Gorillaz - Clint Eastwood Lyrics - Genius Lyrics

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Clint Eastwood
Gorillaz
“Clint Eastwood” is the phenomenal debut single from “virtual band” Gorillaz, dropped in 2001. The… read more »
CLINT EASTWOOD LYRICS
[Produced By: Dan the Automator, Gorillaz, Jason Cox & Tom Girling]
[Hook: 2D]
I ain't happy, I'm feeling glad
I got sunshine in a bag
I'm useless, but not for long
The future is coming on
It's coming on, it's coming on
It's coming on…
[Verse 1: Del]
Finally, someone let me out of my cage
Now, time for me is nothing, 'cause I'm countin' no age
Nah, I couldn't be there, now you shouldn't be scared
I'm good at repairs, and I'm under each snare
Intangible, bet you didn't think, so I command you to
Panoramic view, look, I'll make it all manageable
Pick and choose, sit and lose, all you different crews
Chicks and dudes, who you think is really kickin' tunes?
Picture you getting down in a picture tube
Like you lit the fuse, you think it's fictional
Mystical? Maybe, spiritual hero who appears in you
To clear your view when you're too crazy
Lifeless to those, the definition for what life is
Priceless to you because I put you on the hype shit
You like it? Gun smokin', righteous with one toke
Psychic among those, possess you with one go
[Hook: 2D]
It's coming on…
[Verse 2: Del]
The essence, the basics, without it, you naked
Allow me to make this, childlike in nature
Rhythm, you have it or you don't, that's a fallacy
I'm in them, every sprouting tree, every child of peace
Every cloud and sea, you see with your eyes
I see destruction and demise, corruption in disguise
From this fucking enterprise, now I'm sucked into your lies
Through Russel, not his muscles
But the percussion he provides with me as a guide
Y'all can see me now, 'cause you don't see with your eye
You perceive with your mind; that's the inner
So I'ma stick around with Russ and be a mentor
Bust a few rhymes so motherfuckers remember
Where the thought is, I brought all this
So you can survive when law is lawless
Feelings, sensations that you thought was dead
No squealing, remember that it's all in your head
[Hook: 2D]
It's coming on…
SHARE THE LYRICS
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“CLINT EASTWOOD” TRACK INFO
Featuring Del The Funky Homosapien
Produced By Jason Cox, Tom Girling, Dan The Automator & Gorillaz
Written By Jamie Hewlett, Del The Funky Homosapien & Damon Albarn
Release Date March 5, 2001
EXPAND TRACK INFO

Samples Ennio Morricone – The Good, The Bad And The Ugly
Sampled In Renard – Even The Odd Found Love, Lenlow (Ft. The Black Eyed Peas, Gorillaz &
Sean Paul) – Get Eastwood, DaymanOurSavior – EXTREME MEME MUSIC
MEGAMASHUP, VersionZorak – Don't Step The Vibe *
Interpolated By Gorillaz (Ft. Phi-Life Cypher) – Clint Eastwood (Phi Life Cypher Version),

CardCaptorXP – Clint., Gorillaz (Ft. Jessafur) – In a Bag, IDK (Ft. Del The Funky
Homosapien, MF DOOM & Yung Gleesh) – Pizza Shop Extended
Cover By Robyn Adele Anderson – Clint Eastwood, Richard Cheese – Clint Eastwood,

Umphrey's McGee – Sad Clint Eastwood
Remixed By Gorillaz (Ft. Sweetie Irie) – Clint Eastwood (Ed Case/Sweetie Irie Re-Fix) (Edit),
Gorillaz – Clint Eastwood (A Fistful Of Peanuts), CardCaptorXP – Clint.
Performed Live As Gorillaz (Ft. Bootie Brown & De La Soul) – Clint Eastwood (Demon Detour
Version), Gorillaz (Ft. Kano & Little Simz) – Clint Eastwood (Live at Demon Dayz
Festival)
BACK TO TOP
LISTEN TO “CLINT EASTWOOD”
WHAT HAVE THE ARTISTS SAID ABOUT THE SONG?
WHY IS IT CALLED CLINT EASTWOOD?
MORE ON GENIUS
Gorillaz Debut New Album ‘Humanz’ During Concert In London
Deltron 3030 Talks About Creating Gorillaz’s Classic Song “Clint Eastwood”
NEXT UP
Man Research (Clapper)

