Bull, Dan - Roots Lyrics






At eight or ten I wondered why my voice wasn't breaking yet
I was impatient to get from A to Z
So I'd break a sweat, play cassettes in my tape deck
Waiting for the day I could step to a stage
And get paid respect, paid a cheque
Maybe the other kids would even play with me then
It's great to pretend the tune was written for you
That's why you sing with the radio while it ignores you
You perform awful but feel a lot better
"Boom Boom Boom", "Here Comes the Hotstepper"
Even back then my preference was funky
But less funky house than House in the Country
Syncopation, soul, anybody ill with it
Other kids had Whigfield, I was feeling Bill Withers
And to this day I'm still with him
Because nothing beats a sweet voice on distilled rhythms

I'm digging up my roots for you
Cooking up a little tuneful food
Come to the garden for a barbecue
And chill with me

Before I even saw South Park on TV
I knew by heart the South Park CD
GTA: 1969 opened a life long affinity for Trojan
Return of Django, Skinhead Moonstomp
Music of Jamaican origin liberating my boom box
Too young for Appetite for Destruction
So The Offspring were my rock introduction
That was all I needed to be free
A CD with some power chords shredding like a power saw
"Fuck me, wow" I thought
How can plucked strings be this powerful?
But then I found another source of auditory debauchery
This naughty teen thought was sweet
I bought a CD by an Emine-MC
called "Hi! My Name Is Slim Shady"
I played it in my hi-fi daily
It never seemed to cease to amaze me
He'd say some crazy things
That were great for a teenager that needed danger
I'd replay the lyrics amazed
At the way the images would flicker in my brain so vividly
An outsider, a country bumpkin
Sitting inside with the Outsidaz bumping
There's something about rhymes
Nothing else quite does as well, I love it
Cypress Hill: Live at the Fillmore
I'm not going to lie, that film was raw
Each rap I heard, each film I saw
Inspired me to build my skills some more
So I bought more CDs to imitate
Believe me, back in the day it was great

I'm digging up my roots for you
Set the mood and feel those soothing grooves
Come to the garden for a barbecue
And chill with me

I had piano lessons after every last school day
But my patience was thinner than an anorexic
I didn't want to play ballads anyway
I had a daydream of breakbeats and a pen and paper
So I said I'd make the make believe real
And make some real reel to reels like B-Real
But the magic's made on computers today
So I used Magix Music Maker
Read the instructions, learnt all the book
Taught myself big beats like Norman Cook
Always cooking up a new track
Though with no microphone I couldn't actually do rap
That was too bad, but it wasn't too bad
'Cause I'd already forgot and had a new fad
Threw away The Source, bought a new mag
Made new mates, talked in new slang
I was a punk rocker now, proper loud
Would you believe I grabbed any opportunity to fuck about?
But what about the music? I've gone and lost it now
So I grabbed a guitar and started rocking out
Made a band with my mates called MatronsApron
We played around, made some tapes it was great fun
Full of belly laughs
Even received a brief mention in the Telegraph
Just a couple of kids, played a couple of gigs
And then my mates moved on but fuck if I did
Obviously too late, got a copy of Cubase
A lot of tunes made, now it's today
I've innovated, took my inspirations in and made them
Into an original addition to your playlist
So now I meditate about how to elevate
'Cause Safe was the safety net to let me levitate

I'm picking my best fruit for you
You're the one, and I'd like tea for two
Come to the garden for a barbecue
And chill with me





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Bull, Dan Roots Comments
  1. M.... ....

    I heard "Laws of Movement" by Passion Hi-Fi and was reminded of this song.
    which came first?

  2. K.... ....

    This song is my favorite out of all of dan bull's songs! i cant stop dancing from it XD

  3. T.... N....

    This album is great!

  4. S.... G....

    Best tune on the album imo. Might buy it.

  5. B.... T....

    I would thoroughly enjoy chillin' at a barbecue with ya Dan. Let me know if you ever make it over to the states.

  6. S.... B....

    I feel bad listening  and re-listening to the tracks on MP3 after I bought the album... It makes me feel like I'm taking away hits from the Youtube videos that Dan deserves!

  7. T.... ....

    listened to the album 5 or 6 times now. I'll buy on pay day, seen it in the play store too.

  8. p.... ....

    Ah south park in GTA that confused me as a kid.

  9. S.... B....

    Dear Dan Bull,
    This is my girls profile but i had to stop for a second to say thank you for this song you just pulled me right out of my depression this hit me hard.  You damn near read my life back to me and this is not the 1st song to do this ether.  You and dave are a hugeeeeeeee inspiration for my Mixing or  just to make it through a rough day. For that i would like to say with the highest abuse of caps lock "Thank you for being there for me when i felt like i had no one that understood me or just one of them days where you feel like saying Eff it all no fan boy stuff seriously thank you"

  10. T.... J....

    Im glad you didn't give up on music

  11. J.... M....

    This song=awesome!

