[Part I]
[Intro: Future]
Drop your location, she think she me or sum’ (Hendrix)
Put on my chains, now she think she me or sum’
She keep a Glock in her bag, she think …
[Verse 1]
You said, “Speak from your mind
The words that it finds
Come out of your soul, a part of the whole”
You said, “What does it change?
Both of us know
After tonight, there …
[TONY]
Maria…
The most beautiful sound I’ve ever heard:
Maria, Maria, Maria, Maria…
All the beautiful sounds of the world in a single word:
Maria, Maria, Maria, Maria…
Maria, Maria…
Maria!
I’ve just met a girl named Maria
And …
[Verse 1]
What happens in dreams where we fly?
Never been as high as tonight
Staring through a window in time
For someone to show me what I’m like
He said, “Hello”, it’s like a …
[Verse 1]
Oh-oh-oh, every little smile hides a little lie
Could cut the silence with a knife
Subatomic bliss is nothing left to miss
It’s just empty Russian roulette
[Pre-Chorus]
Try to brush it off my …
I’m bout that H, town coming coming down
I’m coming down, drippin’ candy on the ground
H, Town, Town, I’m coming down, coming down
Drippin’ candy on the ground1
I know when you were little girls
You dreamt of being in my world2
Don’t forget it, don’t forget it
Respect that, bow down bitches3
I took some time to live my life
But don’t think I’m just his little wife4
Don’t get it twisted, get it twisted5
This my shit, bow down bitches
Bow down bitches, bow bow down bitches (Crown)
Bow down bitches, bow bow down bitches (Crown)
H Town bitches
H, H Town bitches
I’m so crown crown,6 bow down bitches
I’m about that H, town, coming coming down
I’m coming down, drippin’ candy on the ground
H, Town, Town, I’m coming down, coming down
Drippin’ candy on the ground
We teach girls to shrink themselves7
To make themselves smaller
We8 say to girls
“You can have ambition
But not too much
You should aim to be successful
But not too successful
Otherwise you will threaten the man”9
Because I am female
I am expected to aspire to marriage10
I am expected to make my life choices
Always keeping in mind that
Marriage is the most important11
Now marriage can be a source of
Joy and love and mutual support12
But why do we teach girls to aspire to marriage
And we don’t teach boys the same?13
We raise girls to treat each other as competitors
Not for jobs or for accomplishments
Which I think can be a good thing
But for the attention of men14
We teach girls that they cannot be sexual beings
In the way that boys are15
Feminist: the person who believes in the social
Political, and economic equality of the sexes16
You wake up, flawless
Post up, flawless
Ride round in it, flawless
Flossin on that, flawless
This diamond, flawless
My diamond, flawless
This rock, flawless
My rock, flawless17
I woke up like this18
I woke up like this
We flawless, ladies tell ’em
I woke up like this
I woke up like this
We flawless, ladies tell ’em
Say I, look so good tonight
God damn, God damn
Say I, look so good tonight
God damn, God damn19
Momma taught me good home training
My Daddy taught me how to love my haters
My sister taught me I should speak my mind
My man made me feel so God damn fine20
You wake up, flawless
Post up, flawless
Ride round in it, flawless
Flossin on that, flawless
This diamond, flawless
My diamond, flawless
This rock, flawless
My rock, flawless
I woke up like this
I woke up like this
We flawless, ladies tell ’em
I woke up like this
I woke up like this
We flawless, ladies tell ’em
Say I, look so good tonight
God damn, God damn
Say I, look so good tonight
God damn, God damn
This introduction to the song invites the listener to understand Beyonce as a big shot.
Here Beyonce is speaking to her young female fans. By “you dreamt of being in my world,” she’s talking about the celebrity life she lives, full of fame, wealth, and opportunities.
When Beyonce sings “bow down bitches,” she’s telling those who disrespect her to respect the fact that she’s a big shot now, since she worked for it.
The “girl power” theme of this song surfaces when Beyonce sings “don’t think I’m just his little wife.” There is an attitude and perception that suggests females are working toward marriage and marriage alone, as if they are not important human beings outside of union with a man.
“Twisted” means “incorrect.”
“Crown” means luxurious, like the crown on a royal person’s head.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a famous Nigerian feminist author, now shares her own views on gender. By “we teach girls to shrink themselves,” she is referring to the unhealthy expectations society has of the female physique. Many models have been know to succumb to the idea of being thin, eventually driving them into anorexia.
That is, society.
Adichie references the “glass ceiling.” Men are comfortable with women climbing high on the social ladder, as long as they don’t step on its top rung. This is a challenge to patriarchy.
Adichie complains that girls are being taught that marriage is all they can achieve, as if it’s the only good thing in the world to achieve.
In other words, other important things should be considered relatively unimportant.
Adichie is clarifying that marriage in itself is not a bad thing.
Adichie insists that both males and females should aspire to marriage, since it can be a wonderful experience.
Adichie compares being a woman to search the job market, competing with other potential applicants for the opportunities of a lifetime as if the employers shouldn’t be out looking for her.
Adichie is claiming that there is a gender-based double standard regarding sexual expectations of people.
This is Adichie’s definition of a feminist.
Beyonce references her body parts as flawless, something not to be criticized for their sexual characteristics or lack thereof, but something which is just perfect simply because it was made that way.
“I woke up like this” means the artist is content with her physical appearance, as she should be.
These lyrics are self-affirming statements, not meant for narcissism, bur rather for positive self-esteem.
This stanza indicates that there are people close to us in life who can teach us how to be ourselves and be comfortable with who we are.
No user explanations or meanings