Michael Jackson - You Wanna be Startin' Something
Dave has a look at the track which literally gets this album off to a "banging start". Michael Jackson is essentially proactive and a bit of a Mr. Motivator figure.
I said you wanna be startin' somethin' You got to be startin' somethin' I said you wanna be startin' somethin' You got to be startin' somethin' It's too high to get over (yeah, yeah) Too low to get under (yeah, yeah) You're stuck in the middle (yeah, yeah) And the pain is thunder (yeah, yeah)
Micheal Jackson seems to be the proactive type. Yes indeed, he is no lay about; he is clearly anti-lethargy and insists on smiting out sloth where-ever he should find it. It is perhaps for this reason that he is so occupied with people making a start on something. This could be quite precarious as it's hard to say where Michael draws the line at 'starting something' as this may imply starting to take heroin or starting to smoke. Naturally encouraging people to do that sort of thing would land him in trouble
As he is a master of proactivity, Michael is very good at getting people to get off their backsides and to start something, say for example a cookery course or a nice water-colour painting hobby (not taking up highly addictive and mind-expanding drugs). As such he uses a metaphor to get people going, describing their laziness as too high to get over and too low to get under. This is could be seen as quite abstract besides the fact that what Michael seems to be talking about is a very high wall!
I took my baby to the doctor With a fever, but nothing he found By the time this hit the street They said she had a breakdown Someone's always tryin' to start my baby cryin' Talkin', squealin', lyin' Sayin' you just wanna be startin' somethin'
As we all know Michael is the parent to Two strapping young chaps called err... Michael Jackson Jr and Prince Michael the II (Aka Blanket) as well as a Daughter called Paris. However I digress as one of the kiddlies has developed a fever, something which is proving quite baffling for the doctor he has taken him or her to. Unfortunately whilst the doctor has found nothing wrong with the child there is clearly something wrong as the kid then has a breakdown. This is quite vague (and a little ironic considering Michaels past behavior).
Michael seems surprisingly unconcerned by the rapidly deteriorating health of his offspring and becomes more concerned with the next door neighbor making too much noise. Now it's one thing to complain to someone next door, for using their lawnmower at 7 in the morning, but another when the neighbors house is 4 or so miles away due to the expansive grounds of Michael's palace.
You love to pretend that you're good When you're always up to no good You really can't make him hate her So your tongue became a razor Someone's always tryin' to keep my baby cryin' Treacherous, cunnin', declinin' You got my baby cryin'
Michael doesn't care for people pretending this is a little bit limited as that debunks the whole movie and TV industry, not to mention the theater also. Lets be fair Michael has done a bit of Amdram himself (Moonwalker 1988) so isn't this hypocritical?
You're a vegetable, you're a vegetable Still they hate you, you're a vegetable You're just a buffet, you're a vegetable They eat off of you, you're a vegetable
Well I never! Michael has no respect for the disabled community at all. Referring to them in those terms is really unnecessary! Either that or he's lost it and has happened across a particularly offensive greengrocer, and is now insulting his wares? Maybe they woke up the baby, in his mind anyway.
Billie Jean is always talkin' When nobody else is talkin' Tellin' lies and rubbin' shoulders So they called her mouth a motor Someone's always tryin' to start my baby cryin' Talkin', squealin', spyin' Sayin' you just wanna be startin' somethin'
Michael having insulted the medical profession, vegetables and his neighbours now decides to turn on Billie-Jean a local gossipstress. He now blames her for waking the baby, although doesn't specify how. I don't think Michaels reasoning is really in mint condition.
If you can't feed your baby (yeah, yeah) Then don't have a baby (yeah, yeah) And don't think maybe (yeah, yeah) If you can't feed your baby (yeah, yeah) You'll be always tryin' To stop that child from cryin' Hustlin', stealin', lyin' Now baby's slowly dyin'
This is sterling advice for all the impoverished parents out there. Don't have a baby if you can't feed it. A little late for the parents who are post pregnant, and what about the people who don't believe in contraception or abortion? I realise Michael wants to become the mouth piece for contraception, but he has to think his idea through a bit first. In other news whatever is wrong with Michaels child it's terminal? That's not really the topic for a song is it?
Lift your head up high And scream out to the world I know I am someone And let the truth unfurl No one can hurt you now Because you know what's true Yes, I believe in me So you believe in you Help me sing it, ma ma se, Ma ma sa, ma ma coo sa Ma ma se, ma ma sa, Ma ma coo sa
Having forgotten about his child issues, he decides to become a spokesperson for free expression, as he starts screaming for the truth to unfurl (possibly as he's dragged into the waiting mental home van). To make things absolutely clear he explains himself in the only way he thinks he can; that is utter gibberish.
« Michael Jackson - Baby Be Mine || rickroll killed the radio star »
1 Comment
1. posted by Joe Cro at December 28, 2008 4:14 PM
That's classic.
Leave a comment