Though his popularity has fluctuated through the years, many of Pop's songs have become well-known, including "Lust for Life", "The Passenger", "Real Wild Child", "Candy" (a duet with Kate Pierson of The B-52's), "China Girl", "Nightclubbing", "Search and Destroy" and "I Wanna Be Your Dog".
In 2010, The Stooges were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Pop was the lead singer of The Stooges, a late 1960s/early 1970s band that featured brothers Ron and Scott Asheton and Dave Alexander and was highly influential in the development of hard rock. The debut album was produced by the Velvet Underground's John Cale. The band's "I Wanna Be Your Dog" is a garage punk standard.
Raw Power was first released in1973, perhaps the first record that could truly be called punk. It was the confluence of The Stooges ages, hormones, creativity, ability, experience, tastes, lack of supervision, contempt for authority and ambition that has made Raw Power one of the most influential albums of all time.
The Stooges were infamous for performances in which Pop leapt off the stage (hence, the "stage dive"), smeared raw meat or peanut butter over his chest and cut himself with broken bottles. A glimpse of the vibrating intensity of Iggy live can be seen in the Ramones movie "End of the Century." Guitarist James Williamson became a key collaborator, a partnership documented on the 1978 album Kill City.
In 25 years as a solo artist, Pop's best-known songs have included the thumping Lust for Life, to be heard on the soundtrack of the find-a-vein, shoot-it-up movie Trainspotting, I'm Bored and The Passenger (the latter based on a poem written by Jim Morrison). David Bowie played a key role in reinvigorating Pop's post-Stooges career and was a collaborator on the albums Lust for Life and The Idiot. Iggy may be under-rated as a songwriter. Bowie and Tina Turner covered his "Tonight". Bowie also put out his own version of "China Girl," while Grace Jones covered the icey "Nightclubbing".
Dirt
Iggy Pop Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I don't care
Ooh, I've been dirt
And I don't care
'Cause I'm burning inside
'Cause I'm yearning inside
And I'm the fire of life
Ooh, I've been hurt
And I don't care
Ooh, I've been hurt
And I don't care
'Cause I'm burning inside
'Cause I'm yearning inside
And do you feel it?
Said do you feel it
When you touch me?
I said do you feel it
When you touch me?
I'm fire
Well, it's a fire
Yeah alright
Oh it's just a burning inside
Oh it's just a yearning inside
Said do you feel it?
I said do you feel it
When you cut me?
Said do you feel it
When you cut me?
It's a fire, it's a fire
I'm a fire inside
Oh it's just a dreaming
The lyrics to Iggy Pop's song Dirt speak to a sense of pain or past mistakes, represented by the metaphor of "dirt," that the singer has experienced. However, the repetition of the phrase "I've been dirt / And I don't care" suggests a sense of detachment or even defiance about these experiences. The subsequent lines, "Cause I'm burning inside / Cause I'm yearning inside / And I'm the fire of life" speak to a sense of vitality or passion that the singer still feels, perhaps despite or as a result of the difficulties they have faced. The chorus continues this pattern, with the singer indicating that they have also "been hurt," but remain "burning inside" and "yearning inside."
The final verse of the song contains a question posed by the singer, asking whether their partner ("you") can feel the fire inside of them as well. The repetition of this question - "Said do you feel it / When you touch me? / I said do you feel it / When you cut me?" - suggests a sense of intensity or urgency in the singer's desire for their partner to understand or share their feelings. The final lines of the song - "It's a fire, it's a fire / I'm a fire inside / Oh it's just a dreaming" - continue to emphasize the central image of "fire" or passion, and perhaps suggest a sense of hope or possibility for the singer.
Line by Line Meaning
Ooh, I've been dirt
I've done some unsavory things in my past
And I don't care
I've accepted this fact and moved on
'Cause I'm burning inside
I have a passionate spirit
'Cause I'm yearning inside
I have a strong desire to succeed
And I'm the fire of life
I am full of energy and vitality
Ooh, I've been hurt
I've experienced pain and suffering
And do you feel it?
Do you understand my pain?
Said do you feel it
I'm asking again
When you touch me?
Do you empathize with me?
I'm fire
I am passionate and intense
Well, it's a fire
This passion can be felt by others
Oh it's just a burning inside
It's an innate desire that can't be tamed
Said do you feel it?
I'm asking again
When you cut me?
Do you understand my pain now?
I'm a fire inside
I have a strong spirit and energy
Oh it's just a dreaming
It's just a figment of my imagination
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: DAVID ALEXANDER, JAMES OSTERBERG, RONALD ASHETON, SCOTT ASHETON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
R Robinson
on Livin' On The Edge Of The Night (edit)
Here are corrections to incorrect lyrics - outrageously, stupidly incorrect: The first line is, "ILL WIND off the river". (And that's ill, not I'll.) The second line is, "smoke stacks fade to BLACK". Second verse: "I've made my bed but I can't REST my head". And "so much COULD be misunderstood". Bridge: "WELL maybe it's just my life". An artist crafts his work meticulously , then this is what happens to it. Disgusting.