RYAN LEWIS & MACKLEMORE CAN’T HOLD US FT. RAY DALTON
TWO I-N-D-E-P-E-N-D-E-N-T WHITE RAPPERS
Have you ever understood a rap 100% 😎? Stay with us and you will with the one hip-hop song that makes people go nuts, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Can’t Hold Us, ft. Ray Dalton.
Discover 2 rappers who even being white and doing everything themselves: composition, production, costume, merchandising, videos; have succeeded.
Ryan Lewis & Macklemore Can’t Hold Us (ft. Ray Dalton)
TABLE OF CONTENTS OF MACKLEMORE
- Ryan Lewis & Macklemore Can’t Hold Us
- Trembol | Why both rap lovers and not like Can’t Hold Us?
- The Story behind Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Can’t Hold Us. Complete rap meaning
- 3 songs to know Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
- Did you know? | Fun facts about Macklemore
- Much more | Eminem version, Interviews, Seattle Mariners…
- Technical Note about Macklemore Can’t Hold Us
- Be part of this Post | Comments about Macklemore
- Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Playlist
- The best of Ray Dalton
Trembol | Why both, rap lovers and not, like Can’t Hold Us?
The song cooked slow, that’s why it tastes so good. What do I mean? Ryan Lewis had the beat written since 2006, but Macklemore did not dare to put words to it until 5 years later, because he knew it was something important, like a football anthem, according to himself. The whole process reminds us of the Elbow anthem One Day Like This.
Ryan took advantage of that time and put many hours of work,looking for the perfect instrumentation, until he found the trumpets and trombone, which give the song epic.
Then they wanted to add a soulful touch and asked Ray Dalton, R&B (Rhythm and Blues) singer to join them, composing the chorus in one day! Well done!
But don’t think it was an immediate success, until almost 2 years after its release it didn’t become a hit.
The song is serious and fun at the same time. In fact, they use it in the middle of their concerts, as a high and inflection point between their snide songs and the protest ones. “People go crazy over it”, said Macklemore and Ryan Lewis of Can’t Hold Us.
In Trembol there are rap fans and others who aren’t, but guess what? We all love this song.
Macklemore tells us how he wants to be remembered as a musician and person
I want to be someone who is respected and not just in terms of my music. I want to be respected in the way I treat people. The form, the themes I choose … music is my creative outlet in terms of expressing what is important to me …
Quiero ser alguien que es respetado y no sólo en términos de mi música. Quiero ser respetado en cuanto a la forma en que trato a la gente. La forma, los temas que elijo… la música es mi salida creativa en términos de expresar lo que es importante para mí…
You can’t miss ⭐️ The best parts of Can’t Hold Us (Album Version)
1. Strong piano line setting the beat and Macklemore kicking off. The epic begins.
2. Legendary chorus “the ceiling can’t hold us”. Ray Dalton voice is one of a kind!
3. The time has come to jump, enjoy the choirs, trumpets… great production by Ryan Lewis.
Macklemore Can’t Hold Us Lyrics and Spanish translation
LYRICS RYAN LEWIS & MACKLEMORE | CAN'T HOLD US | ENGLISH
Ay, ay, ay
Good to see you, come on in, let’s go
Yeah, let’s go
Alright, alright
OK, uh, alright, OK
Alright, OK
Return of the Mack, get up!
What it is, what it does, what it is, what it isn’t.
Looking for a better way to get up out of bed
Instead of getting on the Internet and checking a new hit me.
Get up! Thrift shop, pimp-strut walking, little bit of humble, little bit of cautious
Somewhere between like Rocky and Cosby. Sweater game, nope, nope y’all can’t copy
Yup. Bad, moon-walking, this here is our party, my posse’s been on Broadway,
And we did it our way.
Grown music, I shed my skin and put my bones into everything I record to it
And yet I’m on…
Let that stage light go and shine on down,
Got that Bob Barker suit game and Plinko in my style.
Money, stay on my craft and stick around for those pounds,
But I do that to pass the torch and put on for my town
Trust me. On my I-N-D-E-P-E-N-D-E-N-T shit, hustling,
Chasing dreams since I was fourteen with the four track bussing
Halfway cross that city with the backpack, fat cat, crush shit.
