The band is best known for their debut single, titled "You Get What You Give", which became a top 5 hit in the United Kingdom and has garnered major U.S. airplay for years. The song's celebrity-dissing lyrics at its end provided a minor a spectacle, with Alexander saying that the media misunderstood the meaning. Despite the song's radical messages, anti-materialistic as well as pro-youth, it's ironically been used in many films and even a famous advertising spot.
Tired of touring and promotional interviews, with the group becoming more and more commercialized, Alexander disbanded the group in mid 1999 before the release of their second single, titled "Someday We'll Know". He has successfully focus on writing and producing songs for other artists, winning a Grammy award for his talents. Consequently, the stunning "Someday We'll Know" received little attention in most countries. The band is widely considered a "one-hit-wonder".
You Only Get
New Radicals Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
One, two, three, ow
Wake up, kids
We got the dreamers disease
Age fourteen, they got you down on your knees
So polite, we're busy still saying please
Frienemies, who when you're down ain't your friend
First we run, and then we laugh 'til we cry
But when the night is falling
You cannot find the light (light)
You feel your dreams are dying
Hold tight
You've got the music in you
Don't let go
You've got the music in you
One dance left
This world is gonna pull through
Don't give up
You've got a reason to live
Can't forget
We only get what we give
I'm comin' home, baby
You're tops
Give it to me now
4 AM, we ran a miracle mile
We're flat broke
But hey, we do it in style
The bad rich
God's flying in for your trial
But when the night is falling
You cannot find a friend (friend)
You feel your tree is breaking
Just bend
You've got the music in you
Don't let go
You've got the music in you
One dance left
This world is gonna pull through
Don't give up
You've got a reason to live
Can't forget
We only get what we give
This whole damn world could fall apart
You'll be okay, follow your heart
You're in harm's way, I'm right behind
Now say you're mine
You've got the music in you
Don't let go
You've got the music in you
One dance left
This world is gonna pull through
Don't give up
You've got a reason to live
Can't forget
We only get what we give
Don't let go
I feel the music in you
Don't let go
Fly high, high
What's real can't die
You only get what you give
You're gonna get what you give
Don't give up
Just don't be afraid to leave
Health insurance, rip off lying
FDA, big bankers buying
Fake computer crashes dining
Cloning while they're multiplying
Fashion shoots with Beck and Hanson
Courtney Love and Marilyn Manson
You're all fakes
Run to your mansions
Come around, we'll kick your asses
Don't let go
One dance left
Don't give up
Can't forget
Don't let go
The song "You Get What You Give" by New Radicals is an anthem for dreamers, encouraging them to hold on to their dreams, even when the world is against them. The song was released in 1998 as the lead single from the band's only album, "Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too." The lyrics are a call to arms, urging people to not give up hope, to seek out their passions, and to ignore those who try to bring them down.
The song describes a world where people are told to conform to society's expectations, to be polite, and to do what they're told. The singer warns against "Frienemies," people who pretend to be your friends but will turn on you as soon as things go wrong. The song also references the idea that the rich and powerful can get away with anything, while the rest of us are left to struggle.
Despite the seemingly bleak picture the song paints, it offers hope to the listener. The chorus is a reminder that we all have something inside us that can lift us up and keep us going, even in the darkest of times. The lyrics urge us to not let go of this "music" inside us, and to keep dancing, even when there's only one dance left.
In the end, the song is a powerful message of hope and perseverance. It encourages people to keep pushing forward, to follow their hearts, and to never give up on their dreams.