GORILLAZ
Gorillaz (2001)
GORILLAZ
. Re-Hash
. /
. Tomorrow Comes Today
. New Genius (Brother)
. Clint Eastwood
. Man Research (Clapper)
. Punk
. Sound Check (Gravity)
. Double Bass
. Rock the House
.
. Latin Simone (¿Qué Pasa Contigo?)
. Starshine
. Slow Country
. M A
. Clint Eastwood (Ed Case/Sweetie Irie Re-Fix) (Edit)
. (Soulchild Remix)
. Dracula
. Left Hand Suzuki Method
Gorillaz [Tracklist + Album Art]
COMMENTS
mewmewmew 159 3 years ago
this song is not about drugs you guys, it is much deeper
+143 UPVOTES
Tishawnie 3 years ago

The song is actually about music. It is shown in the lyrics, music is Intangible cannot be seen and has
no age, Aka last forever. Plus Del brings up a drum which is a snare and also percussion. He will play
(sing this song) that lasts forever so everyone remembers this message. Why would he guide people
with the use of drugs. Also when he says getting down on a picture tube, we know this is a
reference to YouTube and what do you get down to, music. :D YourWelcome. GG
+56 UPVOTES
J Spazz 42 3 years ago
Del that Funkee Homosapien is one of all time favorite lyricists due to his intelligence presented
within these verses. Dude goes in!
+34 UPVOTES
97203micah 48 3 years ago
The song is about drugs AND music AND depression. The song is so deep because it has all of those
deeper meanings.
+33 UPVOTES
Carl 2 years ago
To the person that said this song is referencing youtube. The song was created 4 years before
youtube. And by the way it’s you’re welcome.
+31 UPVOTES
About “Clint Eastwood”
About “Clint Eastwood” 7 contributors
1 Wild Rose Chance 81,485 60%
2 CashewXD 23,761 20%
3 sprightlyoaf 60 15%
4 JofNIAB 50,045 2%
5 jcrrrr13 1,669 2%
6 Coffeemon 193 1%
7 Newbyte 4,233 0%
“Clint Eastwood” is the phenomenal debut single

from “virtual band” Gorillaz, dropped in 2001.
The funky aesthetic of the video and the song’s
menacing, mellow beat made it one of the
singles to bump in that year. It features Del Tha
Funky Homosapien on the mic and is produced
in large part by Dan the Automator.
Conceptually, the song is part of the Gorillaz

canon/mythology, with Del Tha Funky
Homosapian playing Del Tha Ghost Rapper, a
spirit possessing Russel, the band’s drummer,
whose eyes are clouded over with the spirits of
his friends who were killed in a drive-by shooting
in Brooklyn. It uses this story as a starting point
for a conversation about the ego versus the
spirit.
The driving theme of the song manifests itself in

the contrast between 2D’s mellow, passive hook
and Del’s rap that calls the listeners to action.
The conflict is reminiscent of that between
archetypal id and ego -
One might consider Del to represent the spirit of
creative enterprise that pervades humanity; the
desire in “every sprouting tree, every child of
peace” to make something beautiful.
There is also a possible undercurrent of drug

imagery: sunshine in a bag could refer to weed
or psychedelic drugs, and Del’s possession of
Russel may be a metaphor for an individual
under the influence.
The song’s title is a reference to Clint Eastwood,

the actor who has portrayed icons of rugged
manliness and badassery perhaps better than
any other. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly and
Gunsmoke are alluded to in the song. In the
former movie, Clint’s nameless character says
that he has “sunshine in a bag,” gold coins.
Gorillaz returned to this subject matter, at least
nominally, on 2005’s “Dirty Harry,” named as a
nod to one of Clint’s better-known movies. In
2001, the song was given the UK Garage
treatment in its remix by producer Ed Case,
which was, in the UK, a bigger radio hit than the
album cut.
+115 UPVOTES Share
Tap and hold to copy URL
[Produced By: Dan the Automator, Gorillaz,

