Go (With Footnotes)

Here is the second in my series of lyrical examinations of the songs of my debut mixtape, "Core Nerd!"

As I say in the song Liquid Thunder, "My rhymes are so dense you're gonna need footnotes."  Here they are...

This time, for the song "Go."

The origin of the song are in two other songs.  The first was the one that is now "Liquid Thunder."  There is a line in that song where thunder goes "boom boom boom," and I really liked that line and thought it would be good to rhyme again.  That line became the first line of the song.  The concept also was influenced by a song from the band I used to be in "Cap City Mob," which had a couple of lines in that repeated the same word at the end of the line and I really liked that part of it and though there should be a song with more of that.  So between those ideas, I though, what if I did a song that had a repetitive word at the end of each line, with rhymes and as a poetic trick, I would use that as the through-line of the song and not have a chorus.

The theme was pretty straight forward, I wanted a song where it was just about partying and having fun.  I had written mostly political songs to that point and I wanted to show that I wasn't always serious. My other songs were almost all Chuck D and I wanted a little Flavor Flav.

I walk in the room, go boom boom boom

The aforementioned reference to "Liquid Thunder" and the establishment of the premise that the partying is about to begin.

Jump in my car, go zoom zoom zoom

What else would a car do?  A specific reference to the massive Mazda "zoom zoom zoom" ad campaign.

Call you on the phone say yo yo yo

I get to your house time to go go go

Time to hit the party say yes yes yes

Are we ever gonna sleep say no no no

No real direct references in these lines, but the idea was to contrast the "yes" and "no" here.

Looking at your face, say what what what

Kiss you on the lips, smack your butt butt butt

At this point in my writing career, I had almost no sexual references in my songs, so I decided to add one here.

Hand me my drink time to say say say

Reference to the old Michael Jackson/Paul McCartney song "Say Say Say."  The idea was starting to be that I wanted to reference any thrice repeated one syllable pop culture reference, as long as it wasn't something I hated.  I liked Jackson and McCartney.

No time to work, time to play play play

Don't wanna play golf, no putt putt putt

As teenagers, we always ended up drinking and going to play Putt Putt golf.  To contrast that, since this is an adult song, so no more of that kind of entertainment.

Feel like I gotta bust a nut nut nut

Feel like Santa yelling ho ho ho

I couldn't think of two more disparate lines to follow each other.  I laughed out loud when I came up with this.  The Santa line makes no sense.

Just got paid, spending dough dough dough

References to two other popular party songs, "Just Got Paid," by Johnny Kemp, and a vague reference to "I Got a Feeling," by Black Eyed Peas.

It's after 10 o'clock, hit the club club club

Before we do that, hit the pub pub pub

No references here, but these things often happened when I was in Tallahassee, so they made it into the song.

Getting kinda ready to fly fly fly

Singing Johnny Gill kinda my my my

This song has a few more R&B references than I usually have, but I was a Gill fan back in the day, both as part of New Edition and solo.

Getting low, taking shots, shots, shots

Reference to two Lil' Jon party songs, "Get Low" and his collaboration with LMFAO, "Shots." Also a reference to the fact that the "shots shots shots" thing was something that me and my friends were saying constantly in 2012.

Don't wanna see no cops cops cops

Obviously, cops add little to the party.

Feelin good, need more shots shots shots

Quit partying? Probably not not not

On the agenda tonight: fun fun fun

Definitely a Beach Boys reference in the "fun fun fun" line.

Party until the world is done done done

Party like its one nine nine nine

I'm fascinated by anything apocalyptic and this couplet reaches into one of my favorite songs by one of my favorite artists, where Prince asked us to party like it's "1999."

The fun in the world is all mine mine mine

Tomorrow its back to work work work

This line points to the fact that most of my partying is done on week nights, not weekends.  

On the floor doing cool jerk jerk jerk

I was always a fan of the song "Cool Jerk," by the Capitols (and more importantly the Go-Go's cover).

Dropping all the bills bills bills

I was never a fan of Destiny's Child or "Bills, Bills, Bills," but it was too good a rhyme and too appropriate for the song to leave out.

Popping all the pills pills pills

Drinking all the drinks drinks drinks

Enjoying all the hijinks jinks jinks

These lines are pretty obvious.

Get out there bust a move move move

Shout out to Young MC, who I'm still a fan of.

In my heart is the groove groove groove

I also really, really like the Deee-Lite song "Groove Is In the Heart."

It's time of the day to be free free free

Finally, the real message of the song...

Too many drinks gotta pee pee pee

...followed immediately by the most juvenile joke of the song.

Club's clearing out, get some food food food

Not ready to kill my mood mood mood

This is always the way I feel after dancing/partying

The night's almost at an end end end

Get some sleep, get up, do it again gain gain

This describes how I felt in much of 2012 and 2013.  Never wanting the party to end and have to go back to real responsibilities, but realizing that there will soon be another party...