Stole
Kelly Rowland Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

Stole, stole
Oh, oh
Stole, stole

He was always such a nice boy
The quiet one, with good intentions
He was down for his brother, respectful to his mother
A good boy
But good don't get attention
One kid with a promise
The brightest kid in school, he's not a fool
Readin' books about science and smart stuff
It's not enough, no
'Cause smart don't make you cool, whoa

He's not invisible anymore
With his Father's nine and a broken fuse
Since he walked through that classroom door
He's all over prime-time news

Mary's got the same size hands as Marilyn Monroe
She put her fingers in the imprints
At Mann's Chinese Theater Show
She could've been a movie star
Never got the chance to go that far
Her life was stole, oh
Now we'll never know
(No, no, no, no, stole, stole, oh)

They were cryin' to the camera, said he never fitted in
He wasn't welcome
He showed up to the parties we was hangin' in
Some guys were puttin' him down, bullyin' him 'round, 'round
Now I wish I would've talked to him
Gave him the time of day and not turned away
If I would've been the one to maybe go this far
He might have stayed at home
Playin' angry chords on his guitar

He's not invisible anymore
With his baggy pants and his legs in chains
Since he walked through that classroom door
Everybody knows his name

Mary's got the same size hands as Marilyn Monroe (oh)
She put her fingers in the imprints (ooh)
At Mann's Chinese Theater Show (she could've been a movie star)
She could've been a movie star (oh-oh-oh)
Never got the chance to go that far (oh)
Her life was stole, oh
Now we'll never know (now we'll never know, oh)

Greg was always gettin' net from twenty feet away (twenty feet away)
He had a tryout with the Sixers, couldn't wait for Saturday (Saturday)
Now we're never gonna see him slam
Flyin' high as Kobe can
His life was stole, oh
Now we'll never know (now we'll never, never, never know)

Mm, now we'll never, never, never, never know
Stole, stole, stole
Stole, stole, stole, stole
Ooh-oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

Mary's got the same size hands (same size hands) as Marilyn Monroe (oh-oh)
She put her fingers in the imprints
At Mann's Chinese Theater Show (she was gonna be a star, oh no)
She could've been a movie star
Never got the chance to go that far (never got the chance, yeah)
Her life was stole, oh (stole, stole)
Now we'll never know (now we'll never never know, no)

Greg was always gettin' net from twenty feet away (he had game, oh)
He had a tryout with the Sixers, couldn't wait for Saturday
Now we're never gonna see him slam (never see him)
Flyin' high as Kobe can
His life was stole, oh
Now we'll never know (now we'll never, never know, no)

Oh, no, no, no
Yeah, their lives were stole
Now we'll never know (stole, stole, stole)




We were here, all together, yesterday
(Stole, stole, stole)

Overall Meaning

"Stole" is a song by American recording artist Kelly Rowland, released as the second single from her debut solo studio album, "Simply Deep" in 2002. This powerful and emotional song tells the story of three young people whose lives were taken away by senseless violence. The first verse introduces a young boy who was smart but not popular. The chorus repeats the phrase "Their lives were stole" and introduces the stories of Mary and Greg. Mary is described as having the same size hands as Marilyn Monroe and could have been a movie star but was never given the chance, and Greg was a basketball player with a bright future. The second verse describes the bulling and isolation that the young boy faced before his violent outbreak. The rap breaks down the system that failed these individuals, and the outro line "We were here, all together yesterday" suggests that the tragedy could have been prevented if people had taken the time to help each other out.


"Stole" received positive reviews from critics for its important message and Rowland's powerful vocals. The song was a commercial success, topping the charts in Australia and the UK and reaching the top 10 in several other countries. The music video, directed by Darren Grant, features Rowland singing on a stage while the stories of the three young people are told through flashbacks. In 2020, Rowland released a new version of the song to commemorate the Black Lives Matter movement.


Line by Line Meaning

He was always such a nice boy
The subject of the song was a good and kind person


The quiet one with good intentions
He was a reserved person with only good intentions


He was down with his brother, respectful to his mother
He shared a good relationship with his family members, especially his brother and mother


A good boy
He was inherently a good person


But good don't get attention
Despite being a good person, it did not matter to people as they were attracted to something else


One kid with the promise
He had a lot of potential and promise


The brightest kid in school, he's not a fool
He was one of the most intelligent and capable students in school


Reading books 'bout science and smart stuff
He was very interested in science and other academic subjects


It's not enough, no
However, his intelligence and interest in academics was not enough to make him popular


'Cause smart don't make you cool
Being smart does not make a person cool, accepted or popular


Well he's not invisible anymore
After a certain point, he became a significant part of everyone's attention


With his father's nine and a broken fuse
He brought a gun to school which was his father's with a broken safety catch making it dangerous and highly risky