Jason Cox & Tom Girling]
Genius Annotation 2 contributors
2 2604fishes 14,378 2%
The melodica in the beat has very subtle musical

similarities to “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
(Main Titles)” by Italian film composer Ennio
Morricone.
+20 UPVOTES Share

1 biznizza 162 30%
2 Brian Gonser 22,419 29%
3 alexf22 331 23%
4 Fervoracious1 8,990 8%
5 ThottiePimppen 1,697 3%
6 moshitup 65,991 3%
7 TedMosby 16,193 3%
9 AndyMeyer 321 1%
A reference to Clint Eastwood’s line in the Good,

the Bad & the Ugly, when the kid asks him “you
gonna be alright?” and he says “Yeah, kid. I got
sunshine in a bag.” He’s referring to GOLD in his
bag, saying he will be alright ‘cause he has
money.
That’s the main reason this song is called “Clint
Eastwood,” and other references to his
characters follow.
The obvious meaning behind this line when

we’re not talking references is drugs, which
usually come in sandwich bags.
+104 UPVOTES Share

2 Ward 4,644 42%
3 Benn 1,083 10%
He may not be of much use at the moment

(probably because he’s wasted), but he will be in
the future, which is why he keeps his head up
and anticipates the good that will come his way.
Certain kinds of LSD were also called Orange

Sunshine or Blue Sunshine, so the “gold” in his
bag might not only be marijuana. After taking
either psychedelic, there is a brief wait before
the effect of the drug “comes on” (in the future).
+90 UPVOTES Share
Finally, someone let me out of my cage
1 THOMASJEFFERSON 267 28%
2 Klonopin 22,057 20%
4 Mrjoeman 14 8%
5 CashewXD 23,761 7%
6 jtothet 69 7%
7 Ridill 1,069 6%
8 Wujabes 412 4%
9 RandyV 1,092 3%
Throughout the song, Del portrays that voice
you hear in your head. In the music video, right
before he begins to rap, he busts out of Russel
(the drummer)’s head.
This lyric is part of the story/mythology

surrounding the fictional members of Gorillaz.
Russel is possessed by the spirits of his friends,
who were gunned down in a drive-by shooting
outside a Brooklyn high school. Del is “out of his
cage,” that is, he no longer possesses Russel.
Del is assuming the role of the ego in this verse

of the song, and describing the listener’s
susceptibility to it’s delusions. Here he is
describing his escape, which is assumed as a
ghost, or an eternal soul. There is a great amount
of braggadocio in this verse. On the second
verse he assumes the subconscious, or the true
self. The other side of the eternal being.
+53 UPVOTES Share
Now, time for me is nothing, 'cause I'm countin'

no age
Nah, I couldn't be there, now you shouldn't be
scared
Genius Annotation 1 contributor
1 ThatStringBean 11,746 100%
He’s the ghost of Russel’s dead childhood friend,

which means he is now ageless, and people may
stare in disbelief when he materializes before
them. He is much more powerful now that he is
immortal, without time’s chokehold, but for now,
he isn’t here to harm, just put on a show.
+11 UPVOTES Share
And I'm under each snare
2 E10 21 12%
3 gimmethatburger 15 12%
5 Interplays 51,012 9%
6 Ward 4,644 7%
7 CashewXD 23,761 4%
8 BennySwoons 110,448 4%
9 Klonopin 22,057 1%
This a very nuanced line. Del is literally rapping

along to the rhythm of the song, hence under
each beat of the snare drum in the song. He’s
also possessing Russel, the drummer in Gorillaz,
hence being under each snare beat that Russel
produces.
Finally, there’s a wordplay here on “snare” as in

snare drum and “snare” as in trap, i.e. the traps
that the ego sets for you: casual gratification to
fix your problems that really pans out to be an
illusory quick fix. Throughout this verse, Del
represents the ego.
+47 UPVOTES Share
Intangible,
1 WarrenGHarding 141 47%
2 tbboy13 214 35%