  12. A.... ....

    He mentions Cubase! I love that software!

  13. J.... H....

    I really like all of your music!!!

  14. B.... -....

    Smoooooooth

  15. S.... D....

    I liked this song just as much as the last, Dan! This album sounds awesome, and I'm only two songs in!!

  16. H.... ....

    Cool to hear this stuff... keep it up!

  17. Z.... ....

     rly good man gz :)

  18. Z.... ....

    Should sign to StrangeMusic.

  19. a.... ....

    Gahhhhhhh the beats is so stronk

  20. C.... P....

    lol dan, these music is free and on iTunes then it cost money?!

  21. M.... ....

    dan i just wanna say this. YOU KICK MORE ASS THAN GAMING ok well thats a tad exaturated but you get my point.

  22. J.... R....

    I love the background video it works well with the song.great stuff Dan, especially with headphones!

  23. R.... ....

    wow, he put it on piratebay.

  24. A.... ....

    Man im really loving this album keep up the good work

  25. n.... g....

    I love your music.

  26. 1.... ....

    Dude, I'm usually absolutly not into Rap, but this is really great ! I hope you'll get happy with making music and become as succesfull as you want. :)

  27. E.... S....

    Fucking amazing

  28. T.... ....

    Good track

  29. M.... L....

    This sounds kinda like the roots (band)

  30. B.... ....

    I noticed a mention of MagicX and Cubase - out of interest, what do you use now? (Reason man myself)

  31. F.... M....

    ide chill with ya bruv

  32. T.... ....

    Mate. This is probably one of my favourite songs you've done so far. The shit you do is amazing Dan.

  33. C.... H....

    Who did the cover art for the album?

  34. t.... ....

    Here comes the hotstepper!

  35. Z.... ....

    Awesome 

  36. D.... N....

    Dan, you're in the new Surgeon Simulator.

  37. R.... ....

    Take my money already, and give me that album!

  38. I.... ....

    This is a bad-ass track.

  39. D.... ....

    someone needs to make the full version of "Boom boom boom here comes the Hotstepper"

    D.... ....

    Its already a song, every verse has references in it, return of django and skinhead moonstomp are both reggae songs, the offspring, appetite for destruction, both bands. Anything with caps in the lyrics is probably a reference.

  40. A.... D....

    Dan always says he prefers youtube

  41. A.... ....

    Dan the man! Please look into Destiny and make something for that game, love your music, cheers!

  42. O.... A....

    Will we be seeing any music videos for this album Danius McBullington?

  43. F.... ....

    Sweet rhymes! I feel like i'm lying on sea waves and they are rocking me back and forth gently.

  44. m.... ....

    Love the new album. Bought it but haven't listended to it all already. 

  45. C.... ....

    Personally I like Summer Rain more.

  46. P.... ....

    Ok. Gonna buy the album. Awesome. Cheers

  47. S.... ....

    I was halfway through the song before I realized dave was playing his gameboy.

  48. L.... O....

    I wanna hear you number 1 on the radio, it's possible. An independent artist reached number 2 once, I think you can do one better!

  49. B.... M....

    hey Dan,  loved it but I don't know if its just me but the beat felt like it had a tiny delay to the rest of the music its just my opinion but ye :)

  50. L.... J....

    The drums sound sweet in my new ATH-M50's. 

  51. L.... J....

    This is phenomenal! 

  52. L.... ....

    man i cant wait to buy this album

  53. F.... M....

    cool...

  54. C.... ....

    I honestly don't like this. The rhymes were feeble and the tune put me off. Sorry.

  55. J.... N....

    Who else wants to hear Dan's first band?!

  56. T.... ....

    I Love real rap like this.

  57. G.... ....

    That Ref sounds a lot like Mr Damon Albarn... Nice song, nice lyrics, nice everything :)
    You never disappoint, Dan.

  58. c.... m....

    im 14 and i discovered cypress hill still listening

  59. N.... ....

    encore plus classe que celle d'avant même si se n'est pas comparable :)

  60. A.... ....

    Is the person with the pink guitar on the cover image Dan?

  61. R.... ....

    For those who can't afford it, here's a link, but PLEASE buy this in the future! Normally Dan would upload this for free, but for whatever reason he didn't.. www(dot)supportthepatriarchy(dot)com/

    >inb4 illegal (I live in Sweden, and the website is hosted in Sweden, therefore I can legally host this ^^ )

  62. M.... ....

    i was worried when i heard track one but, track two is quality.
    i'll listen to track three.

    edit: the chorus is corny as shit, though.

  63. c.... ....

    This is great Dan, keep up the good work man.

  64. D.... W....

    Gotta give Dan props for his amazing musical talent. Also admire him for actually interacting with his viewers. Keep up the amazing work Dan!

