Lyrics for The Message as interpreted by H-bomb

The Message Lyrics
It's like a jungle sometimes
It makes me wonder how I keep from goin' under

Broken glass everywhere
People pissin' on the stairs, you know they just don't care
I can't take the smell, can't take the noise
Got no money to move out, I guess I got no choice
Rats in the front room, roaches in the back
Junkies in the alley with a baseball bat
I tried to get away but I couldn't get far
Cause a man with a tow truck repossessed my car

[Chorus]
Don't push me cause I'm close to the edge
I'm trying not to lose my head
It's like a jungle sometimes
It makes me wonder how I keep from goin' under

Standin' on the front stoop hangin' out the window
Watchin' all the cars go by, roarin' as the breezes blow
Crazy lady, livin' in a bag
Eatin' outta garbage pails, used to be a fag hag
Said she'll dance the tango, skip the light fandango
A Zircon princess seemed to lost her senses
Down at the peep show watchin' all the creeps
So she can tell her stories to the girls back home
She went to the city and got so so seditty
She had to get a pimp, she couldn't make it on her own

[Chorus]

It's like a jungle sometimes
It makes me wonder how I keep from goin' under

My brother's doin' bad, stole my mother's TV
Says she watches too much, it's just not healthy
All My Children in the daytime, Dallas at night
Can't even see the game or the Sugar Ray fight
The bill collectors, they ring my phone
And scare my wife when I'm not home
Got a bum education, double-digit inflation
Can't take the train to the job, there's a strike at the station
Neon King Kong standin' on my back
Can't stop to turn around, broke my sacroiliac
A mid-range migraine, cancered membrane
Sometimes I think I'm goin' insane
I swear I might hijack a plane!

[Chorus]

It's like a jungle sometimes
It makes me wonder how I keep from goin' under

A child is born with no state of mind
Blind to the ways of mankind
God is smilin' on you but he's frownin' too
Because only God knows what you'll go through
You'll grow in the ghetto livin' second-rate
And your eyes will sing a song called deep hate
The places you play and where you stay
Looks like one great big alleyway
You'll admire all the number-book takers
Thugs, pimps and pushers and the big money-makers
Drivin' big cars, spendin' twenties and tens
And you'll wanna grow up to be just like them, huh
Smugglers, scramblers, burglars, gamblers
Pickpocket peddlers, even panhandlers
You say I'm cool, huh, I'm no fool
But then you wind up droppin' outta high school
Now you're unemployed, all non-void
Walkin' round like you're Pretty Boy Floyd
Turned stick-up kid, but look what you done did
Got sent up for a eight-year bid
Now your manhood is took and you're a Maytag
Spend the next two years as a undercover fag
Bein' used and abused to serve like hell
Til one day, you was found hung dead in the cell
It was plain to see that your life was lost
You was cold and your body swung back and forth
But now your eyes sing the sad, sad song
Of how you lived so fast and died so young so

[Chorus]

It's like a jungle sometimes
It makes me wonder how I keep from goin' under
---
"The Message" as written by Martin/shapiro/nesler
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., EMI Music Publishing
Lyrics powerd by LyricFind



Add to Mixtape  (view all)





Mixtapes You May Like
Grey Matter
Grey Matter
View All Mixtapes

  • Lyric Tags
Earn points by tagging lyrics!


  • 20 Comments
  • Printer Friendly Lyrics
oldest first     Expand All
toxicgeek
04-29-2002

 Rated  0 
the greatest rap song of all time bar none.

Log in to reply
KetchupMan36
05-06-2002

 Rated  0 
one of the few rap songs I like, and possibly the best rap song of all time. excellent.

Log in to reply
maryyy
08-15-2002

 Rated  0 
woo hoo! yay for grandmaster flash..

Log in to reply
CPFitz14
06-18-2003

 Rated  0 
any other artists that are similar to Grandmaster?

Log in to reply
buckeyeandrew
11-17-2004

 Rated  0 
the breaks by kurtis flow has the same sort of vibe

Log in to reply
JoE][BoXeR
12-18-2004

 Rated  0 
CpFitz, listen to Black Star, their a great hip/hop rap group, Tupac also has a pretty good amount of similiar songs, all great.

Log in to reply
insignificant2all_5
12-21-2004

 Rated  0 
Probably a hip hop anthem for every person in the ghetto's of New York and Los Angeles. Grandmaster Flash is one of the original masters of Hip Hop, a great beat maker and an awesome MC.

For me, this song tells of how people so easily turn into "pimps, pushers, smugglers and burglars" in places like the Bronx and Compton. When you have such a shitty neighbourhood to live in, with crime, rape, murder, prostitution, parents that don't care and a school system that's totally fucked, it can be all too simple to lose your way. This follows the life of one person for the second half of the rhyme and tells of his fast life as a pimp/pusher/scrambler right up to his death in prison after leading a terrible life of unhappiness.

