Sunday, December 7, 2008

are these words on le bac? (sorry for the profanities!)

We spent a lot of time in college learning about what is and isn't acceptable material/behavior/student-teacher relationships regarding our high schoolers. But here, no one really seems too concerned with boundaries. I have had teachers call kids stupid pigs, worthless, waste of time, etc. They show kids any movie, regardless of ratings. They ask the Muslim students to tell stories about their favorite Christmas memory. And at our first stage back in September, one of the male teachers told all the female assistants "not to let your strings show when you bend over." I am still scarred as a result of that conversation.
I got to school Friday morning, and one of my teachers said he was working on typing out the lyrics for a rap song. He said he was having some trouble figuring out some of the words, and asked if I would take a listen and help him out. If I were in America, I would have directed the teacher to the internet. While France is worlds ahead of America in some regards (wine, bicycle baskets, having goat cheese flavored everything), France is not exactly at the forefront of technology. Most French computers look something like this,

and I am pretty sure the internet here is powered by two hamsters and a wheel.
So I agreed to help the teacher with the lyrics. I stupidly assumed that since this rap song would be used with 14 year olds, it would be pretty PG rated, maybe about getting caught passing notes in study hall, or staying up late on a school night. But no, these are the lyrics to the song. I also included for your viewing pleasure (courtesy of Youtube) the video for the song, so you can listen to it in all its glory.
I also had to explain to my teacher the meaning of certain words-diss, gear, cold, and caper, just to name a few. It is a good thing I am so hood and am down with the lingo.


Ya know that's why man I be telling you all the time man you know
LOVE
that word love is a very serious thing and if you don't watch out I
tell ya that (Love's gonna get you) because a lot of people out here say "i
love my car" or "i love my chain" or or "i'm i'm just in love with that girl
over there" so far all the people out there that fall in love with material
items we gonna bump the beat a lil' something like this
im in junior high with a b plus grade,
at the end of the day i don't hit the arcade,
I walk from school to my moms apartment,
I got to tell the sucaks everyday "don't start it",
cause where I'm at if your soft your lost,
to say on course means to roll with force,
a boy named Rob is chillin in a Benz,
in front of my building with the rest of his friends,
I give him a pound, oh i mean i shake his hand,
he's the neighborhood drug dealer, my man,
i go upstair and hug my mother,
kiss my sister, and punch my brother,
i sit down on my bed to watch some tv,
(machine gun fire) do my ears decieve me,
Nope, thats the fourth time this week,
another fast brother shot dead in the street,
the very next day while im off to class,
my moms goes to work cold busting her ass,
my sisters cute but she got no gear,
i got three pairs of pants and with my brother i share,
see there in school see i'm made a fool,
with one and a half pair of pant you aint cool,
but there's no dollars for nothing else,
i got beans, rice, and bread on my shelf,
every day i see my mother struggling,
now its time i've got to do something,
i look for work i get dissed like a jerk,
i do odd jobs and come home like a slob,
so here comes Rob hes cold and shivery,
he gives me two hundred for a quick delivery,
i do it once, i do it twice,
now theres steak with the beans and rice,
my mother's nervous but she knows the deal,
my sister's gear now has sex appeal,
my brothers my partner and we're getting paper,
three months later we run our own caper,
my family's happy everything is new,
now tell me what the fuck am i supposed to do,
CHORUS
thats why, (loves gonna get you)
(loves gonna get you)(loves gonna get you)(loves gonna get you)
you fall in love with your chain,
you fall in love with your car,
loves gonna sneak right up and snuff you from behind,
so i want you to check the story out as we go down the line,
(loves gonna get you)(loves gonna get you)(loves gonna get you)
money's flowing, everything is fine,
got myself an uzi and my brother a nine,
buisness is boomin' everything is cool,
i pull about a g a week fuck school,
a year goes by and i begin to grow,
not in height but juice and cash flow,
i pick up my feet and begin to watch tv,
cause now i got other people working for me,
i got a 55 inch television you know,
and every once in awhile i hear just say no,
or the other commercial i love,
is when they say, this is your brain on drugs,
i pick up my remote control and just turn,
cause with that bullshit im not concerned,
see me and my brother jump in the BM,
driving around our territory again,
i stop at the light like a superstar,
and automatic weapons cold sprayed my car,
i hit the accelerator scared as fuck,
and drove one block to find my brother was hit,
he wasn't dead but the blood was pouring,
and all i could think about was war and,
later i found that it was Rob and his crew,
now tell me what the fuck am i supposed to do,
ya know thats why, (loves gonna get you)
(loves gonna get you)(loves gonna get you)(love loves gonna get you)
(loves gonna get you)(loves gonna get you)(loves gonna get you)
(love loves gonna get you)(loves gonna get you)
that word love is very very serious(loves gonna get you)
very addictive
my brothers out of it, but i'm still in it,
on top of that im in it to win it,
i can't believe that Rob would diss me,
that faggot, that punk, he's soft a sissy,
i'm driving around now with three of my guys,
the war is on and i'm on the rise,
we rolled right up to his favorite hang out,
said hello and then the bullets rang out,
some fired back so we took cover,
and all i could think about was my brother,
Rob jumped up and began to run,
busting shots hoping to hit someone,
so I just stopped, and let off three shots,
two hit him and one hit a cop,
I threw the gun down and began to shout,
come on I got him it's time to break out,
but as we ran there were the boys in blue,
pointing their guns at my four man crew,
they shot down one, they shot down two,
now tell me what the fuck am i supposed to do,
(loves gonna get you)(loves gonna get you)(loves gonna get you)
(love loves gonna get you)
(loves gonna get you)(loves gonna get you)(loves gonna get you)
(love loves gonna get you)
(loves gonna get you)(loves gonna get you)(loves gonna get you),
(loves gonna get you)
(loves gonna get you)(loves gonna get you)(loves gonna get you)
(love loves gonna get you)
ya know a lot of people believe that that word Love is real soft, but
when you use it in your vocabulary like your addicted to it it sneaks right
up and takes you right out. out. out. out. out.
So, for future reference remember it's alright to like or want a
material item, but when you fall in love with it and you start scheming and
carrying on for it, just remember, it's gonna get'cha

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh my god! I would pay money to go to your school!!! Haahahahahaha.

p.s. This rapper writes poems like us......

"tried to look for work, get dissed like a jerk..."

-Eliza

Anonymous said...

Laura, I hope to God that you punched that guy in the face for making you listen to that and for having bad taste in music. It may be one of the worst rap songs in the history of the world. Do the kids respect the teachers even after they call them names?
-Joni

Anonymous said...

Can't wait for Grandma and Grandpa to comment on this one!

Dad

Anonymous said...

hi laura; i am speechles. i read it twice and im still speechless . grampa ,m

Anonymous said...

so what exactly was the teacher trying to show his kids with this rap? crazy!

katie g