They were one of the first bands to release their music for free over the Internet using the MP3 format, at a time when MP3 became a more popular search term than sex. Their music was released under the Free Music Public License, which band member Homer wrote. The gist of the license is that the music may be freely distributed given the recipient gets a copy of the license and credit is given to all contributors to the music.
God Ate My Homework's song lyrics were often about Internet culture, such as "She Was Probably a Guy", a cautionary song about the anonymity of chat rooms, and "Pirate This Song", a sea shanty about music piracy as opposed to sea piracy.
Band members: James "Homer" Ensor (keyboards, vocals, bass), Hobbes (guitars, keyboards, vocals), Earl Grey T (vocals), Dewey (vocals).
God Ate My Homework essentially disbanded in mid-2000, when Hobbes went to MIT for grad school and Earl Grey T got into med school at UCLA, while Homer planned to stay in the Berkeley area.
Pirate This Song
God Ate My Homework Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We sail the IR seas.
We rip our favorite albums.
We share our mp3's.
We ride our waves from port to port,
And maybe trade some wares.
But if you flood our vessel,
We will trounce your derrieres!
Pirate! This! Song!
What are they gonna do about it?
Pirate! This! Song!
It's nice to share.
Pirate! This! Song!
You know that you can't do without it.
Pirate! This! Song!
And show you care.
[piratey interlude]
Won't you come and join our crew?
There's always room for more.
We promise fame and fortune,
And barnacles galore.
Let's sail down this channel
To yonder secret site.
The treasure's worth it even if
It keeps us up all night!
[chorus]
[piccolo interlude]
Have you seen the Armada?
They say we've trimmed their sails.
They aim to throw us in the brig,
Yet piracy prevails.
Queen Ria's more cutthroat than we,
But doesn't understand
That there will be us pirates
Wherever there's room to land.
The God Ate My Homework's song, "Pirate This Song" is a musical representation of digital piracy. The song describes a group of digital pirates who sail the internet seas, rip their favorite albums, and share their mp3s with one another across various platforms. The group proudly admits to their illegal activities with the lyrics "Pirate! This! Song! What are they gonna do about it? Pirate! This! Song! It's nice to share." The song celebrates the idea that music is meant to be shared and enjoyed by all. The group also invites others to join their crew, promising fame and fortune, and "barnacles galore." However, they also warn against anyone who tries to stop them, "But if you flood our vessel, we will trounce your derrieres!"
The lyrics go on to reference a battle against the "Armada," which is interpreted as the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and Queen Ria, the former chairperson of the association. The pirates claim to have "trimmed their sails" and prevailed, suggesting that digital piracy cannot be stopped. The song concludes with the idea that piracy will continue as long as there is a demand for it, "That there will be us pirates, wherever there's room to land."
Line by Line Meaning
We're the music pirates.
We are those who illegally copy music and distribute it without permission.
We sail the IR seas.
We navigate the internet to find and download music.
We rip our favorite albums.
We copy our favorite music albums without authorization from their creators.
We share our mp3's.
We distribute the music we illegally obtain to others without paying the creators.
We ride our waves from port to port,
We share our illegally obtained music across different internet platforms.
And maybe trade some wares.
We may exchange music with others who share our interests.
But if you flood our vessel,
If someone tries to stop us or restrict our activity, they will face consequences.
We will trounce your derrieres!
We will fight back, protecting our illegal activity at all costs.
What are they gonna do about it?
We are daring anyone to try to stop us, because we believe we are untouchable.
It's nice to share.
We justify our actions as a good thing, as we believe we are sharing music with others who would not have it otherwise.
You know that you can't do without it.
We believe that music is essential, and therefore should be accessible to everyone regardless of legality or copyright.
And show you care.
We believe that sharing music demonstrates a sense of unity and generosity.
Won't you come and join our crew?
We invite others to join us in our illegal activities.
There's always room for more.
We are always looking for new members to join us in piracy.
We promise fame and fortune,
We entice new members with the prospect of becoming famous and rich through piracy.
And barnacles galore.
We promise a great adventure and a wealth of opportunities to earn money and acquire new music.
Let's sail down this channel
Let's navigate a specific digital pathway to find new music to pirate.
To yonder secret site.
Let's explore an online location that is not widely known to find music to pirate.
The treasure's worth it even if
The valuable music we acquire from these piracy excursions is worth any effort or risk involved.
It keeps us up all night!
The excitement of piracy and the rewards it brings keep us going at all hours of the night.
Have you seen the Armada?
Have you noticed the increasing enforcement against piracy and the growing efforts to stop our activity?
They say we've trimmed their sails.
We believe that our piracy has impacted and limited the efforts of those who seek to enforce piracy laws.
They aim to throw us in the brig,
Law enforcement targets pirates with legal action and imprisonment.
Yet piracy prevails.
Despite the efforts of authorities, we believe piracy will never be eradicated and will always find a way to exist.
Queen Ria's more cutthroat than we,
We see music industry leaders and law enforcement as being more ruthless in their efforts than ourselves.
But doesn't understand
We believe the music industry representatives do not truly understand our motivations for piracy.
That there will be us pirates
We believe that piracy will always exist in some form or another, as long as music is something people desire and seek to acquire.
Wherever there's room to land.
We believe that as long as there are places on the internet where music can be shared, piracy will find a foothold.
Contributed by Joshua J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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