speak the slang now
boys say wha
come on girls say what, say wha
shotgun, get down
get down, get down, get down
too late, you down
d-d-d-down
ta na ta na ta na
purple haze (galang a lang a lang lang)
blaze a blaze (galang a lang a lang lang)
purple haze (galang a lang a lang lang)
how the hell he find you, 147'd you
the feds gon get you
pull the strings on the hood
1 paranoid youth blazin' thru the hood
purple haze (galang a lang a lang lang)
blaze a blaze (galang a lang a lang lang)
purple haze (galang a lang a lang lang)
speak the slang now
boys say wha
come on girls say what, say wha
rivers gonna run though
work is gonna save you
pray and you will pull through
suck a dick'll help you
don't let em get to you
if he's got 1 you get 2
backstab your crew
sell it i could sell you
purple haze (galang a lang a lang lang)
This song is about pot trafficking. purple haze is a type of weed, and London slang is mostly spoken by minorities and young people in England. Basically, the character in the song is a youngster trafficking pot in Sri Lanka, is getting chased by the person he or she is dealing with , and might get caught by the police one day. Trafficking drugs and sucking a few dicks is what gets some ppl enough money to flee to London, but M.I.A. is saying that working and praying is what they should be doing instead, and she does not agree with all the shit ppl have to do for a living in her country. It is really tough. Remember, M.I.A. is all about politics. And p.s., most of british slang derive from Jamaican patois because when England had dominion over Jamaica years ago, many Jamaicans took advantage of it and fled to England. This also exploains why English is spoken in Jamaica, along with Trinidad, Tobago and Grenada.
galang means "go on" in patois which is jamaican
Hipster cred? A song about a fish? First, MIA is not from India. She is a Tamil from Sri Lanka. Second galang is street slang for basically keeping a low profile. To go along, get along and don't start no trouble. If you start with that then the rest is easy to figure out. She is saying (with sarcasm) fit in with society by going to church and working a regular job, kiss ass if you have to and turn on your own people to save yourself, they would do it to you.
Work will save you is also a good play on the Auschwitz German concentration camp sign that read "Work Will Set You Free".
Nonconformity will lead to the authorities tracking your phone and and following you in unmarked vehicles., perhaps even costing you your life.
MIA speaks out against injustice and she has been the target of FBI and probably quite a few other agency surveillance initiatives. So she is addressing this among other things. Watch the video, pay attention to the visuals and not just her pretty face and subdued dance moves. A lot of bombs, tanks, explosions and a few (Tamil) tigers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCL1RpgYxRM
She is not really talking about oral sex and keeping a low profile. She is condemning a system that tries to intimidate people to keep them from speaking out and from defending their rights.
what does the word "galang" mean?
In Britain, you dial 1471 (on a landline) to find the number of the last person to phone you - so you can find out someone's phone number who's just called, or checked if you've missed a call when you're out.
Then again, it might not mean that. 147 is a maximum break in snooker....
Also, why can't slang current in London be of Jamaican origin? The genius of MIA is that she mixes all sorts of influences, British, Sri Lankan, American, hip hop, UK garage and grime....in Britian, all sorts of things are combined, asian and West Indian influences.
dude u refered to it as cannabis... ur deff tryin to soudns smarter than you are you twat
Jamaican? I thought it was London Slang, like "G'wan" is a contraction of go along, "Galanga" is go along.
Pretty much means the same thing, but I'm sure it's English.
Patois would be a weird language for her to use anyway, seeing as she is Tamil/English.
Incorrect. M.I.A. does have Jamaican influence in few songs. Secondly, it is only English because of the great amount of Jamaicans in England.
Incorrect. M.I.A. does have Jamaican influence in few songs. Secondly, it is only English because of the great amount of Jamaicans in England.
what does 147'd you mean? not good with brit slang
if you type 1471 into a phone in england you call the last person to call you
if you type 1471 into a phone in england you call the last person to call you
at the start of the song, it goes "boys say wa gwan girls say wa gwan".. its london slang for "whats going on" or similar.. and then when she says "147'd you" i thought it was something to do with guns.. but thats only cos i refuse to believe its about snooker haha. i think your all takin this song abit 2 seriously.. its just quality - leave it at that