In the Gorillaz universe, the character of Del is a

spirit living in the head of the drummer, Russell.
Being a spirit, he is intangible.
By canon, Del is actually Russel’s dead friend,

who upon getting killed in a drive-by, has his
soul transported to Russel’s mind among other
friends. This is why Russel’s eyes are blank white,
because they are clouded with his friends souls.
(On the other hand, the reason 2 D has two black
eyes is because he got hit on the head twice in
separate accidents, hence the name 2 D(ents).
Another double entendre where Del as a dead

spirit is untouchable, but also, that the ego is
virtually ungraspable within the mind.
+30 UPVOTES Share
Priceless to you because I put you on the hype

shit

3 rafaparreira 177 6%
4 NodTrooper 665 3%
5 MissTish 6,344 2%
This is the another direct line to the listener,

where he’s saying I’m priceless to you because I
put you on to what’s cool, because they’re an
ego controlled individual that can’t create or
decide what’s cool themselves. The revelation
that this spirit brings to them is priceless.
Interestingly, Del (real-life Del) is priceless to

Gorillaz because this is the song that put them on
the charts. It’s bigger than Blur’s “Song 2,” which
was Damon Albarn’s biggest hit prior to this.
Everyone was hyping Clint Eastwood.
Of course, it can also be a reference to weed,

and the “hype” varieties thereof which are
“priceless.”
+25 UPVOTES Share
You like it? Gun smokin',

1 Hoolasul 751 40%
2 theRastaSmurf 903 26%
4 ryansholin 2,470 8%
He’s giving you this feeling that is equivalent to

marijuana, which you smoke, so you’re smoking
like a gun. A lyrical allusion to the television show
Gunsmoke, a popular Western TV show
featuring… you guessed it, Clint Eastwood.
Clint acted in a ton of Westerns and action

movies (like Dirty Harry, below) and had a lot of
guns in it, many of them smoking. There’s no one
cooler than Clint back in the day. Del is saying
“You like it? Cool.”
+15 UPVOTES Share

The essence, the basics, without it, you naked
2 CashewXD 23,761 46%
Without learning the basics of anything that you

attempt, you will undoubtedly fail when trying
to accomplish great things among something of
which you know not.
Now Del is assuming the role of the true self,

describing back to some ego delusions, like
some of the first things you are taught that
essentially incite the ego. He’s saying WITHOUT
these, you’ll make it. Meaning one often needs to
forget everything they know before they can
truly learn. How can you fill a cup that’s already
full?
+15 UPVOTES Share

Allow me to make this, childlike in nature
1 raoulfluke 29 57%
2 Ridill 1,069 28%
3 E10 21 15%
In other words “Allow me to make this second

nature.” “Allow me to make this very simple.”
Also going with the ego/self duality theme, the

true self is thought to be innocent, open, and
“childlike in nature.” He’s trying to teach the
listener how learn with a childlike receptiveness.
+20 UPVOTES Share

Rhythm, you have it or you don't, that's a fallacy
1 Ward 4,644 37%
Thinking you don’t have rhythm is just an old

wive’s tale. Everyone has a little rhythm in them!
They would just have to be willing to feel it and
devote to it.
But rhythm isn’t just referencing once’s inherent

musical capacity, but talent in general: being “in
rhythm” with the universe. Describing the phrase
“you have it or you dont,” as a fallacy, or a false
notion.
As Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart noted:
“ Life is about rhythm. We vibrate, our hearts

are pumping blood, we are a rhythm
machine, that’s what we are.
+39 UPVOTES Share