Since he walked through that classroom door
After entering the classroom with the gun, he became highly visible and known to everyone present


He's all over prime time news
His extreme and violent actions made him the talk of the town including TV news channels


Mary's got the same size hands as Marilyn Monroe
The song talks about a girl named Mary who had the same hand size as Marilyn Monroe


She put her fingers in the imprints At Mann's Chinese Theatre Show
Mary went to Mann's Chinese Theatre Show and placed her fingers in the imprints of famous people


She could've been a movie star
Mary had the potential to become a famous movie star


Never got the chance to go that far
Unfortunately, she never got the chance to pursue her dreams


Her life was stole Oh Oh, now we'll never know
Her life was snatched away, depriving the world of her talents and potential


They're crying to the camera
The people being interviewed on camera are seen crying


Said he never fitted in, he wasn't welcome
The subject of the song did not fit in with the rest and was not accepted by others


He'd show up to the parties we was hanging in
He used to attend parties with others


Some guys were putting him down, bullin' him 'round
However, some people would treat him unkindly and bully him


Now I wish I would have talked to him
The singer regrets not talking to the subject of the song


Gave him the time of day, not turn away
She wishes she had given him attention instead of turning away


If I would've then it wouldn't maybe go this far
The singer believes that if she had talked to the person it might have led to a different and positive outcome


He'd might'a stayed at home playing angry chords on his guitar
If the person had not been mistreated, he might have just stayed at home playing guitar


With his baggy pants and his legs in chains
The subject of the song was in prison with baggy pants and chains on his legs


Everybody knows his name
After the crime he had committed, the person became well-known to everyone


Greg was always getting net from 20 feet away
The song refers to a person named Greg who was good at basketball and could easily score from 20 feet away


He had a tryout with the sixahs couldn't wait for Saturday
He was waiting excitedly for Saturday where he would have a tryout for the sixers


Now we're never gonna see him slam
Sadly, he won't be able to play anymore


Flyin' as high as Kobe can
The song wishes that he could have flown high like Kobe


Ya their lives were stole Now we'll never know
The song talks about how people's lives were taken away from them abruptly and the potential that the world will never get to see


We were here, all together yesterday
The song concludes by stating that everyone was together and had the potential to discuss their feelings and support each other, but now it's too late




Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Dane Anthony Deviller, Sean Hosein, Stephen Alan Kipner

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Most interesting comment from YouTube:

@Acheron666

@TheKraah

I ended up in prison due to being bullied at school.
I ran into the main one in my mid 20s while working on a house which turned out to be 2 doors down from his new address.
This guy pretty much physically and mentally tortured me at school (and out of school as he lived across the street from me) with his friends.
He tried to bully me again, but I was a very different person at that point and I nearly beat him to death with a ratchet.
I got 4 years in prison for that and it ruined my life…..I suffer from CPTSD because of that guy and his friends.
What I did to him didn’t make me feel any better.
I’m now hitting 40 and haven’t been able to work for the past 8 years due to PTSD symptoms, anxiety disorder and severe depression.
I also had a heroin addiction as a direct result of what these people did to me all those years ago.



All comments from YouTube:

@irvinbohac8460

This song is really iconic for any kid who really went through a horrible time in school. Super super powerful track.

@TheKraah

yep, i cried while watching it. gives back a lot of memories and almost took my life too. kids, adults- don't bully! 15 years later and i'm still struggeling. it really can cause terrible damage.

@gemmaaboagye8951

Very inspiring .i didn't fit in when i was at school

@conatcha

Yeah. High school was the most unpleasant time for me too. I was so glad when it ended and started university.

@Acheron666

@TheKraah

I ended up in prison due to being bullied at school.
I ran into the main one in my mid 20s while working on a house which turned out to be 2 doors down from his new address.
This guy pretty much physically and mentally tortured me at school (and out of school as he lived across the street from me) with his friends.
He tried to bully me again, but I was a very different person at that point and I nearly beat him to death with a ratchet.
I got 4 years in prison for that and it ruined my life…..I suffer from CPTSD because of that guy and his friends.
What I did to him didn’t make me feel any better.
I’m now hitting 40 and haven’t been able to work for the past 8 years due to PTSD symptoms, anxiety disorder and severe depression.
I also had a heroin addiction as a direct result of what these people did to me all those years ago.

@TheKraah

@YouTube Sucks i hope you feel better soon❤ it's a shame they got away with it just like that and you had to be punished, even though it wasn't right thing to do either, but i understand. they really can mess up someone's life and mind.. especially when your young and have to go through something so vicious.

13 More Replies...

@shezziesbaby

19 years later and can still feel the emotion in this song

@lovelife9011

So true

@maxbrazil

Eu também

@sharonemsley6540

19 years jesus

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