Paul Revere

"Paul Revere" is a song by American hip hop group Beastie Boys, released as the third single from their debut album Licensed to Ill (1986). It was written by Adam Horovitz, Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Rick Rubin. It was produced by Rick Rubin and the Beastie Boys. The song tells a fictional story of how the Beastie Boys met. 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. In 2007, an artist called Kia Shine released a single called "Krispy" with a similar beat, raising questions about copyright infringement.

[Produced by Rick Rubin and Beastie Boys] [Verse 1: Ad-Rock, MCA, (Mike D)] Now here's a little story I've got to tell About three bad brothers you know so well It started way back in history With Ad-Rock, MCA, (and me) Mike D Been had a little horsey named Paul Revere Just me and my horsey and a quart of beer Riding across the land, kicking up sand Sheriff's posse's on my tail 'cause I'm in demand One lonely Beastie I be All by myself without nobody The sun is beating down on my baseball hat The air is getting hot, the beer is getting flat Looking for a girl, I ran into a guy His name was MCA, I said howdy, he said hi [Verse 2: Ad-Rock, MCA] He told a little story that sounded well rehearsed Four days on the run and that he's dying of thirst The brew was in my hand and he was on my tip His voice was hoarse, his throat was dry, he asked me for a sip He said, "Can I get some?" – I said, "You can't get none!" Had a chance to run, pulled out his shotgun Quick on the draw, I thought I'd be dead He put the gun to my head, and this is what he said Now my name is MCA, I've got a license to kill(yeah) I think you know what time it is, it's time to get ill(yeah) Now what do we have here, an outlaw and his beer? (uh huh) I run this land, you understand? I've made myself clear? We stepped into the wind, he had a gun, I had a grin You think this story's over, but it's ready to begin [Verse 3: Ad-Rock, MCA, (Mike D)] Now I got the gun, you got the brew You got two choices of what you can do It's not a tough decision as you can see I can blow you away or you can ride with me I said, I'll ride with you if you can get me to the border The sheriff's after me for what I did to his daughter I did it like this, I did it like that I did it with a wiffleball bat So I'm on the run, the cop got my gun And right about now it's time to have some fun The King Ad-Rock, that is my name And I know the fly spot where they got the champagne We rode for 6 hours, then we hit the spot The beat was a bumping and the girlies was hot This dude was staring like he knows who we are We took the empty spot next to him at the bar MCA said, "Yippie Yo, you know this kid?" I said I didn't, but I know he did The kid said, ("Get ready 'cause this ain't funny My name's Mike D and I'm about to get money") Pulled out the jammy, aimed it at the sky He yelled ("Stick 'em up!") and let two fly Hands went up and people hit the floor He wasted two kids that ran for the door ("I'm Mike D and I get respect Your cash and your jewelry is what I expect") MCA was with it and he's my ace So I grabbed the piano player and I punched him in the face Piano player's out, the music stopped His boy had beef and he got dropped (Mike D grabbed the money) MCA snatched the gold I grabbed two girlies and a beer that's cold