Labels out here,
Nah, they can’t tell me nothing
We give that to the people,
Spread it across the country
Labels out here,
Nah, they can’t tell me nothing
We give it to the people,
Spread it across the country
Can we go back? This is the moment
Tonight is the night, we’ll fight ’til it’s over
So we put our hands up like the ceiling can’t hold us
Like the ceiling can’t hold usCan we go back? This is the moment
Tonight is the night, we’ll fight ’til it’s over
So we put our hands up like the ceiling can’t hold us
Like the ceiling can’t hold us
Nah, can I kick it? Thank you. Yeah I’m so damn grateful.
I grew up, really wanted gold fronts
But that’s what you get when Wu-Tang raised you
Y’all can’t stop me, go hard like I got an 808 in my heart beat
And I’m eating at the beat like you give a little speed to a great white shark on shark week
Raw. Tell me go up. Gone!
Deuces goodbye. I got a world to see, and my girl she wanna see Rome,
Caesar’ll make you a believer.
Nah I never ever did it for a throne.
That validation comes from giving it back to the people.
Nah sing this song and it goes like
“Raise those hands, this is our party
We came here to live life like nobody was watching”
I got my city right behind me
If I fall, they got me.
Learn from that failure gain humility and then we keep marching. I said…
Can we go back? This is the moment
Tonight is the night, we’ll fight ’til it’s over
So we put our hands up like the ceiling can’t hold us
Like the ceiling can’t hold usCan we go back? This is the moment
Tonight is the night, we’ll fight ’til it’s over
So we put our hands up like the ceiling can’t hold us
Like the ceiling can’t hold us
And so we put our hands up
And so we put our hands up
Wa oh oh oh wa oh oh oh wa oh oh
Let’s go!
Na na na na na na na na (aha)
Hey
And all my people say
Na na na na na na na na (that’s right, feels good)
Hey
And all my people say
Na na na na na na na na (it’s alright)
(Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh)
And all my people say
Na na na na na na na na
Mack-le-le-le-le-le-more…
[Album version ending]
Can we go back? This is the moment
Tonight is the night, we’ll fight ’til it’s over
So we put our hands up like the ceiling can’t hold us
Like the ceiling can’t hold usCan we go back? This is the moment
Tonight is the night, we’ll fight ’til it’s over
So we put our hands up like the ceiling can’t hold us
Like the ceiling can’t hold us.
[Music video ending]
Let the night come, before the fight’s won
Some might run against the test
But those that triumph, embrace the fight ’cause
Their fears then prove that courage exists (c’mon)
Let the night come, before the fight’s won
Some might run against the test
But those that triumph, embrace the fight ’cause
Their fears then prove that courage exists
Hope [echo]
LYRICS RYAN LEWIS & MACKLEMORE | CAN'T HOLD US | SPANISH
Ey, ey, ey,
Que Bueno verte, pasa dentro y vamos,
Sí, vamos,
Muy bien, muy bien,
ok, muy bien, ok
muy bien, ok
El regreso de Mack
Consíguelos, qué es, qué hace, qué es, qué no es
Buscando una manera mejor de levantarse de la cama
En vez de meterse en Internet y mirar quién me golpeó,
Levántate, tienda de segunda mano, paso de chulo
Un poco humilde, un poco cauteloso
Algo entre Rocky y Cosby
Sweater de deporte, no, no, no me podéis copiar
Sip. Malo, paseando por la luna, esta es nuestra fiesta, mi pandilla ha estado en Broadway
Y lo hicimos a nuestra manera
Música madura, me quito la piel y pongo los huesos en todo lo que grabo
Y todavía estoy en ello
Deja que esa luz del escenario vaya y alumbre hacia abajo
Tengo el traje de Bob Barker y Plinko en mi estilo
Dinero, me quedo en mi oficio y me quedo por esas libras
Pero, lo hago para pasar la antorcha y aparentar delante de mi pueblo
Créeme, en mi mierda de ajetreo I-N-D-E-P-E-N-D-I-E-N-T-E
Persiguiendo sueños desde que tenía catorce con el cuatro pistas, yendo en autobús
A mitad de camino, cruzando la ciudad con la mochila, pez gordo, aplasta mierda.
