Fantastic Voyage - Coolio

Artist: Coolio
Song: Fantastic Voyage
Year: 1994
Album: It Takes A Thief

This song always takes me back to the summer of 1994. I had just graduated high school and I spent most days just hanging out with my friends and contemplating my next move.

This was a summer to remember. Most of the people I hung out with that summer are ones that I no longer speak to. I only have one friend that I still talk to that I was friends with before 1994. The other friend, I had met in 1994.

I speak to both frequently to this day. But I'll focus on another friend. I had met her in my senior year of high school. I remained friends with her, on and off, until 2000. 1994 was the year that we had our most stable part of the friendship.

I would hang out with her and a group of other friends. It reminds me of "That 70s Show", without the "circle" to bond around. I can remember wasting many days over at that house. I suppose that if I had to do it all over again, I would do most things differently. I probably wouldn't spend as much time as I did over there.

"Fantastic Voyage" always seemed to be playing, either on the radio or the tape player. I broke down and bought the CD at the end of the summer. I found a few more songs that I liked off of that album, but mostly I just like the one song.

As our friendship drifted further and further apart over the years, I still remember the good times that we all had just hanging out. Her house was the place where everybody dropped over. I'm not sure why that happened, it just worked out that way.

She developed into a burnout who sits in her room communicating over the CB radio. No job, no future, no life. All she has is the CB and her ailing mother. Any cash that she gets is thrown away on cigarettes, sweets and weed. It's a sad life, but I can remember when her whole life was in front of her. She took a lot of wrong turns, but we all do sometimes. She just doesn't know enough to climb out of that life.

Lyrics:
Come on y'all let's take a ride
don't you say shit just get inside
It's time to take your ass on another kind of trip
coz you can't have the hop if you don't have the hip
grab your gat with the extra clip and,
close your eyes and hit the switch
We're going to a place where everybody kick it
kick it, kick it, yeah... that's the ticket
ain't no bloodin', ain't no cripin'
ain't no punk-ass nigga's set trippin'
everybody's got a stack and it ain't no crack
and it really don't matter if you're white or black, I
wanna take you there like the Staple Singers
put something in the tank and I know that I can bring ya
If you can't take the heat get yo' ass out the kitchen
we're on a mission

Come along and ride on a fantasic voyage
slide slide slippity-slide
with switches on the block in a '65
Come along and ride on a fantasic voyage
slide slide who-ride
ain't no valley low enough for mountain high

I'm tryin' to find a place where I can live my life and
maybe eat some steak with my beans and rice, a
place where my kids can play outside
without livin' in fear of a drive-by
and even if I get away from them drive-by killers
I still got to worry about those snitch-ass niggas
I keep on searchingcand I keep on looking
but niggas are the same from Watts to Brooklyn
I try to keep my faith in my people
but sometimes my people be acting like they evil
you don't understand about runnin' with a gang
coz you don't gang bang, and
you don't have to stand on the corner and slang
coz you got your own thang
you can't help me if you can't help yourself

you better make a left

Come along and ride on a fantasic voyage
slide slide slippity-slide
I do what I do just to survive
Come along and ride on a fantasic voyage
slide slide who-ride
that's why I pack my .45

Life is a bitch and then you die
still tryin' to get a peace of the apple pie
every game ain't the same, coz the game still remains
don't it seem kinda strange, ain't a damn thing change
if you don't work then you don't eat
and only down-ass niggas can ride with me
hop-hop-hop your five quickly down the block
stay sucka-free and keep the busters off your jock
you gotta have hart son, if you wanna go,
watch this sweet chariot swing low
ain´t nobody cryin` ain´t nobody dyin
ain´t nobody worried, everybody ´s tryin
nothin' from nothin' leaves nothin'
if you wanna have something, you better start frontin'
what ya gonna do when the 5 roll by
you better be ready, so you can ride

Come along and ride on a fantasic voyage
slide slide slippity-slide
when you're living in a city it's do or die
Come along and ride on a fantasic voyage
slide slide who-ride
you better be ready when the 5 roll by
just roll along- that's what you do
just roll along- that's right
just roll along- that's what you do
just roll along- that's right
to the hood of funk, to the hood of funk,to the hood of funk
to the hood of funk, to the hood of funk, to the hood of funk