Lift Off
Jay-Z & Kanye West (Watch The Throne) Lyrics


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(All engines running)

We gon' take it to the moon, take it to the stars
How many people you know can take it this far?
I'm supercharged
We 'bout to take this whole thing to Mars (lift off)

Now we gon' take it to the moon, take it to the stars
You don't know what we been through to make it this far
So many scars
We 'bout to take this whole thing to Mars

(Lift off) lift off, takin' my coat off
Showin' my tattoos, I'm such a showoff, huh
I feel the pain and then rolled off
I got the whole city they about to go off
How many niggas with' me up and in this aisle?
How many people wanna roll with me now?
Like you know na na na, you know me by now
Know me, know me by now

We gon' take it to the moon, take it to the stars
How many people you know can take it this far?
I'm supercharged
We 'bout to take this whole thing to Mars

Now we gon' take it to the moon, take it to the stars
You don't know what we been through to make it this far
So many scars
We 'bout to take this whole thing to Mars (lift off, ah, ah)

Like you know na na na, you know me by now
Know me, know me by now
You know, know me by now
Know me, know me by now

Lift off, rappers hear watch the throne
They gon' be pissed off
Earth is boring to 'em
Shit is making my dick soft
When you Earnhart as me eventually you hit a big wall
Five, four, three, two we need fuel, lift off

Now we gon' take it to the moon, take it to the stars
How many people you know can take it this far?
I'm supercharged
I'm 'bout to take this whole thing to Mars

Now we gon' take it to the moon, take it to the stars
You don't know what we been through to make it this far
So many scars
'Bout to take this whole thing to Mars

(Twenty seconds and counting)
(T-minus fifteen seconds, guidance is internal)
(Twelve, eleven, ten, nine)
(Ignition sequence start)
(Six, five, four, three, two, one)
(Zero, all engine running)
(Lift off, we have a liftoff)

Now we gon', now we gon', now we gon', now we gon' (J-jump)
Now we gon' take it to the moon
Now we gon', now we gon' (J-j-jump)
We gon' take it to the moon
Take it to the stars (J-j-jump)
We gon' take it to the moon
Take it to the stars
How many people you know can take it this far?
Take it to the stars




How many people you know can take it this far?
Now we gon', now we gon', now we gon', now we gon', now

Overall Meaning

The opening lines of "Lift Off" by Jay-Z and Kanye West speaks to their ambitious and confident nature. They are confident of taking things to the moon and to the stars, something that most people can only dream of. The singers ask rhetorically how many people they know that can take it as far as they have. They are supercharged and ready to take over the world, at least figuratively speaking. They talk about what they have been through to make it this far; they have faced numerous obstacles and have scars to show for it. But they persist and are now ready to take the game to the next level.


The chorus of the song is almost like an affirmation of their confidence, a reminder that they can do it. They are ready to take on the world, take it to Mars. The second verse talks about the criticisms they face and the challenges of staying on top. They reference their previous album, Watch the Throne, and how it will make rappers angry. They talk about how they are bored of Earth and need to find a new height to achieve. The closing lines of the song evoke the countdown before a space launch and then the liftoff itself. They are about to take off and take the world with them.


Line by Line Meaning

(All engines running)
We are all set and ready to go.


We gon' take it to the moon, take it to the stars
We have achieved so much that we can now aim for greater heights and we won't stop till we reach the top.


How many people you know can take it this far?
How many people have achieved this level of success?


I'm supercharged
I am extremely motivated and energized.


We 'bout to take this whole thing to Mars (lift off)
We are now aiming for even higher levels of success, which will be like reaching Mars, and we are ready to lift off and achieve it.


You don't know what we been through to make it this far
You don’t know the struggles we have faced and overcome to achieve our current success.


So many scars
We have been through so much pain and difficulty, which has left us with scars, but we have persevered and succeeded despite them.


(Lift off) lift off, takin' my coat off
We are ready to take off and achieve even greater things, and we are so confident that even taking off our coat seems like a simple task in comparison.


Showin' my tattoos, I'm such a showoff, huh
I am so confident and proud of my accomplishments that I don’t mind showing off my tattoos and being noticed.


I feel the pain and then rolled off
I have experienced pain and difficulties, but I have learned to overcome them and keep going.


I got the whole city they about to go off
I have such a huge following and influence that the whole city is about to go crazy with excitement and celebration.


How many niggas with' me up and in this aisle?
How many people are with me and supporting me on this journey?


How many people wanna roll with me now?
How many people want to join me on this journey to even greater success?


Like you know na na na, you know me by now
By now, you should have a good understanding of who I am and what I am capable of achieving.


Lift off, rappers hear watch the throne
Other rappers are aware of our success and are taking notice of our achievements.


They gon' be pissed off
They will be angry and resentful that we have achieved so much success.


Earth is boring to 'em
Other rappers don’t see anything exciting or interesting on Earth, they want to achieve greater heights.


Shit is making my dick soft
The lack of competition is making things boring and unchallenging.


When you Earnhart as me eventually you hit a big wall
When you have achieved as much as I have, eventually you will face major obstacles and challenges to overcome.


Five, four, three, two we need fuel, lift off
We need more energy and motivation to achieve greater things, so we need to lift off and find that energy.


(Twenty seconds and counting)
A countdown has started for our lift off which is only twenty seconds away.


(T-minus fifteen seconds, guidance is internal)
Fifteen seconds to lift off, guidance is under our control and not external.


(Twelve, eleven, ten, nine)
The countdown continues listing the seconds towards lift off.


(Ignition sequence start)
The sequence to lift off is beginning.


(Six, five, four, three, two, one)
The countdown to lift off is reaching its climax: one more second to go.


(Zero, all engine running)
The engines are all running, ready to lift off to greater heights of success.


(Lift off, we have a liftoff)
We have lifted off, we are achieving even greater heights and success.


Now we gon', now we gon', now we gon', now we gon' (J-jump)
We are now making a leap towards even greater success.


Now we gon' take it to the moon
We are now taking our success and achievements to new levels.


Take it to the stars (J-j-jump)
We are now aiming for the stars and beyond, even greater than what we have already achieved.


How many people you know can take it this far?
How many people have achieved this level of success?


Now we gon', now we gon'
We are now moving forward towards greater heights and success.




Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Henry Samuel, Jeffrey Bhasker, Kanye West, Mike Dean, Peter Hernandez, Pharrell Williams, Shawn Carter

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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