["We took the empty spot next to him at the bar","Pulled out the jammy, aimed it at the sky","Been had a little horsey named Paul Revere","I'm Mike D and I get respect","One lonely Beastie I be","","The King Adrock, that is my name","With Adrock, MCA, and me, Mike D","The beat was a-bumpin' and the girlies was hot","","\"Now my name is MCA, I got a license to kill","It started way back in history","He wasted two kids then ran for the door","The sheriff's after me for what I did to his daughter","Riding across the land, kicking up sand","Now here's a little story I got to tell","Quick on the draw, I thought I'd be dead","The sun is beatin' down on my baseball hat","","I run this land, you understand? I made myself clear\"","And I had a chance to run, he pulled out his shotgun","The brew was in my hand and he was on my tip","","","I can blow you away or you can ride with me","Your cash and your jewelry is what I expect","","I did it with a whiffle ball bat","You got two choices of what you can do","All by myself, without nobody","","His boy had beef and he got dropped","Lookin' for a girl, I ran into a guy","We rode for six hours then we hit the spot","","I think you know what time it is, it's time to get ill","It's not a tough decision as you can see","","And I know the fly spot where they got the champagne","","","My name's Mike D and I'm about to get money\"","So I'm on the run, the cop got my gun","The kid said, \"Get ready 'cause this ain't funny","","I did it like this, I did it like that","He told a little story that sounded well rehearsed","Sheriff's posse's on my tail 'cause I'm in demand","Now what do we have here? An outlaw and his beer?","I grabbed two girlies and a beer that's cold","Four days on the run and that he's dying of thirst","I said, \"I'll ride with you if you can get me to the border\"","And right about now, it's time to have some fun","The piano player's out, the music stopped","","MCA said, \"Yippee yo, you know this kid?\"","His name is MCA, I said, \"Howdy,\" he said, \"Hi\"","","He yelled, \"Stick 'em up!\" and let two fly","This dude was starin' like he knows who we are","You think this story's over but it's ready to begin","MCA was with it and he's my ace","Just me and my horsey and a quart of beer","The air is gettin' hot, the beer is gettin' flat","Hands went up and people hit the floor","About three bad brothers you know so well","His voice was hoarse, his throat was dry, he asked me for a sip","So I grabbed the piano player and I punched him in the face","Mike D grabbed the money, MCA snatched the gold","","Now I got the gun and you got the brew","I said, \"I didn't but I know he did\"","He put the gun to my head and this is what he said","","He said, \"Can I get some?\" I said, \"You can't get none\"","We stepped into the wind, he had a gun, I had a grin"]
Performed by: Beastie Boys
Written by: Adam Horovitz; D Mcdanials; R Rubin; J Simmons
Credits: Horovitz, Adam (Songwriter); Mcdanials, D (Songwriter); Rubin, R (Songwriter); Simmons, J (Songwriter); AMERICAN DEF TUNES, INC (Publisher); BROOKLYN DUST MUSIC (Publisher); POLYGRAM INT'L MUSIC PUBG GROUP (Publisher); UNIVERSAL MUSIC CORP. (Publisher)
Adam Horovitz told how the song evolved from an incident when the Beastie Boys were waiting outside a recording studio for Run-D.M.C., when Joseph Simmons ("Run") suddenly came running down the street screaming incoherently. When he reached the Beastie Boys, he said "Here's a little story I got to tell...". After much confusion, Simmons stated "THAT's the song". The band worked on it from there. [1]
Quotes
"I think that the whole concept of trying the drum backwards was a mistake, and then it turned into a record. Everybody was congratulating themselves on how creative they were, but in fact, it was really a mistake." - Russell Simmons.[2]