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Posts have gotten a bit heavy lately; let’s lighten it up a bit!
crack that whip
give the past the slip
step on a crack
break your momma’s back
when a problem comes along
you must whip it
before the cream sits out too long
you must whip it
when something’s going wrong
you must whip it
now whip it
into shape
shape it up
get straight
go forward
move ahead
try to detect it
it’s not too late
to whip it
whip it good
when a good time turns around
you must whip it
you will never live it down
unless you whip it
no one gets away
until they whip it
i say whip it
whip it good
i say whip it
whip it good
crack that whip
give the past the slip
step on a crack
break your momma’s back
when a problem comes along
you must whip it
before the cream sits out too long
you must whip it
when something’s going wrong
you must whip it
now whip it
into shape
shape it up
get straight
go forward
move ahead
try to detect it
it’s not too late
to whip it
into shape
shape it up
get straight
go forward
move ahead
try to detect it
it’s not too late
to whip it
whip it good
— Devo
So: When a problem comes along… when something’s going wrong…
Whip it! Whip it good!
Ya gotta love it, no?
(Did I see you dancing?)
🙂
johnponders 
Oooh, Paul; you went there … you had to do the visual … Ha! Okay, so since you linked, you need to interpret! What the hell is going on here?
Love it! I have never read these lyrics before.
This was a bit of a surprise for me as well Amanda!
That rocks John. Great attitude. goes along with today’s post about the teo managers. Whip yourself into shape prior to announcing potentially bad news.
Ooohhh! Another connection there I didn’t see! Thanks John!
Here’s an interview with the band about the origin and meaning of the song:
http://www.songfacts.com/blog/interviews/devo/
Excerpts:
“Whip It,” like many Devo songs, had a long gestation, a long process. The lyrics were written by me as an imitation of Thomas Pynchon’s parodies in his book Gravity’s Rainbow. He had parodied limericks and poems of kind of all-American, obsessive, cult of personality ideas like Horatio Alger and “You’re #1, there’s nobody else like you” kind of poems that were very funny and very clever. So I thought, I’d like to do one like Thomas Pinchon, so I wrote down “Whip It” one night.
“…I think a lot of Devo is in “Whip It.” There’s Americana mixed with something menacing, there’s irony and humor, there’s a hook and a big dance beat, there are interesting synth parts, lyrics that aren’t the typical lyrics about getting laid or losing your baby. Although we weren’t trying, it was a pretty concentrated dose of Devo in “Whip It.”