In the end, the court reserved judgment on the artistic value of the song, saying "whether we personally regard it as repulsive trash or a work of genius is immaterial to a determination of the legal issues presented to us" and left it for the district court to decide. The case never made it back to the district court, and the song is still up on Last.fm, so we can assume the parties settled their differences.
The decision, which features the lyrics to the song in their entirety including a translation of the chorus by Mrs. Parks herself, can be found at 329 F.3d 437 (6th Cir. 2003).
Rosa Parks
OutKast Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
(Cut it up, oh, oh, oh!)
Uh-huh, yeah, yeah, baby, uh-huh
Uh-huh, baby, uh-huh, yeah, yeah
Baby, yeah, yeah, uh-huh, uh-huh
Ah ha, hush that fuss
Everybody move to the back of the bus
We the type of people make the club get crunk
Ah ha, hush that fuss
Everybody move to the back of the bus
Do you wanna bump and slump with us?
We the type of people make the club get crunk
Many a day has passed, the night has gone by
But still I find the time to put that bump off in your eye
Total chaos, for these playas, thought we was absent
We takin' another route to represent the Dungeon Family
Like Great Day, me and my nigga decide to take the back way
We stabbin' every city then we headed to that Bat cave
ATL, Georgia, what do we do for ya?
Bulldoggin' hoes like them Georgetown Hoyas
Boy, you soundin' silly, think my Brougham ain't sittin' pretty
Doin' doughnuts 'round you suckas like them circles around titties
Damn, we, the committee, gon' burn it down
But us gon' bust you in the mouth with the chorus now, say
Ah ha, hush that fuss
Everybody move to the back of the bus
Do you wanna bump and slump with us?
We the type of people make the club get crunk
Say, ah ha, hush that fuss
Everybody move to the back of the bus
Do you wanna bump and slump with us?
We the type of people make the club get crunk
I met a gypsy and she hipped me to some life game
To stimulate then activate the left and right brain
Said, "Baby boy, you only funky as your last cut
You focus on the past, your ass'll be a 'has-what'"
That's one to live or either that's one to die to
I try to just throw it at you, determine your own adventure
Andre, got to her station, here's my destination she got off the bus
The conversation lingered in my head for hours, took a shower
Kinda sour 'cause my favorite group ain't comin' wit it
But I'm witcha 'cause you probably goin' through it anyway
But anyhow, when in doubt, went on out and bought it
'Cause I thought it would be jammin'
But examine all the flawsky-wawsky
Awfully sad and it's costly, but that's all she
Wrote and I hope I never have to float in that boat
Up shit's creek, "It's weak" is the last quote
That I wanna hear when I'm goin' down
When all's said and done and we got a new joe in town
When the record player get to skippin' and slowin' down
All y'all can say is, "Them niggas earned that crown", but until then
Ah ha, hush that fuss
Everybody move to the back of the bus
Do you wanna bump and slump with us?
We the type of people make the club get crunk
Say ah ha, hush that fuss
Everybody move to the back of the bus
Do you wanna bump and slump with us?
We the type of people make the club get crunk
(Oh, breakdown)
Ah ha, hush that fuss
Everybody move to the back of the bus
Do you wanna bump and slump with us?
We the type of people make the club get crunk
Say ah ha, hush that fuss
Everybody move to the back of the bus
Do you wanna bump and slump with us?
We the type of people make the club get crunk
Uh-huh, uh-huh, baby, yeah, yeah
Uh-huh, yeah, yeah, baby, uh-huh
Uh-huh, baby, uh-huh, yeah, yeah
Baby, yeah, yeah, uh-huh, uh-huh
Ah ha, hush that fuss, everybody move to the back of the bus (Uh-huh, uh-huh, baby, yeah, yeah)
Do you wanna bump and slump with us? (Uh-huh, yeah, yeah, baby, uh-huh)
We the type of people make the club get crunk
Say ah ha, hush that fuss, everybody move to the back of the bus (Uh-huh, baby, uh-huh, yeah, yeah)
Do you wanna bump and slump with us? (Baby, yeah, yeah, uh-huh, uh-huh)
We the type of people make the club get crunk
The lyrics to Outkast's song "Rosa Parks" are playful and catchy, but also contain a political message. The "hush that fuss" in the chorus is a call for calm in the midst of chaos, urging everyone to "move to the back of the bus" and come together in the club. This is a reference to the historic civil rights activist Rosa Parks, who famously refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama bus in 1955, sparking the Montgomery Bus Boycott and eventually leading to the desegregation of public transportation.
The verses explore different themes that tie back to this message. The first verse speaks to the idea of taking a different, more creative path to achieve one's goals, and celebrates the underground rap collective the Dungeon Family, of which Outkast is a part. The second verse has more introspection, with Andre 3000 receiving words of wisdom from a gypsy about staying relevant in the ever-changing music industry. The breakdown at the end of the song repeats the chorus with some fun ad-libs and emphasizes the playful, catchy nature of the song.
