I Know by Big Sean Lyrics Meaning – Decoding the Escapist Hymn Through Its Poignant Verses
Lyrics
I know you don’t even love the same, do you, do you?
I know you’ve been runnin’ on empty, runnin’ on empty
The way you move it’s like you could use a vacation
Drinking Hen’ and the harder you dance
I swear right now it look like you on a vacation
Gotta get away, make it happen
Whatever happened just had to happen
On vacation, yeah
I know you’ve been, I know you’ve been
Dancin’, dancin’ dancin’ like you fucking got a reason
Dancing like it’s something to believe in
Dancing like it’s fuckin’ dancing season
Blame it on the alcohol or blame it on sativa
The harder your heart keep beating
Only feel bad while you’re thinkin’
Pop pop pop like Pepsi Coke, the best we smoke
Plus the tan look like you flew in from Mexico
Go go, let me see how wild it get
Bustin’ wide as it get
You need to be taken care of and pampered
But just like a pamper, he on that childish shit
I know you’ve been silencing your phone
(Silencing your phone, ignoring calls from home)
I know you’ve been tryna get along
What’s up, it’s on, no games, we grown
I know you feel like sometimes that y’all don’t speak the same language
I know that you just wanna let it go with all the bitches that you came with
I know you’ve been going through some thangs, wanna get away
Baby let me be your vacation
The other chick you’ve been fuckin’ with is a trip
You know she be playin’
Baby I am just saying
I know you know I am down for whatever, yeah
You know I’m just here to make you feel better, yeah
Take a load off on my private island
Come inside and go into hiding
I know that you’ve been sacrificing your time
And need time to unwind and let go
So let go and let’s go and let’s roll and we roll
Excited, activated get ignited
So many charges on my card oh God I think I got indicted
Get a, get a night, get a day, get a room, get a place
Get a drink, pop a bottle, maybe we can get away
You a star, you need space
We can shoot up by the town
Have you ever been to Texas?
South By Southwest
Where we can smoke a zip like we can’t get arrested
Where they might know us off any intersection
I mean baby I know you’ve been, wanna be that baddest
Wanna be with somebody who ain’t never had it
No status, just all cinematics, you just got casted
I know you’ve been crying and poutin’
Know you’re tired of arguing
But no screaming and shouting
And you know we on a roll like we did good in college
Throwin’ hundreds and thousands
Like they not hundreds and thousands
Why? Cause I know you’ve been going through some things
(I know you’ve been going through some things you can’t explain
Which your may think that shit insane
I know you just tryna maintain, that shit is lame, you can’t complain)
I know you don’t even love the same, do you, do you?
(Don’t love the same, I know you’ve been diving through pain
I know you runnin’ so crazy, I know you runnin’ on empty
That shit can fuck with your mente
I know this shit, don’t you tempt me, I know you)
The way you move it’s like you could use a vacation
Drinking Hen’ and the harder you dance
I swear right now it look like you on a vacation
Gotta get away, make it happen
Whatever happened just had to happen
On vacation, yeah
I know you’ve been, I know you’ve been
I know it look like like you need a vacation
How ’bout Hawaii, maybe Jamaica, maybe Asia
Taking you places ‘lotta nigga can’t take ya
Don’t forget the make up
Yeah
In a world where hip-hop oscillates between the bravado of success and the heartfelt confessions of life’s tribulations, Big Sean’s ‘I Know’ emerges as an anthem of understanding and escape. The track, which features from his 2015 studio album ‘Dark Sky Paradise’, digs deep into the narrative of a person burdened by the weight of unspoken struggles.
Through a blend of woozy beats and introspective lyrics, Big Sean crafts a song that resonates with the listener’s desire to flee from the quotidien and find solace in something, or someone, that offers a temporary haven. We delve into the meaning behind ‘I Know’ and explore its compassionate call to escapism, connection, and comfort in times of distress.
An Odyssey of the Overwhelmed Soul
The song’s opening lines immediately set the stage for the kind of raw emotional acknowledgement that only intimate familiarity can spawn. With a sensitive ear, Sean addresses someone who’s ‘going through some things’, a universal nod to private battles and internal chaos. The familiarity isn’t just in knowing these pains but in recognising the change it brews within a person – a shift in the capacity to love and endure.
It’s this intuitive understanding and the reach for connection that underscores the song’s lyrical journey. The repetitive assurance in the line ‘I know you’ve been runnin’ on empty’ becomes a comforting refrain, validating the exhaustion that often goes unnoticed.
The Escape Fantasy: Vacations as a Metaphor
Escape is a recurrent theme in ‘I Know’, painted vividly with metaphors of vacation and images of exotic locales. These aren’t mere travel plans, but symbolic of a mental breather from the oppressive realities that choke one’s peace. When Sean extols the virtues of Hennessy and dancing as a form of release, he’s speaking to the human need for respite, a momentary lapse from the grind.
This dreamlike escapism is best understood as Sean’s offer of solidarity, underscoring the song’s ethos as a gesture of support. The invitation to ‘make it happen’ on a figurative vacation extends beyond physical travel to strum the strings of emotional liberty.
Under the Influence of Music and Intoxication
Blurring lines between literal and figurative, ‘I Know’ delves into the intoxicating effect of music and substance alike. Here, alcohol and sativa serve as agents that liberate one from the consciousness of their pain. It’s within these lines that Big Sean also portrays a juxtaposition of celebration and self-medication.
As the beat pulses and the ‘heart keep beating’, the song suggests that there’s solace in the beat’s embrace, an embrace that, while temporary, allows a release from turmoil—one that is found on the dance floor, in the rhythm of life that urges forgetting even if just for a moment.
The Hidden Meaning: A Connection Beyond the Superficial
Scratching beneath the surface of ‘I Know’, there lies a more poignant subtext about the complexities of human connection. Big Sean portrays a character who offers unwavering support – an assurance of being ‘down for whatever’. Then in a twist of depth, Sean’s lyrics expound on the idea that the protagonist isn’t simply another escapade, but a sanctuary from the ‘childish shit’ that plagues us.
Herein lies the song’s hidden meaning: the reference to a ‘chick you’ve been fuckin’ with’ contrasts with the narrator’s own intentions, highlighting a dedication to be the stable force amidst a sea of instability. And just like that, ‘I Know’ becomes more than a song about distractions—it’s about finding someone who can truly shoulder the intricate dance of fear and desire.
Quotable Verses and Memorable Lines: The Lyrical Hooks
‘I Know’ is stitched together with lines that hook the listener, evoking nodding heads and hearts in sync with its truth. ‘Pop pop pop like Pepsi Coke, the best we smoke’ rhymes with ease and stands out for its playful nod to indulgence, while ‘The way you move it’s like you could use a vacation’ is a line charged with empathy and the promise of relief.
But perhaps the line that encapsulates the song’s heart the best is the repeated ‘I know you’ve been going through some things’. It’s a line that is at once a simple statement and a complex admission of shared human vulnerabilities. As this line reverberates, Big Sean embeds himself as both observer and confidant, guiding the listener through the track’s emotive landscape of pain, understanding, and the search for peace.
