Gone Going
Black Eyed Peas椀 Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

Johnny want to be a big star
Get on stage and play the guitar
Make a little money, buy a fancy car
Big old house and an alligator
Just to match with them alligator shoes
He's a rich man so he's no longer singing the blues
He's singing songs about material things
And platinum rings and watches that go bling
But, diamonds don't bling in the dark
He a star now, but he ain't singing from the heart
Sooner or later he's just gonna fall apart
Cause his fans can't relate to his new found art
He ain't doing what he did from the start
And that's putting in some feeling and thought
He decided to live his life shallow
Cash in his love for material

And its gone, gone, going,
Gone, everything gone, give a damn,
Gone be the birds when they don't want to sing,
Gone people, up awkward with their things, gone.

You see yourself in the mirror
And you feel safe cause it looks familiar
But you afraid to open up your soul
Cause you don't really know, don't really know
Who is, the person that's deep within
Cause you are content with just being the name brand man
And you fail to see that its trivial
Insignificant, you addicted to material
I've seen your kind before
Your the type that thinks souls is sold in a store
Packaged up with incense sticks
With them vegetarian meals
To you that's righteous
You're fiction like books
You need to go out to life and look
Cause, what happens when they take your material
You already sold your soul and its

And its gone, gone, going,
Gone, everything gone, give a damn,
Gone be the birds when they don't want to sing,
Gone people, up awkward with their things, gone.

You say that time is money and money is time
So you got mind in your money and your money on your mind
But what about, that crime that you did to get paid
And what about, that bid, you can't take it to your brain
Why you on about those shoes you'll wear today
They'll do no good on the bridges you've walked along the way

All that money that you got gonna be gone
That gear that you rock gonna be gone
The house up on the hill gonna be gone
The gold, on your grill gonna be gone
The ice on your wrist gonna be gone
That nice little Miss gonna be gone
That whip that you roll gonna be gone
And what's worst is your soul will be gone

And its gone, gone, going,
Gone, everything gone, give a damn,




Gone be the birds when they don't want to sing,
Gone people, up awkward with their things, gone.

Overall Meaning

The Black Eyed Peas' song "Gone Going" is a critique of materialism and the consequences it has on people's souls. The narrative in the first verse tells the story of Johnny, a man who wants to be a big star and make a lot of money so he can buy everything he has ever wanted, including an alligator and alligator shoes. He eventually attains everything he wants but forgets where he came from, and his fans no longer relate to him because he sings shallow songs about material things. The chorus, "gone, gone, going, everything's gone," serves as a reminder that everything we amass in life can disappear in an instant.


In the second verse, the song broadens its focus to anyone who is content with being a "name brand man" and addicted to material possessions. The song argues that people should try to know themselves, including the deep within of their souls. By seeing everything from a materialistic point of view, people miss out on the more important aspects of life. The chorus repeats again, but the focus has shifted from the material things to the birds that stopped singing and people who became awkward.


The final verse drives home the point that people's obsessions with material things will inevitably lead them to lose everything, including their souls. The song makes it clear that having everything in the world will not fill the void within. The song offers a warning, telling people that it is essential to find a balance between material possessions and the soul's needs.


Line by Line Meaning

Johnny want to be a big star
Johnny desires fame and stardom


Get on stage and play the guitar
Johnny intends to achieve his dream by playing music on stage


Make a little money, buy a fancy car
Johnny aims to earn money to purchase luxury items like a car


Big old house and an alligator
Johnny wants to live in a grand house and own fancy alligator shoes


Just to match with them alligator shoes
Johnny aspires for material possessions that correlate to his alligator shoes


He's a rich man so he's no longer singing the blues
Johnny's wealth has generated happiness and he no longer feels unhappy


He's singing songs about material things
Johnny's songs are about possessions and objects


And platinum rings and watches that go bling
Johnny's music encompasses extravagant objects like platinum rings and flashy watches


But, diamonds don't bling in the dark
Posessions like diamonds and flashy objects don't have value or shine in the darkness


He a star now, but he ain't singing from the heart
Johnny has become famous, but he no longer sings from his soul


Sooner or later he's just gonna fall apart
Johnny is bound to break down eventually


Cause his fans can't relate to his new found art
Johnny's supporters can't connect to his new style of music


