I gotta agree with whoever it was who mentioned it upstream:
I hear "whip it at your feet", not rip.
I'm not sure what's being ripped or whipped, but I believe I've heard the phrase "whip it at your feet" used before. Hmm... in context...
This is what I hear from that section:
I could change the world
I could make it better
kick it up and down
take a chance at me
when you fake a smile
and you think you're better
gonna put it down
whip it at your feet
I guess the question I need to ask is who "you" is; if "you" is the addressee of the song - you know, the person Mika is indirectly addressing with his "we're not cool; we are free" bit - maybe he's whipping the fake smile? Maybe he's whipping the world? He's intentionally tripping up the "you" with something.
So the other half of the question is what does "it" refer to? If "it" is the same object as in the bit before - here it's clear that it's the world - then the world (metaphorically - maybe verbally?) is being used to trip up someone who is faking... being cool?
This particular exchange of the song is what always gets me. Horribly fun to sing along with, but so confusing!
My favorite part is the bridge. Possibly because of the music video, because he's SO PRETTY.
I also get a little bit confused with the lyrics to the first verse, because I'm never sure whether it's:
from the wrong to the red light
or
from the wrong to the right light
It sounds more like red than like right to me, personally... but then what's the significance of the open stream?
I've always thought of the lights as referring to traffic lights, but now I'm not so sure. Either:
(a) if it's RED, then I don't think it's traffic lights at all; rather, red lights are usually indicative of bad things (being caught red-handed, etc.), so he's running from the oppressive addressee of the song and the open stream is the safest place to run, or
(b) if it's RIGHT, then maybe it IS traffic lights, and from the wrong to the right light he begins to move again, in the right direction (the open stream).
KICK-ASS - Lyrics Discussion
in Mika's Music and Artwork
Posted
I gotta agree with whoever it was who mentioned it upstream:
I hear "whip it at your feet", not rip.
I'm not sure what's being ripped or whipped, but I believe I've heard the phrase "whip it at your feet" used before. Hmm... in context...
This is what I hear from that section:
I could change the world
I could make it better
kick it up and down
take a chance at me
when you fake a smile
and you think you're better
gonna put it down
whip it at your feet
I guess the question I need to ask is who "you" is; if "you" is the addressee of the song - you know, the person Mika is indirectly addressing with his "we're not cool; we are free" bit - maybe he's whipping the fake smile? Maybe he's whipping the world? He's intentionally tripping up the "you" with something.
So the other half of the question is what does "it" refer to? If "it" is the same object as in the bit before - here it's clear that it's the world - then the world (metaphorically - maybe verbally?) is being used to trip up someone who is faking... being cool?
This particular exchange of the song is what always gets me. Horribly fun to sing along with, but so confusing!
My favorite part is the bridge.
Possibly because of the music video, because he's SO PRETTY.
I also get a little bit confused with the lyrics to the first verse, because I'm never sure whether it's:
from the wrong to the red light
or
from the wrong to the right light
It sounds more like red than like right to me, personally... but then what's the significance of the open stream?
I've always thought of the lights as referring to traffic lights, but now I'm not so sure. Either:
(a) if it's RED, then I don't think it's traffic lights at all; rather, red lights are usually indicative of bad things (being caught red-handed, etc.), so he's running from the oppressive addressee of the song and the open stream is the safest place to run, or
(b) if it's RIGHT, then maybe it IS traffic lights, and from the wrong to the right light he begins to move again, in the right direction (the open stream).
I don't know. I listen to this song too much!