Crack that whip
Give the past the slip
Step on a crack
Break your momma's back

When a problem comes along you must whip it
Before the cream sits out too long you must whip it
When something's going wrong you must whip it

Now whip it into shape
Shape it up
Get straight
Go forward
Move ahead
Try to detect it
It's not too late to whip it
Whip it good

When a good time turns around you must whip it
You will never live it down unless you whip it
No one gets their way until they whip it
I say whip it whip it good
I say whip it whip it good

Crack that whip
Give the past the slip
Step on a crack
Break your momma's back

When a problem comes along you must whip it
Before the cream sits out too long you must whip it
When something's going wrong you must whip it

Now whip it into shape
Shape it up
Get straight
Go forward
Move ahead
Try to detect it
It's not too late to whip it into shape
Shape it up
Get straight
Go forward
Move ahead
Try to detect it
It's not too late to whip it
Whip it good



Lyrics submitted by magicnudiesuit

Track duration: 02:38

"Whip It" as written by Gerald V Casale, Mark Allen Mothersbaugh

Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing

Lyrics powered by LyricFind


Whip It song meanings
Add your thoughts

45 Comments

sort form View by:
  • 0
    Song Meaning:Some people have touched on the meaning but don't seem to understand metaphors. It is simply about getting off your arse, stop putting things off and start doing things. How often do you hear someone say "Well I better get cracking." That's what "crack that whip means". No more talk, no more procrastination... just do it.

    Before the cream sits out too long is a metaphor for waiting too long to do something. You keep waiting and waiting for the motivation and you wait too long and miss the moment, or the thing you should have done no longer matters and you just sat on your arse doing nothing.

    There's no masturbation, no bondage, no S&M.

    Oh by the way, they weren't flower pots on their heads, they were energy domes.
    Flag Forrykookon May 30, 2012   Link
  • -1
    General Comment:If I'm not mistaken, I first saw the music video for this song in the fall of my freshman year in college. The guys with their red cone heads were so odd, but so addictive. The song's about getting your life in shape...cracking the whip and taking advantage of every opportunity. And if anyone says it's about sex I am going to find him/her and slap 'em :)
    Flag SweetCheeks2on February 26, 2012   Link
  • -1
    Song Meaning:It's about doing whip its of course! Can't believe no one mentioned that angle yet. You load the whip it cartridge into the cracker (with balloon attached) and "Crack that whip" ...

    "Before the cream sits out too long" - Whipped cream in an aerosol can uses nitrous oxide as a propellant. Huffing these cans can also be considered doing "whip its"

    I don't have it all figured out, but there's a start ;)
    Flag perceptioniston February 07, 2012   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:"The lyrics were written by me as an imitation of Thomas Pynchon's parodies in his book Gravity's Rainbow. He had parodied limericks and poems of kind of all-American, obsessive, cult of personality ideas like Horatio Alger and 'You're #1, there's nobody else like you' kind of poems that were very funny and very clever. I thought, 'I'd like to do one like Thomas Pynchon,' so I wrote down 'Whip It' one night." --Jerry Casale
    Flag JohnnyLurgon April 11, 2011   Link
  • -1
    Song Meaning:Your all a bunch of morons! The songs all about doing WhipIts using the WhipIts whip cream dispenser. Google whip its, figure it out, duh!
    Flag rodddddon December 21, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I always thought this song was about corporal punishment until I read the band member's statements about the origins on SongFacts.
    Flag TdyYrLoveon October 18, 2009   Link
  • -3
    General Comment:the best part of the video for this song is the retarded Asian girl.. god what were these people thinking when they made this song...
    still awesome though, it wouldn't surprise if it was about jacking off either. lol
    Flag *sway*on October 05, 2008   Link
  • +2
    General Comment:I think PursuitofLife's post comes closest to my opinion on what this song is about. Devo - which is short for DE-EVolution - believed that humanity had stopped evolving and had starter de-volving. This was reflected in a lot of their songs at the time - "Freedom of choice; is what you got. Freedom FROM choice; is what you want." They made a lot of comments about society and the herd mentality.
    If you read the song lyrics and didn't see the video then I think it would be a bit of a big leap to conclude that this song was about masturbation and/or S&M. And the reasons for the video theme are documented elsewhere.
    With Whip-It I think Devo are having a playful, ironic stab at the whole American self improvement mindset in which people read books and go to seminars etc. in an attempt to be different, to stand out, to be successful. But in the end this just produces a herd of sheep all following an Anthony Robbins type Guru who's the only one of them who is actually original and successful! All the 'followers' – following the Guru’s mantras like “shape it up, get it straight, move forward” are just sheep. See what I mean? And that's why PursuitofLife is right I think; if you don't think about Devo’s songs you miss the point and don't see the underlying ironic humour.
    As for some of the other posts, I was around when Devo first started out and they were unbelievable at the time; they truly were unique and original. They were helping music – and therefore humanity – to evolve! They inspired a whole bunch of people in music and other fields. People today don't realise that in those days hardly any songs had video-clips and those that did usually had pretty lame ones. Devo were one of the bands who lead the way towards the MTV generation; the irony of the whole is delicious!
    Flag FillsHerTeaseon August 07, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Hey, Forget rick roll devo roll someone!!!!
    Flag KentuckyJoneson July 15, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This song has nothing to do with Pete & Pete,this song was made a decade before Pete & Pete
    Flag Boonechic_21on June 06, 2008   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

Back to top
explain