  65. J.... ....

    I'm a new musician and I'm looking to get started with digital recording and editing. I was looking at programs and the three I heard about (mainly, I heard ofothers) were ableton live 9, cubase, and magix. I mainly use a Pc but I have a mac if I need it. I'm on a budget of about 1K max, preferably less and I am a student (which I know sometimes gives you discounts) if anyone could help me out with picking something to start on that would be awesome! Figured I would ask here cus this is one of the few music channels I watch not full of mean and disrespectful comments.

  66. C.... ....

    Very good Dan. Loved it.

  67. P.... ....

    I think I see in the artwork boyinaband, john john lenenenenenenenenenon, slim shady, wesley willis and bob marley. and is that you on the guitar? and am i right in thinking the people on the cover are all influences?

  68. I.... R....

    This is great man.

  69. R.... 3....

    dear god this is glorious

  70. F.... K....

    Great Song Dan!

  71. D.... ....

    That was a great song Dan, serious question, how long does it usually take you to write the lyrics to a song?

  72. R.... ....

    I just saw your Trophy in Surgeon Simulator thanks to RoosterTeeth.

  73. p.... ....

    Dan, I think this is the best song of yours I've heard so far that wasn't a musical tribute to a video game. Of course you game songs are excellent too.

  74. S.... ....

    i love the cover art and this track is awesome :D cant wait for tomorrow's track

  75. T.... ....

    Really liking this album so far!

  76. Y.... ....

    Oh dang, this is gonna be a good album

  77. S.... ....

    Nice track. I still like Summer Rain better, but this one is not bad at all.

  78. P.... ....

    It's really cool to see you liked Skinhead Moonstomp. I'm only 16, but my parents used to play that 20 Reggae Classics album all the time. I still listen to it.

  79. D.... ....

    Hi, my name is...

  80. g.... d....

    hey Dan your amazing and keep it up please i know allot of your raps by memory 

  81. N.... E....

    I don´t like the hook but the rest of the track is fuckin awnsome great job

  82. d.... ....

    Again another amazing song dan you are amazing never stop rapping man :)

  83. G.... M....

    I have to say Dan, I'm really loving this album so far! I haven't bought an album in a long time but I wouldn't mind listening to this while I'm driving to and fro.

  84. S.... S....

    **lights up the BBQ** 
    How's it all going then? Sausage, or burger?

  85. O.... ....

    I'm confused, Dan. Do you like or hate Eminem's music? Just wondering.

    O.... ....

    By the song I'm guessing he liked it because he listened to the slim shady LP and sang to it.

    O.... ....

    He likes it. He said so in his attempt to rap Rap God.

    O.... ....

    He said in a video with Dave that Eminem is his favourite rapper of all time

  86. J.... K....

    Only just seen Dave in the bottom right XD

  87. K.... ....

    That last part was brilliant

  88. A.... P....

    One of my favourite tracks off this album.

  89. Q.... ....

    HAHA Your annotation is hilarious "Click here to get the full album on iTunes. Also available on Amazon, Spotify and The Pirate Bay." Good stuff. Also, it's missing the Oxford Comma ^__^

  90. J.... ....

    Are we going to see a "The Garden-Needlessly Extravagant Edition"?
    I'd like that.

  91. M.... F....

    Dan you are amazing, so glad you did that yogscast thingy so I could discover you!

  92. O.... ....

    Really enjoying these so far Dan Bull. Really nice job, will be buying the album at the end of the week.

  93. n.... i....

    When I first herd you I thought you were just someone who raped about games now I see you are much more. Love your music and keep up the grate work

    n.... i....

    *rapped not raped

    n.... i....

    @*****
    Mistaking "raped" and "rapped" is more common than mistaking "great" and "grate".

    n.... i....

    @Riddy Prower I always thought that it was the other way round
     

    n.... i....

    @modelman76
    Well that was actually the first time I saw someone mistake "great" with "grate", so... I guess it's different for everyone?

    n.... i....

    heard not herd

  94. L.... J....

    I like the song, but summer rain is one of my new favorite songs

  95. M.... R....

    This is great! I'm so sick of the "rap" these days, it's always the same thing. But this is so good, I wish there was more rappers like you on Dan, all the love <3. ( no homo )



























    ( okay maybe a little homo )

  96. K.... T....

    I bought the album and I was still excited to see that you posted the second video!

  97. Z.... ....

    I am reminded of Weezer's 'Heartsongs'. :)

  98. D.... ....

    Hey Dan do you have plans for any music videos for these tracks? Friends with benefits would be a great Single to release :)

  99. J.... K....

    really like the setting the songs meaning is hidden behind :)

  100. B.... D....

    +Dan Bull, nice job on this song. Can't wait to see how the rest of the album turns out. I say that because I have no money for iTunes. Either way, awesome song.

    And in case you were wondering, my name is a TV show reference.