Cartas sobre la mesa
No, no me pueden decir nada
Se lo damos a la gente
Difundirlo por todo el país
Cartas sobre la mesa
No, no me pueden decir nada
Se lo damos a la gente
Difundirlo por todo el país
¿Podemos volver? Este es el momento
Esta noche es la noche, lucharemos hasta que acabe
Así que ponemos las manos en alto como si el techo no pudiera pararnos
Como si el techo no pudiera pararnos¿Podemos volver? Este es el momento
Esta noche es la noche, lucharemos hasta que acabe
Así que ponemos las manos en alto como si el techo no pudiera pararnos
Como si el techo no pudiera pararnos
Bah, ¿puedo patearlo? Gracias
Sí, estoy tan jodidamente agradecido
Crecí, realmente quería dientes de oro
Pero es lo que tiene cuando creces con Wu-Tang
Todos vosotros no podéis pararme, hacerlo fuerte como si tuviera una 808 en el latido de mi corazón
Y estoy comiendo al ritmo, como si le dieras un poco de velocidad
A un gran tiburón blanco en la semana del tiburón
¡Crudo! Dime que me vaya, ¡ya me he ido!
Empate, adios, tengo todo un mundo para ver
Y mi chica, quiere ver Roma
Cesar te hará un creyente
No, nunca lo hice por el trono
Ese reconocimiento viene de dárselo todo a la gente
No, canta esta canción que suena así
“Levanta esas manos, esta es nuestra fiesta
Vinimos a vivir la vida como si nadie nos viera”
Tengo a mi ciudad tras de mí, si me caigo, me cogen
Aprendí del error, gané humildad, y entonces seguimos adelante. Y digo
¿Podemos volver? Este es el momento
Esta noche es la noche, lucharemos hasta que acabe
Así que ponemos las manos en alto como si el techo no pudiera pararnos
Como si el techo no pudiera pararnos¿Podemos volver? Este es el momento
Esta noche es la noche, lucharemos hasta que acabe
Así que ponemos las manos en alto como si el techo no pudiera pararnos
Como si el techo no pudiera pararnos
Así que ponemos nuestras manos en el aire
Así que ponemos nuestras manos en el aire
Wa oh oh oh wa oh oh oh wa oh oh
¡Vamos!
Na na na na na na na na (aha)
Hey
Y que toda mi genta diga
Na na na na na na na na (así es, sienta genial)
Hey
Y que toda mi genta diga
Na na na na na na na na (así es)
(Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh)
Y que toda mi genta diga
Na na na na na na na na
Mack-le-le-le-le-le-more…
[Final de la versión del álbum]
¿Podemos volver? Este es el momento
Esta noche es la noche, lucharemos hasta que acabe
Así que ponemos las manos en alto como si el techo no pudiera pararnos
Como si el techo no pudiera pararnos¿Podemos volver? Este es el momento
Esta noche es la noche, lucharemos hasta que acabe
Así que ponemos las manos en alto como si el techo no pudiera pararnos
Como si el techo no pudiera pararnos
[Final del vídeo]
Deja que lo noche venga, antes de que la batalla este ganada
Algunos correran contra la prueba
Pero aquellos que triunfen, uniros a la lucha porque
Sus miedos prueban que el corage existe (vamos)
Deja que lo noche venga, antes de que la batalla este ganada
Algunos correran contra la prueba
Pero aquellos que triunfen, uniros a la lucha porque
Sus miedos prueban que el corage existe (vamos)
Esperanza [eco]
How does Trembol write the lyrics, translation and meaning or story behind?
Translations in Trembol are handmade with a lot of care and love, because we want to explain to you the real meaning of the song and the story behind it, with the author words and in different languages. For this reason, we do not use automatic translators, which translate word by word, without understanding the background of the lyrics. In Trembol we believe in emotions and spreading music, that is why we also translate manually all lyrics to Spanish, like this tune from Macklemore and Ryan Lewis ft. Ray Dalton, Can’t Hold Us, which we also explain completely. Click on the box of the language you want to see, and it will open. If your screen is large enough (typically a PC) you will be able to view the two lyrics in parallel, the original and the Spanish translation at the same time. Cool, isn’t it!