I'm in them, every sprouting tree, every child of
peace
Every cloud and sea,
1 djclimber100 229 88%
2 JamallDeezy 117 13%
He is Rhythm, a pantheistic being that is imbued

within everything around us.
+23 UPVOTES Share

You see with your eyes
1 WizeMack 7,138 57%
2 EPoodle 6,652 43%
You’re only looking at things on a literal, non-

intellectual level while he sees abstract, hidden
concepts like destruction and demise.
The narrator uses the sea/see homophone to

transition between nature in the previous lines
and social concepts in the next ones.
+18 UPVOTES Share

I see destruction and demise, corruption in
disguise
From this fucking enterprise, now I'm sucked
into your lies
2 WizeMack 7,138 36%
As Rhythm, the pervasive force behind the

Universe and Nature, Del can see not only
instances of good things in accordance with the
Rhythm, but also, bad things (corruption) in the
human enterprise, which is arrhythmic, and runs
against the natural way of things (the way that
God, for lack of a better word, wants them).
Because he is possessing a human being, Russel,

he’s been sucks into these lies, whereas before
he was “out of his cage” he was One with the
Universe, with the Spirit, what have you, and
sees clearly all of this evil. After all, he was, in life,
a victim of corrupted enterprise: a driveby
shooting.
Another interesting interpretation builds on this

one, and involves a critique of the music industry.
As mentioned, the narrator is personifying the
concept of Rhythm here – specifically
unadulterated musical rhythm (“the essence, the
basics”). But when he opens his eyes in tangible
form he sees a corrupt enterprise that’s leading
to the destruction and demise of that Rhythm:
the music industry. Rhythm is nature; the music
industry is sucking people into its lies by
exploiting Rhythm for profit. The message: stay
true to the music, don’t let the appeal of money
compromise your musical integrity.
+36 UPVOTES Share
Through Russel,
1 Ward 4,644 100%
Fictional Gorillaz member Russel Hobbs
+15 UPVOTES Share

Not his muscles
But the percussion he provides
1 Ender 169 35%
3 Renigma 2,547 27%
4 123andtotha4 83,724 6%
5 Interplays 51,012 4%
He gets his messages across through Russell’s

drumming. He is literally haunting Russell and
that’s why he is so connected to him. His
observations on rhythm in the universe or in
people are conveyed through the drumming
(Gorillaz' songs).
+15 UPVOTES Share
With me as a guide
Y'all can see me now, 'cause you don't see with
your eye
You perceive with your mind;
1 CashewXD 23,761 52%
3 Cognautic 1,240 7%
4 kbozz 0 5%
Del’s been sucked into their lies, but he isn’t
fooled by them. He’s attempting to guide young
artists out of the wrong paths. The only way you
can follow, or even understand this, however, is
by using your intelligence, not by looking.
If going with the drugs imagery, we can

remember that LSD and peyote have been
equated with spiritual guides in books like The
Doors of Perception and The Teachings of Don
Juan. The tradition of a spirit features
prominently in world religion and literature, such
as Virgil in Dante’s Inferno. And Del is, after all, a
spirit.
+21 UPVOTES Share
That's the inner
Refers to the inner, spiritual eye (mind’s eye), or

third eye. Most everyone has this eye closed.
Jesus, Buddha, Ghandi, they had theirs open and
tried to teach us how to do the same. You don’t
need drugs to achieve this level of spirituality
and understanding, but if it helps you, whatever
works I guess.
+12 UPVOTES Share
So I'ma stick around with Russ and be a mentor
1 tbboy13 214 64%
2 CashewXD 23,761 36%

In the Gorillaz universe, Del is a spirit that lives
inside of the drummer, Russel Hobbs, and
emerges to lay down raps on the first Gorillaz
album.
Del, through Russ, will guide the troubled youth

through the corruption of the music industry.
+30 UPVOTES Share
Bust a few rhymes so motherfuckers remember

Where the thought is, I brought all this
1 iBringTheStorm 17 97%
2 Klonopin 22,057 3%
Del again here is referring to emerging as a

rapper through Russ so people remember where
the “thought” is. Again reinforcing the power of
one’s mind in which Del resides.
+9 UPVOTES Share

