Janelle Mone – Cold War

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Send "Cold War" Ringtone to Cell

So you think I'm alone
But being alone the only way to be
But when you step outside
You spend life fighting for your sanity

This is a cold war
you better know what your fighting for
This is a cold war
Do you know what your fighting for

If you wanna be free
Below the ground's the only place to be
Cause in this life
You spend time fighting of the gravity

This is cold War
You better know what your fighting for [x2]
This is the Cold War
Do you know what your fighting for

Bring wings to weak and
Bring grace to the strong
Let all legal crumbles to flies of the world

I'm trying to find my peace
I was made to believe there's something wrong with me
And it hurt my heart
Lord have mercy ain't it plain to see

This is the cold war
Do you know what your fighting for
This is the cold war
You better know what your fighting for

Send "Cold War" Ringtone to Cell


Lyrics submitted by dejavula


Cold War song meanings
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12 Comments

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  • +6
    General Comment:as ShoshiRosie said- it is definitely about being a minority. monae says in an interview: "Heavily inspired by Fritz Lang’s 1927 German expressionist film Metropolis, which used an urban dystopia to berate capitalism, she too has invented a not-too-distant future in order to comment on the confines within she is expected to perform and present herself as a black female artist. “As an African-American woman, as an immigrant, wherever I am, I’m always the minority,” she explains. “So I came up with the concept of the android as the ‘other’ in society. I’ve been studying the theory of technological singularity, which predicts that as advances in technology become faster, there will come a point when robots will be able to map out the brainpower of humans and recreate our emotions. I’m posing the question – how are we going to live with the ‘other’? Are we going to treat them inhumanely, teach our children to fear them?”"
    Flag killstaron July 19, 2011   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:Her style is so unique, yet so malleable. The ArchAndroid in its entirety is absolutely amazing. My a cappella group (The Penny Loafers) actually did a cover of this. Feel free to check it out! youtube.com/…
    Flag gbonnem77on July 06, 2011   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:its basically someone coming to the terms that she is a proper individual, and that she fears it
    Flag Baphomet-Lordon May 05, 2011   Link
  • +4
    General Comment:I think this song speaks to the experience of being an outsider, especially being part of a minority group. The lines "When you step outside/You spend life fighting for your sanity" and "If you wanna be free/Below the ground's the only place to be" speaks to trying to live your life as who you are, as a kind of resistance. I think cold war is a metaphor for the subtlety and pervasiveness of the messages and power structures that tell groups of people that there is something wrong with them. The cold war was long and unique in that there was not a lot of direct conflict between the two main antagonists. It was mostly carried out through covert means which is a great metaphor for the class/culture/race conflicts that happen in this country. They are not always obvious but they are devastatingly painful for the people who live with the brunt of it, as Monae's music video heartbreakingly portrays.

    It's an amazing song. Simple, catchy and powerful. Lady Gaga could learn a thing or two from Janelle Monae.
    Flag ShoshiRosieon February 15, 2011   Link
    • 2 Replies
  • 0
    General Comment:This is about tryna go off the prescription mood-controlling drugs that passive-aggressive inbreds reinforce on less inbred people because we must all pretend to be overmedicated and are really really fat 'cause of all the prescription meds erreybody takes but don talk about. I may come back another night when I have more time, to clarify myself. I think I'm deaging a lil.
    Flagged Foggypebble2on February 13, 2011   Link
  • +3
    General Comment:i fully agree to all the interpretations! just wanted to add, that to really understand how intense this song is you must watch the video. it was taken in one shot and it's perfect! at the line 'i was made to believe there's something wrong with me..' she gets overwhelmed by her emotions and starts crying but they keep on shooting the video. it's such a strong and great song and she is a unique artist!
    Flag barbelieon December 01, 2010   Link
  • +3
    General Comment:IMO, "Cold War" is a message to the audience she addresses in "Dance or Die."

    In "DoD," she sends the message to stand and speak up for oneself, instead of becoming a "zombie." In "CW," she warns the same people to "know what you're fighting for" and have a clear destination and purpose, instead of arguing for the sake of arguing, just like America & Russia in the Cold War.

    Great song, & lots of emotion in her voice.
    Flag tyakon October 20, 2010   Link
  • +3
    Lyric Correction:So you think I'm alone?
    But being alone's the only way to be
    When you step outside
    You spend life fighting for your sanity!

    If you wanna be free
    Below the ground's the only place to be
    Cause in this life
    You spend time running from depravity

    Bring wings to weak and
    Bring grace to the strong
    May all evil stumble as it flies in the world
    All the tribes come & the mighty will crumble
    We must brave this night & have faith in love

    I'm trying to find my peace
    I was made to believe there's something wrong with me
    And it hurt my heart
    Lord have mercy ain't it plain to see
    Flag baumsqgodon October 10, 2010   Link
  • +3
    Lyric Correction:Love this song...

    but in the lyrics here, all the "what your fighting for" lines need to be changed to "what you're fighting for"
    Flag rjdon September 28, 2010   Link
  • +7
    General Comment:I think the "cold War" that she's singing of is with society and all it's facets. The media is filled with bullshit designed to inhibit our creativity and keep us asleep while hypnotizing us to reject real artistry....The robotic persona comes from what the industry and the mainstream expect of her. It's expected that as an "artist (robot)" you conform to what's been programed and if you question or rebel against that, you're immediately labeled as strange or dis-functional. Miss Monae is one of the few real artist who clearly understands what side of the war she's fighting for.
    Flag DeeG33zyon August 10, 2010   Link

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