Hold It Now, Hit It – English Lyrics

• By: Beastie Boys
• Album: Licensed To III

Lyrics & Translation

[English]

♪ Hold it now, hold it now, hold it now ♪

♪ Hit it ♪

(old-school hip-hop music)

♪ Yo Leroy ♪

♪ Hey, yo, yo, yeah ♪

♪ Why don't you hook up that def jam right about now ♪

♪ Now I chill real ill when I start to chill ♪

♪ When I fill my pockets with a knot of dollar bills ♪

♪ Sipping pints of ale out the window sill ♪

♪ When I get my fill I'm chilly chill ♪

♪ Now I just got home because I'm out on bail ♪

♪ What's the time ♪

♪ It's time to buy ale ♪

♪ Peter-eater, parking meter all of the time ♪

♪ If I run out of ale, it's Thunderbird wine ♪

♪ Miller-drinking, chicken-eating, dress so sly ♪

♪ I got friends in high places that are keeping me high ♪

♪ Get down Mike D. And it ain't no hassle ♪

♪ Got the ladies of the eighties from here to White Castle ♪

♪ Hold it now hold it now, hold it now hit it ♪

♪ Yo, Leroy! ♪

♪ It's my drum, it's my, hold it now, it's my rhyme ♪

♪ Hey now its me Adam Yauch in the place to be ♪

♪ All the girls are on me cause I'm down with Mike D. ♪

♪ I'm down with Mike D. And it ain't no baloney ♪

♪ For real, not phony, O E and Rice-a-Roni ♪

♪ I come out at night 'cause I sleep all day ♪

♪ Well, I'm the King Adrock and he's M.C.A. ♪

♪ Well I'm cruising, I'm bruising, I'm never ever losing ♪

♪ I'm in my car, I'm going far and dust is what I'm using ♪

♪ Around the way is where I'm from ♪

♪ And I'm from Manhattan and I'm not a bum ♪

♪ Because you're pud-slapping, ball-flapping, got that juice ♪

♪ My name's Mike D. And I can do that Jerry Lewis ♪

♪ Hold it now hold it now, hold it now hit it ♪

♪ Yo, Leroy! ♪

♪ Yo, that was real def man, try that again, man ♪

♪ I like that def stuff, boy ♪

♪ Hip-hoppin', body-rockin', doing the do ♪

♪ Beer-drinking, breath-stinking, sniffing glue ♪

♪ Belly fillin', always illin', busting caps ♪

♪ My name's Mike D. And I write my own snaps ♪

♪ I'm a peep-show seeking on the forty-deuce ♪

♪ I'm a killer at large and I'm on the loose ♪

♪ Pistol-packing, monkey-drinking, no money bum ♪

♪ I come from Brooklyn 'cause that's where I'm from ♪

♪ Cheap-skate, perpetrating, money-hungry jerk ♪

♪ Everyday I drink O E and I don't go to work ♪

♪ You drippy-nose knuckle-head, you're wet behind the ears ♪

♪ You like men, and we like beers beer, beer, beer ♪

♪ Hold it now, hold it now, hold it now, hit it ♪

♪ Yo, Leroy! ♪

♪ Bust that choco-lotto ♪

♪ What, huh, yo, man, pass that over here, man, alright ♪

♪ King of the ave. with the def female ♪

♪ You're rhyming and stealin' with the freshest ale ♪

♪ Cooling at the crib watching my TV ♪

♪ Ed Norton Ted Knight and Mr. E D ♪

♪ Pump it up homeboy, just don't stop ♪

♪ Chef Boy-are-dee cooling on the pot ♪

♪ I take no slack 'cause I got the knack ♪

♪ And I'm never dusting out 'cause I torch that crack ♪

♪ The King Adrock, that is my name ♪

♪ And you're drinking Moet, we got the champagne ♪

♪ A quarter-dropping, going shopping buying wigs ♪

♪ Surgeon general cut professor D.J. Thigs ♪

♪ Hold it now hold it now, hold it now, hit it ♪

♪ Hit it Hit it, hit it, hit it, hit it ♪

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
hold /hoʊld/ A2	verb - to keep or grasp something noun - a grip or a position of control
hit /hɪt/ A2	verb - to strike something noun - a successful song or a sudden impact
chill /tʃɪl/ B1	verb - to become cold; to relax adjective - cool, relaxed
ale /eɪl/ B1	noun - a type of beer brewed without hops, often maltier
dollar /ˈdɒl.ər/ A1	noun - the basic unit of money in the United States and many other countries
bail /beɪl/ B2	noun - money paid to release someone from jail verb - to release someone from jail by paying bail
high /haɪ/ A2	adjective - elevated; intoxicated
ladies /ˈleɪ.diːz/ A2	noun - women; polite term for females
rhyme /raɪm/ B2	noun - correspondence of sound between words or endings of words verb - to form a rhyme
king /kɪŋ/ A2	noun - a male monarch; a person who is preeminent in a field
cruising /ˈkruːzɪŋ/ B2	verb - to travel smoothly at a steady speed
bruising /ˈbruːzɪŋ/ B2	verb - to cause a bruise; to strike causing discoloration of the skin adjective - having bruises; marked with discoloration
dust /dʌst/ B1	noun - fine particles of matter; powdery residue verb - to remove dust from something
Manhattan /mænˈhæ.tən/ C1	noun - a borough of New York City, often used to refer to the city’s central business district
pistol /ˈpɪs.təl/ B2	noun - a small firearm that can be held in one hand
monkey /ˈmʌŋ.ki/ A2	noun - a primate; also slang for a mischievous person
cheap /tʃiːp/ A2	adjective - low in price; of inferior quality
jerk /dʒɜːk/ B1	noun - a contemptible person; an abrupt movement verb - to pull or move abruptly
beer /bɪər/ A1	noun - an alcoholic drink made from fermented grains
torch /tɔːrtʃ/ B2	verb - to set fire to something noun - a portable light source, especially a flashlight

Key Grammar Structures

• When I fill my pockets with a knot of dollar bills

  ➔ Present Simple with 'When'

  ➔ The phrase 'When I fill' uses the present simple to describe a habitual action that occurs in a specific context.

• I got friends in high places that are keeping me high

  ➔ Present Perfect with 'Have/Have got'

  ➔ 'I got friends' uses the present perfect to indicate a past action with present relevance.

• If I run out of ale, it's Thunderbird wine

  ➔ First Conditional

  ➔ The sentence uses the first conditional to express a possible future situation and its result.

• I come out at night 'cause I sleep all day

  ➔ Contractions ('cause)

  ➔ 'Cause is a contraction of 'because,' commonly used in informal speech.

• I'm a killer at large and I'm on the loose

  ➔ Present Continuous

  ➔ The phrase 'I'm on the loose' uses the present continuous to describe an action happening now.

• Everyday I drink O E and I don't go to work

  ➔ Adverbs of Frequency

  ➔ 'Everyday' is an adverb of frequency indicating a habitual action.

• You like men, and we like beers beer, beer, beer

  ➔ Parallel Structure

  ➔ The sentence uses parallel structure ('you like men, and we like beers') for emphasis and rhythm.

• The King Adrock, that is my name

  ➔ Emphasis with 'That is'

  ➔ 'That is' is used to emphasize the statement 'my name.'