So you can survive when law is lawless
This line is a final allusion to the man in the title,

Clint Eastwood, whose Dirty Harry and Man With
No Name characters survive in largely lawless
worlds, creating their own rules, and defending
themselves entirely without the aid of a larger
governmental system. “Law” in the Wild West
was often a synonym for “guns,” very much like
some of the roughest ghettos in America even
today. Del promises to teach you how to rough it
like Clint.
+14 UPVOTES Share

No squealing, remember
1 DannyVan 788 100%
Don’t tell anybody about me, they’ll think you’re

crazy!
+26 UPVOTES Share

That it's all in your head
1 CashewXD 23,761 32%
2 soto777 61 26%
3 rafaparreira 177 19%
4 Cognautic 1,240 11%
5 123andtotha4 83,724 4%
6 jtothet 69 4%
In addition to it all being in your head due to the

marijuana, remember the creativity that is vested
inside your mind, ‘your head’ so to speak. Also,
the effects of psychedelics are all in your mind,
and if you tell someone what you are
experiencing they will think you are crazy. So
you always have to remember that it isn’t real.
The drugs interpretation is one thing, but what is

in his head (and our heads too) is the inspiration,
the rhythm and the creativity.
+50 UPVOTES Share

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CLINT EASTWOOD LYRICS

SHARE THE LYRICS

Justin Timberlake Paid

“CLINT EASTWOOD” TRACK INFO

Featuring Del The Funky Homosapien

EXPAND TRACK INFO

Interpolated By Gorillaz (Ft. Phi-Life Cypher) – Clint Eastwood (Phi Life Cypher Version),

Cover By Robyn Adele Anderson – Clint Eastwood, Richard Cheese – Clint Eastwood,

LISTEN TO “CLINT EASTWOOD”

WHAT HAVE THE ARTISTS SAID ABOUT THE SONG?

WHY IS IT CALLED CLINT EASTWOOD?

Gorillaz Debut New Album ‘Humanz’ During Concert In London

Man Research (Clapper)

mewmewmew 159 3 years ago

this song is not about drugs you guys, it is much deeper

Tishawnie 3 years ago

J Spazz 42 3 years ago

97203micah 48 3 years ago

Carl 2 years ago

About “Clint Eastwood”

About “Clint Eastwood” 7 contributors

1 Wild Rose Chance 81,485 60%

2 CashewXD 23,761 20%

“Clint Eastwood” is the phenomenal debut single

Conceptually, the song is part of the Gorillaz

The driving theme of the song manifests itself in

There is also a possible undercurrent of drug

The song’s title is a reference to Clint Eastwood,

+115 UPVOTES Share

Tap and hold to copy URL

[Produced By: Dan the Automator, Gorillaz,

Genius Annotation 2 contributors

1 Wild Rose Chance 81,485 98%

The melodica in the beat has very subtle musical

+20 UPVOTES Share

Tap and hold to copy URL

Genius Annotation 9 contributors

1 biznizza 162 30%

2 Brian Gonser 22,419 29%

3 alexf22 331 23%

8 Wild Rose Chance 81,485 3%

A reference to Clint Eastwood’s line in the Good,

The obvious meaning behind this line when

+104 UPVOTES Share

Tap and hold to copy URL

I'm useless, but not for long

Genius Annotation 3 contributors

1 Wild Rose Chance 81,485 48%

2 Ward 4,644 42%

3 Benn 1,083 10%

He may not be of much use at the moment

Certain kinds of LSD were also called Orange

Tap and hold to copy URL

Finally, someone let me out of my cage

Genius Annotation 9 contributors

1 THOMASJEFFERSON 267 28%

2 Klonopin 22,057 20%

3 Wild Rose Chance 81,485 17%

This lyric is part of the story/mythology

Del is assuming the role of the ego in this verse

+53 UPVOTES Share