He ain't doing what he did from the start
Johnny no longer creates music the way he used to


And that's putting in some feeling and thought
Johnny used to create music with emotion and consciousness


He decided to live his life shallow
Johnny elects to live a superficial existence


Cash in his love for material
Johnny values material possessions more than anything else


You see yourself in the mirror
You are looking at your reflection


And you feel safe cause it looks familiar
You feel secure as the image is familiar


But you afraid to open up your soul
Fear prevents you from deeply revealing who you are


Cause you don't really know, don't really know
You are uncertain about your true identity


Who is, the person that's deep within
You don't know your inner self


Cause you are content with just being the name brand man
You only value labels and brand names for material things


And you fail to see that its trivial
You don't acknowledge the insignificance of material possessions


Insignificant, you addicted to material
You are fixated on accumulating material possessions, despite their insignificance


I've seen your kind before
The singer has seen people like you before


Your the type that thinks souls is sold in a store
You believe that you can purchase your soul like you would from a store


Packaged up with incense sticks
Your idea of purchasing the soul involves other items like incense sticks


With them vegetarian meals
Your idea of being 'righteous' involves eating vegetarian meals


To you that's righteous
You think that by doing these things you are being moral


You're fiction like books
You are like a fictional character in a book


You need to go out to life and look
You need to interact with life and explore its experiences


Cause, what happens when they take your material
The singer questions how you'll react when your material possessions are taken away


You already sold your soul and its
You've already exchanged your soul for material possessions


You say that time is money and money is time
You believe that time and money are equivalent


So you got mind in your money and your money on your mind
You think about money all the time and money is all you care about


But what about, that crime that you did to get paid
The singer reminds you of the crimes you've committed to earn money


And what about, that bid, you can't take it to your brain
The memory of your crimes will follow you forever


Why you on about those shoes you'll wear today
Why do you care so much about wearing shoes that you'll soon forget?


They'll do no good on the bridges you've walked along the way
The shoes won't have any impact on the path you've walked in life


All that money that you got gonna be gone
You will eventually lose all the money you have


That gear that you rock gonna be gone
The fancy clothes you wear will eventually become outdated or replaced


The house up on the hill gonna be gone
Your ocean-view mansion will eventually be sold or destroyed


The gold, on your grill gonna be gone
The gold teeth you have will eventually fall out or lose value


The ice on your wrist gonna be gone
The expensive watch on your wrist will eventually be lost or forgotten


That nice little Miss gonna be gone
The person you have a romantic interest in will eventually be lost or move on


That whip that you roll gonna be gone
The flashy car you drive will eventually be outdated or replaced


And what's worst is your soul will be gone
It's worse that you've traded your soul for these material possessions


Gone, gone, going,
Things are disappearing or moving away


Gone, everything gone, give a damn,
Everything is disappearing and nobody cares


Gone be the birds when they don't want to sing,
Even the birds won't sing when things are disappearing


Gone people, up awkward with their things, gone.
People will be left bewildered as they lose all their possessions




Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: WILL ADAMS, JACK JOHNSON

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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All comments from YouTube:

Marianna Gadaleta

anyone else just randomly get in a weird mood and watch a bunch of halftime show performances?

Danielle Francis Olsen

Marianna Gadaleta just watched 5 HT shows straight for no particular reason. Hahaha

Marianna Gadaleta

Danielle Francis Olsen They are addicting. Once you start you can’t stop watching them😂

Pragmatic Cynicism

At this point it's looking like they should have retired the halftime show after Bruno Mars... He may have killed it!

carlover

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Dean Gill berry

Danielle Francis Olsen most underated comment

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Anthony Newkirk Jr

How can you not love this performance? He used the whole stadium. Walked around the whole field and up into the stands. He even let fans gets a selfie and sing part of the song lol. You gotta love him getting the fans involved. Something they'll remember forever. Especially the selfie kid. The show had great energy.

Lgh2003

People hate it because of the tributo to Prince 😪

Erika Adams

.come here for brefcacst

debbiedoodiedandi

It's not bad, but it's not in the top 10. I think people hope for a little N'Sync reunion, similar to Beyonce half-time show, or that he'd bring out Janet Jackson as sort of an apology for messing up her half-time show. I loved the Prince part, but it all felt like it could've been bigger in some ways.

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