Line by Line Meaning
Wake up kids
Pay attention, young people
We've got the dreamers disease
We have a tendency to dream and not settle
Age 14 we got you down on your knees
We start early and get crushed by society's expectations
So polite, you're busy still saying please
We're passive and expecting people to always cater to us
Frienemies, who when you're down ain't your friend
We have people in our lives who pretend to be friends but don't have our best interests at heart
Every night we smash their Mercedes-Benz
We rebel against the establishment and their symbols of success
First we run, and then we laugh 'til we cry
We reject conformity and enjoy our freedom but it's a facade
But when the night is falling
When things get tough
You cannot find the light
We're lost and hopeless
You feel your dreams are dying
Our aspirations seem out of reach
Hold tight
Hang in there
You've got the music in you
We have something unique and special within us
Don't let go
Don't give up or forget our potential for greatness
One dance left
There might be one last chance to make something of ourselves
This world is gonna pull through
We're going to survive the challenges we face
Don't give up
Don't quit on yourself
You've got a reason to live
We have purpose and meaning in our lives
Can't forget
We need to remember this truth
We only get what we give
We get back what we put out, including positivity and hard work
I'm comin' home baby
Returning to the good in our lives
You're tops
The things we love are the best
Give it to me now
Embrace and enjoy what we have
Four a.m. We ran a miracle mile
We indulge and take risks
We're flat broke,
We have limited resources
But hey we do it in style
We still make the best of our situation
The bad rich
There are wealthy people who get away with bad things
God's flying in for your trial
Justice will be served eventually
You feel your tree is breaking
We feel like we're losing everything we hold dear
Just then
In that moment of crisis
What's real, can't die
What truly matters will always endure
Don't give up
Keep pushing through despite the obstacles
Just don't be afraid to leave
Don't be afraid to take risks and exit your comfort zone
Health insurance rip off lying FDA big bankers buying
The corrupt systems in our society
Fake computer crashes dining
The luxuries and triviality the elite indulge in while also being as fake as the fake computer crashes
Cloning while they're multiplying
The continous reproduction of the societal standards and the conditioning of the mind
Fashion shoots with Beck and Hanson
Fashion industry's superficiality and gimmick around celebrities and artists
Courtney Love, and Marilyn Manson
The concept of creative expression and its extremity
You're all fakes
The authentic self become non-existent due to societal expectations
Run to your mansions
The privileged are only interested in preserving their privilege
Come around
However
We'll kick your ass in
We'll overcome opposition
I feel the music in you
The power in us that drives creativity and progress
Fly high, high
Soar above it all
You only get what you give
Our effort and attitude influences our outcomes
You only get what you give
Our effort and attitude influences our outcomes
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Spirit Music Group
Written by: Gregg Alexander, Rick Nowels
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@JohmathanBSwift
I feel the music in you
It's encouraging, supportive.
It reaches out and puts a friendly
hand on your shoulder to comfort.
Have you ever been to a bus station,
park,coffee shop, where ever, and saw
someone whose shoulders are slightly
slumped and looking out a lonely window.
Then there's all the people who walk
right past that person. They might even
rudely bump into them.
Well this song is for those people.
It pushes back and protects.
It believes for you, when you can't
Your in harms way
I'm right behind
There's solace in sound
@dawnfire82
@@DomPeriod I remember sitting around a fire with my friends in late 2000 or early 2001, drinking and hanging out. We were all 17, 18, 19 years old. I looked around and said, "You know, we have all these problems with money and jobs and grades and relationship drama and the rest. But one day, we're going to look back on this as the good old days and wish we could go back."
They mostly just laughed, because our problems were oh so serious. But I was right. The years since have just gotten worse and worse. American society is sick. Poisoned, really, since it was deliberate. And, once my generation dies, no one will remember what it used to be like. The optimism and good feeling. The laughter and jokes and humorous takes that no one is 'allowed' to have anymore, because of woke Twitter lynch mobs and crybullies who want your life destroyed if you make them feel bad. Going more than two years without another ginned up batch of race riots, coincidentally always in the summer before elections. God, can you remember back before everyone was fat and diabetic?!
I loved my country, and I enlisted in the Army to protect her after 9/11. I felt compelled.
But now? I can't imagine feeling that way anymore. Everything is polluted with lies and hatred and insanity. Many openly wished us to die because they were mad about politics. Remember 'we'll support the troops when they frag their officers?' I do. I was one of those troops.
It's sad. But when I hear this old, good music, I can feel like I did before it all went wrong. I can forget that there was just a Congressional hearing about whether 12 year olds should be able to cut out their genitalia and pretend to be the opposite sex, or if they should be made to wait until they're the ripe and mature age of 16.
I can forget how much I've come to hate this culture. Though it does make me feel sorry for today's kids, who have known nothing else and think this shit is normal.
@WorldsFairNYC
This was filmed at the Staten Island Mall. My friend Kenny is the guy at the beginning with the blue hat and eyebrow rings. I was delivering Snapple there the day this was being filmed. So many memories. Some things are still identical but the food court is completely relocated and now there’s stores in its place. That Cheesesteak place still exists in an updated form at the new food court. Sorry just wanted to drop some fun facts, all love ❤️
@lyndagies9774
My question is-- the kids sneering at the older adults---how old are they now and what are they doing? I'm so curious. PS--That's cool that you were there during the filming!
@axisofpeter
I've actually been there. Go figure. I stop to visit in-laws once a year while traveling north--and I've been there a grand total of once. Hmmm...will be up there again this summer. I may just have to visit the mall.
@kaybee1025
@@lyndagies9774 😂👍
@carolejohnson791
You made me smile🙃
@hmartz
wow awesome memories
@bristoc
This is so 1999.
This is extreamly 1999.
This is the most 1999 thing of all things.
I'm gonna cry.
@sandromauro3083
Man, I love this MASTERPIECE!!! This song saved my life. 🎧😍
@riccardomorgagni5181
Yeah, and this was my childhood as a '99 born.
@jorgeandrescoppiano.5715
HAHA what a time...the 90's...we sure had a privilege to live it bro