Log in to reply
CEREAL
02-17-2006

 Rated  0 
Grandmaster Flash is the godfather of DJing. maybe francis grasso too. I haven't heard a truly original hip hop record since 2pac died, but I think I would have to agree this is the greatest hiphop record ever.

The music is simple yet effective, the rap skillfully depicts the hopelessness of life in a poor urban area. No escape you can see,people preying on each other. The explanation of why people turn to crime, but condemnation of this at the same time is the crowning moment though. Still as relevant today as it was back then, if not more so, this is Hip hop as it should be, a scathing political and social commentary with something to say and a story to tell. The rubbish about bitches and crews made for the pop charts, middle class white girls and rammed down our throats has nothing on this. A true classic.

Log in to reply
paul_f
08-30-2006

 Rated  0 
Sorry insignificant2all_5 but Flash isn't/wasn't an MC - he is a DJ. The Message features just 2 MCs - The Furious Five's Melle Mel and a session percussionist known as Duke Bootee.

Log in to reply
kickstart71
04-16-2007

 Rated  0 
Great song. I remember back in the day, this song wound up on a K-Tel compilation record (anyone remember THOSE?), and it was the first time a heard a rap song, or anything like it, really. I can't believe how few posts there are on this song. Anyone else surprised these guys just ogt indiucted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame?! Pretty much based on this song. That's how cool it is. Although, quite a few messed-up lyrics above.

Log in to reply
Bluewaves
05-08-2007

 Rated  0 
I hate most rap, but I love Grandmaster Flash. This song is intelligent (something most gangsta rap is definitely not). It does not glorify or revel in the violence and squalor of inner-city gang life. It depicts it for what it is -- sad and unbearable -- and something to try to get OUT of, if only there was a way. Somewhere along the way after this, rap seriously lost its way. Now you just have a bunch of total morons bragging about their bling and ho's.

Log in to reply
Lakeman
11-10-2007

 Rated  0 
what a song...

Log in to reply
trivium_crusader666
02-29-2008

 Rated  0 
My favorite song hands down.

Log in to reply
drpoundsign
03-30-2008

 Rated  0 
An uptempo version of Marvin Gaye's inner city blues, n'est ce pas? Really a condemnation of Reaganism and Capitalism more than racism.

Fascinating bit of trivia..They did a show on C-Span a couple years ago about politics in music Bob Dylan to M &M or something like that. Featured THIS song and also "Play dat funky music" by wild cherry to spice up a nerdy politician (maybe Al Gore's) campaign?

Flash is a Genius

Log in to reply
andher
09-16-2009

 Rated  0 
"so so so ditty" >> social security

i think this song illustrates the warped perception one has when being raised within the ghetto environment, and the mindset that opportunity just isn't there. it's much less available than it is to the middle class, certainly, but it is possible to escape. the ghetto's greatest detriment is its effect on one's identity, with so little exposure to "positive" influences. so, on its surface, the song is about being overwhelmed by negativity. but, taking it further, that negativity has a profound effect on self perception, and will breed ignorance of potential.

of course, this all stems from my limited understanding of the American ghetto and i'm not giving it as dogma. i might even be stating the obvious, idk

Log in to reply
General Comment
Israffel
12-20-2009

 Rated  0 
One of the greatest rap songs EVER, if not the greatest EVER (fans of Public Enemy, KRS-One, A Tribe Called Quest, Beastie Boys, Tupac, so sue me), essentially redefining funk for a new era. Also vibrant as social commentary on life on the ghetto - the hardship, the unfairness, the lows. As a description of ghetto life, probably unsurpassed.

Log in to reply
General Comment
Inahzi13
10-30-2010

 Rated  0 
Pure Genius . It's a damn shame we have to search for stuff as good as this now.

Log in to reply
General Comment
ifailatliving
04-07-2011

 Rated  0 
this song has its moments but the lyrics basically suck. when it was played on democracy now today they had to skip the second verse and then fade out before playing any more of it. now i see why. good production though

Log in to reply
General Comment
Jake94
10-03-2011

 Rated  0 
all this song makes me think of now is penguins. lol

Log in to reply
General Comment
drpoundsign
01-24-2012

 Rated  0 
I DO like The Late Tupac, and Geto Boyz had at least THREE great songs! But THIS is the King of Old School.

"A Child is born with no state of mind blind to the ways of ManKind"

Best Line PURE Friggin GENIUS!! Interesting bit of trivia C Span had a lecture "From the Beetles (or Dylan?) to Eminim political lyrics" and they featured THIS song as a condemnation of Reaganomics (it came out in 84 on the cusp of his reelection. The song was so MUCH MORE than that..Great Stuff!)

Log in to reply
General Comment




  • Add Your Comments
What does this song mean to you?

You must be logged in to post your comments.

Feel free to create an account with us, or log in with your existing account, to start adding your comments to songs.







Your Ad Here