Songwriters: Ben Haggerty, Ray Dalton, Ryan S Lewis | Background Image: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Hovefestivalen 2013, by NRK P3, on Flickr
The story behind Macklemore Can’t Hold Us | Complete rap meaning
1. Ay, ay, ay, Good to see you, come on in, let’s go, Yeah, let’s go, Alright, alright, OK, uh, alright, OK, Alright, OK
- 😎 A few shouts to warm up
2. Return of the Mack
- ‘Mack‘ is the abbreviation of Macklemore
3. What it is, what it does, what it is, what it isn’t. Looking for a better way to get up out of bed. Instead of getting on the Internet and checking a new hit me
- 👍 He doesn’t care what the media or anyone says about him on the Internet
4. Get up! Thrift shop, pimp-strut walking, little bit of humble, little bit of cautious
- ‘Thirft shop‘ are second-hand stores typical in America. He says that he walks in a cool way
5. Somewhere between like Rocky and Cosby. Sweater game, nope, nope y’all can’t copy
- Dressed like Rocky Balboa and Bill Cosby (the comedian). Nobody can copy his style
6. Yup. Bad, moon-walking, this here is our party, my posse’s been on Broadway, And we did it our way. Grown music, I shed my skin and put my bones into everything I record to it. And yet I’m on…
- 🌆 It refers to Michael Jackson (Bad, Moonwalking), to Seattle, where he was born (one of its main streets is called Broadway), to Sir Mix-a-Lot “Posse on Broadway” song, and to Sinatra with “we did it our way”. He ends up saying that he puts his soul in his music.
Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images
7. Let that stage light go and shine on down, Got that Bob Barker suit game and Plinko in my style.
- ‘Bob Barker’ was the host of the American TV show “The Price is Right”. One of the parts of the quiz was called ‘Plinko‘
8. Money, stay on my craft and stick around for those pounds, but I do that to pass the torch and put on for my town. Trust me. On my I-N-D-E-P-E-N-D-E-N-T shit, hustling, chasing dreams since I was fourteen with the four track bussing, halfway cross that city with the backpack, fat cat, crush shit. Labels out here, Nah, they can’t tell me nothing. We give that to the people, Spread it across the country
- ☝️ He proclaims his independence since he started in music at the age of 14 with his “four track” sound mixer, against the “fat cat”, bigwigs of record companies who cannot manipulate him. He also refers to Kayne West song “Can’t tell me nothing”
9. Can we go back? This is the moment. Tonight is the night, we’ll fight ’til it’s over. So we put our hands up like the ceiling can’t hold us like the ceiling can’t hold us.
- The chorus tells us: ‘if you really want something you will get it’, nothing can stop you, not even the ceiling
Wu Tang Clan & Cilvawutang, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia
10. Nah, can I kick it? Thank you. Yeah I’m so damn grateful. I grew up, really wanted gold fronts. But that’s what you get when Wu-Tang raised you
- He grew up listening to the rap band Wu-Tang-Clan with their gold teeth and jewels (gold fronts)
Roland_TR-808_&_909.jpg: Brandon Danielderivative work: Clusternote, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
11. Y’all can’t stop me, go hard like I got an 808 in my heart beat
- ‘808‘ is a beat maker. His hearts beats at the same rhythm
12. And I’m eating at the beat like you give a little speed to a great white shark on shark week
- 🦈 The shark is their merchandising logo. They say their lyrics are like shark bites
13. Raw. Tell me go up. Gone! Deuces goodbye. I got a world to see, and my girl she wanna see Rome, Caesar’ll make you a believer. Nah I never ever did it for a throne. That validation comes from giving it back to the people. Nah sing this song and it goes like “Raise those hands, this is our party. We came here to live life like nobody was watching”. I got my city right behind me
If I fall, they got me. Learn from that failure gain humility and then we keep marching. I said…
- 🦈 They refer to Julius Caesar, as a representation that everything can be conquered, even though he doesn’t sing for power (throne) and that he remains humble, always supported by his fans (if i fall they got me).
Macklemore Shark Face Gang Merchandising
Can’t Hold Us tells us that if we want, we can. Chase your dreams!
The song is part of an album that you must have or give “The Heist”. Furthemore, if you buy it, you help Trembol as well ❤
3 songs to know Macklemore y Ryan Lewis 🥇
1) Macklemore Thrift Shop
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Thrift Shop is their biggest hit. It was #1 almost everywhere and has reached 1.4 billion views on YouTube. The song advises us to save money, the opposite to the typical rap message 💸
2) Glorious Macklemore
Did you know...?
