 'em out
But man, they made me grind it out, now
They open up a new place flipping meat
So I do too, right across the street
I got the name, I need the town
They sell up in the end and it all shuts down
Sometimes you gotta be an s.o.b.
You want to make a dream reality
Competition? Send 'em south
If they're gonna drown
Put a hose in their mouth
Do not pass 'Go', go straight to hell
I smell that meat hook smell
Or my name's not Kroc, that's Kroc with a 'k'
Like 'crocodile' but not spelled that way, now
It's dog eat dog, rat eat rat (x3)
Kroc-style boom, like that.
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In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
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Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
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American Town
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Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
As a long time San Diegan, who grew up with the Kroc family in our society, I'd like to clear up a misconception. In some other song forums, it's misstated that Kroc brought McDonald's from America to Europe, while he might of also done that, he discovered the little hamburger stand while selling pre-made milkshake mix, convinced them to use their name, and Kroc went about destroying every mom and pop store in California 1st, then spreading outward. When someone in a town wouldn't sell, Kroc would build a store across the street, undersell them to bankruptcy, and in many cases, the family would chose suicide as their only way out of the debt, ( stick a hose in their mouth ) relates to a practice of people starting p their cars inside their garage, run a hose from the exhaust into the window, and suffocate, family would remove the hose before the insurance adjuster arrived, look like an accident, and the family could collect enough to get out of debt. Ray Kroc was a real sweetheart.
His second wife, Joan Kroc, however, was a truly decent human being who spent the bulk of her post Ray death time, donating huge amounts to charity, usually anonymously. She also started a great shelter for the homeless which gave them addresses and phone numbers, making it easier for them to seek jobs.
If ever there was a yin and a yang, it was the Krocs.
This song was the highlight of my seeing Mark live in Portland OR in 2005.
Chuckewe, thank you for the info. The song's great but it's so easy to see the story it tells and nothing more. I never knew about Joan. And thanks to you I;m better for knowing now. Many thanks.<br /> <br /> And yes. The song's great. Knowing more about it makes it even better. Thanks again.
"dog eat dog, rat eat rat" is a quote from Kroc taken from his autobiography ("Grinding It Out"), which Knopfler seems to have read, as he takes a significant portion of the lyrics from there. The "put a hose in their mouth" is another Kroc quote, among several others.
Uh..... You couldn't be more wrong Chuckewe, about pretty much all of what you said.
After the McDonald brothers refused to sell Kroc their very first store — the Big M — Kroc opened up a McDonald’s right across the street and drove them out of business. “If any of my competitors were drowning, I'd stick a hose in their mouth and turn on the water,” he said. “It is ridiculous to call this an industry. This is not. This is rat eat rat, dog eat dog. I'll kill 'em, and I'm going to kill 'em before they kill me. You're talking about the American way — of survival of the fittest.”
And about Ray Krocs wife.. Joan Kroc was a B*tch!
When Ozzie Smith was upset about not getting paid more $$$ when his contract was renewed by the San Diego Padres (owned by Ray & Joan Kroc) he put an ad in the SD Tribune that said "Major leage baseball player looking for part time work to supplement income". Joan Krocs response was to publicly offer him a job as a assitant gardener on their estate.
You say Chuckewe is wrong about pretty much everything.<br /> But the story you share about Kroc and the McDonald Bros and Chuckewe's version are not at all inconsistent w/ ea other. What is it that you think Chuckewe has wrong about that part of the tale?
I really enjoy this song, primarily for the music. Mark Knopfler is absolutely phenomenal, love singing along to this song.
I don't really have anything to add about the lyrics, everything's already been pretty neatly covered. I do quite enjoy them as well, though, Mark's voice is great.
Listened to this song a bunch of times, while fixing up a ratty apartment, humming along, singing along with a few phrases, but never paid close attention to the lyrics. One night I tapped the "lyrics" icon and was amazed when it dawned on me, finally, that it was the McDonald's story. Mark Knopfler astounds me with his musicality blended with his literacy. And his voice with that throwaway casual style like he doesn't care if you "get it" or not. What a talent! It's always rewarding to "listen hard" to Mark Knopfler.
@mrainer Ahhh...the memories of hearing Dire Straits for the first time with their amazing hit "Sultans of Swing". OMG...it was one of the coolest songs in years!! Then he did the instrumentals for Local Hero (Mark is my hero)...and then the unforgettable music for Princess Bride. I finally had to come to this site to figure out what "Boom Like That" was about...now I know....ring a ding ding!!
this song kicks major ass mark knopfler is a legend and this son is about ray kroc the guy who brought mcdonalds across america the solos in this song are fucking amazing.
that's quite the vocabulary, there, cowboy.
does anyone know what the "Dog Eat Dog, Rat eat rat"-part means?
"if its a dog eat dog world, then why am I always wearing Milk Bone underwear?"<br /> <br /> Norm from Cheers
I think he's saying as Ray Kroc that sometimes the world ins't just dog-eat-dog. The business world is rat-eat-rat. It's worse and he conquered it. Cool!
"<b>It's a dog-eat-dog world</b>" is an old cliché that hard-nosed (or some other body-part) business types often use to rationalize being assholes -- lying, cheating, stealing, etcetc; anything they've chosen to do to attain financial success by doing anything of less-than-Christian ethics.<br /> "Rat-eat-rat" takes it to another level.<br /> The fact that the subject of the song is the making of a financial empire by selling first America, then the world, on burgers -- burgers ostensibly made of cow-meat, but, hey, you do what you gotta do to get by, right? -- is no doubt purely coincidental, and should in no way be taken to suggest that the burgers sold at McD's, or anywhere else, are ever made of dog-meat, rat-meat, cat-meat, or anything else less than perfectly salubrious.<br /> Honestly.
Dictionary says that dog-eat-dog means "characterized by ruthless or savage competition." Ray Kroc was a dog-eat-dog businessman. Usually the prase is used in the sentence "it's a dog-eat-dog world."
Great song by knofler. best on tha shang-ru
"5:15am" is the best song on Shangri-La, without a doubt. I think Our Shangri-La is it's nearest rival. Though" Boom, like that" is a brilliant song about a ruthless businessman, though with this album, containing so many great songs, not everyone is going to agree on which is the best. Mark Knopfler is definitely one of the finest musicians and lyricist around and this is probably his best album
Basically about how Ray Kroc buying the McDonald's franchise from the McDonald brothers and expanding it. Although, you've gotta be stubborn like Kroc to succeed. Great song.