Overall, "Rosa Parks" is a fun and infectious club anthem, but also a political statement and celebration of revolutionary movements in American history.
Line by Line Meaning
Ah ha, hush that fuss
Shut up and stop causing a commotion
Everybody move to the back of the bus
Step aside, make room
Do you wanna bump and slump with us?
Do you want to party with us, dance with us?
We the type of people make the club get crunk
We are the kind of people who get the party going
Many a day has passed, the night has gone by
Time has passed
But still I find the time to put that bump off in your eye
I still have time to cause trouble
Total chaos, for these playas, thought we was absent
There was chaos and confusion because people thought we weren't there
We takin' another route to represent the Dungeon Family
We're taking a different path to represent our group
Like Great Day, me and my nigga decide to take the back way
We decided to take a different route
We stabbin' every city then we headed to that Bat cave
We're traveling and causing trouble
ATL, Georgia, what do we do for ya?
What do we bring to the city of Atlanta?
Bulldoggin' hoes like them Georgetown Hoyas
We're being aggressive and dominating, like a sports team
Boy, you soundin' silly, think my Brougham ain't sittin' pretty
You sound foolish for thinking my car isn't attractive
Doin' doughnuts 'round you suckas like them circles around titties
We're showing off and driving our cars in circles
Damn, we, the committee, gon' burn it down
We're going to cause chaos and destruction
But us gon' bust you in the mouth with the chorus now, say
We'll hit you with the chorus of our song
I met a gypsy and she hipped me to some life game
I had a conversation with a wise person who taught me some valuable lessons
To stimulate then activate the left and right brain
To engage both sides of the brain and think creatively
You focus on the past, your ass'll be a 'has-what'
If you only focus on the past, you won't be successful
That's one to live or either that's one to die to
That's a piece of advice to live or die by
Andre, got to her station, here's my destination she got off the bus
Andre reached his destination and his conversation partner got off the bus
Kinda sour 'cause my favorite group ain't comin' wit it
I'm disappointed because my favorite group isn't involved
But I'm witcha 'cause you probably goin' through it anyway
But I'm still with you because you're probably going through something difficult
But anyhow, when in doubt, went on out and bought it
When in doubt, buy the thing you want anyway
'Cause I thought it would be jammin'
Because I thought it would be great
But examine all the flawsky-wawsky
But when you look more closely, there are a lot of flaws
Awfully sad and it's costly, but that's all she
It's really disappointing and expensive, but that's all there is
Wrote and I hope I never have to float in that boat
That's all she wrote, and I hope to never be in that situation
Up shit's creek, 'It's weak' is the last quote
We're in a bad situation and 'It's weak' is the only thing left to say
When all's said and done and we got a new joe in town
When everything is over and there's someone new in charge
When the record player get to skippin' and slowin' down
When the music starts to have problems
All y'all can say is, 'Them niggas earned that crown', but until then
All you can say is that we earned our success, but until then...
Uh-huh, uh-huh, baby, yeah, yeah
Just some adlibs
Ah ha, hush that fuss
Shut up and stop causing a commotion
Everybody move to the back of the bus
Step aside, make room
Do you wanna bump and slump with us?
Do you want to party with us, dance with us?
We the type of people make the club get crunk
We are the kind of people who get the party going
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Andre Benjamin, Antwan Patton
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@snakeeyes2551
I swear I can jam to any OutKast song as a matter of fact here's my Top 10.
1. Ms. Jackson
2. Hey Ya!
3. The Way You Move
4. B.O.B.
5. The Whole World
6. Roses
7. So Fresh and So Clean
8. ATLiens
9. Player's Ball
10. Rosa Parks
@TheBeefTrain
Andre 3000 stepping out of his trailer shirtless in football pads: "Ok, I'm ready to film."
Big Boi: "K."
@PatinaEdochie
Right 😂😭 He one of the few that could eva pull somethin like that off tho! 💯🐐👑
@bornwisedistruction
A lot of dre's outfits were nods to The Mothership Connection aka Parliament Funkadelic!
@genrekowski
@@bornwisedistruction He dives into that in Broken Record with Rick Rubin. Check it out.
@amberarredondo9754
Lmao 🤣
@jackderaway
Idk I think I like the pads better than that all orange Mets outfit big boi got on. Lmao
@akepeleapparel
Big Boi kept Andre grounded while Andre helped Big Boi out his comfort zone...
@Theman96699
Ecxactly
@drew31dm
Couldn't have said it any better
@DJRenz
@@BWynn-eb8qn it’s an opinion, relax yourself.