🤔 Google most searched questions about Macklemore
Why haven’t Macklemore and Ryan Lewis collaborated since 2016?
Macklemore and Ryan Lewis began as an indie Seattle-based hip-hop duo, after many successes between number 1 hits and Grammy awards, they decided to split in 2017.
In any case, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis are still very good friends and confirmed that there will be more of their music when the time is right. We’ll have to wait 
What does Macklemore do in 2020? Is he married and does he have kids?
Macklemore turned 37 years old in 2020, although he released an album in 2017 and has featured in some tunes such as “Firse Machayenge” by the indian rapper Emiway Bantai, he has dedicated himself to his family, declaring on occasion:
This daddy life is better than the rap life
His wife’s name is Tricia Davis and they have 2 girls.
Is Macklemore his real name?
No, his name is Ben Haggerty. When he was 14 his friends used to call him Möcklimore, so he got his commercial name from it.
Much more | Eminem version, Interviews, Seattle Mariners…
- There are a couple versions of “Can’t Hold Us” that you will enjoy, one with Eminem and the other on America’s Got Talent 2019
- Macklemore is a huge fan of his hometown baseball team, the Seattle Mariners. He dedicated the song “My oh my” to his late franchise player, Dave Niehaus.
- Follow Macklemore on: Macklemore Official Website, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
- If you want to know more about Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, here are several good options: a 15-minute documentary recounting how they recorded the video of their biggest hit “Thrift Shop”, an interesting 6-minute interview on ABC News and a funnier interview on Netflix for 7 minutes, this time only to Macklemore.
Technical Note about Macklemore Can’t Hold Us
- Every song has many ingredients that define it, do you want to know the recipe for a great rap like “Can’t Hold Us”? Here it is:
- TIME [Speed]: medium, 146 bpm
- DYNAMICS [The intensity of the song from soft to loud]: Most of the song is up, strong.
- MELODY [Main element, succession of notes that give musical meaning to the song]: The range is narrow (D4-G5), although it grows in the chorus. The phrasing of the main part varies in length while the chorus is more uniform. The key is E minor with a descending outline.
- RHYTHM [How sounds are grouped in duration and accent]: A regular pattern common in rap, 4/4 time signature.
- HARMONY [When 2 or more notes sound at the same time. Progression followed by chords]: Most of it is consonant, i.e. it sounds “good”, although there are small dissonant parts with colliding sounds, as at the beginning.
- TIMBRE [It is the distinctive sound of each instrument]: The tune includes female and male voices, flute, bongos, bass, piano, trumpets, trombones, synthesizers and even tambourines and the sound of a cowbell!
- TEXTURE [Way in which the different lines of sounds of a musical composition interact with each other]: Almost the entire song is homophonic, with a main piano melody line leading it, except when the brass comes in bringing high and low lines of music along with the voices, that is say, polyphony.
- SHAPE [Song structure, how it is molded]: Stable song with regular, melismatic pattern (syllables are sung on different notes, rather than one syllable per note).
- EXPRESSION [Sense of the song]: Lively, happy, with enthusiasm.
Drew of The Come Up Show (Flickr), CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
© Markus Felix | PushingPixels (contact me), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
© Markus Felix | PushingPixels (contact me), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
I never wanted to be a underground rapper, my intention was to make music that spoke to people and not like 40 people like hundreds and thousands if not millions of people could connect with what I’m writing.
Macklemore
Share your thoughts and feeling, and become part of us forever ♥️
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Playlist
What a hip hop and rap session awaits you!
We start with Macklemore Downtown, one of the fan favourite songs. Then the gay marriage support tune “Same Love” and their claim against racism “White Privilege II”.
You will also find Wing$ or Good Old Days, with Kesha, and the recent Shadow, with IRO, where he pays homage to his Irish roots.
As a final complement, we have added all the themes in the article: Can’t Hold Us, Thrift Shop, Glorious and Otherside.
Remember, to listen to the playlist you need a free Spotify account.
The best of Ray Dalton 🥇
1) Ray Dalton In My Bones
2) If You’re Tired Ray Dalton
Header and Featured Image used in this article and on Social Media: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis 4, by Der Robert, on Flickr
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