Release date
November 10, 2014
Songwriter/s
eff Bhasker, Philip Lawrence, Bruno Mars, Mark Ronson, Nicholas Williams, Devon Gallaspy, Lonnie Simmons, Ronnie Wilson, Charles Wilson, Robert Wilson, Rudolph Taylor
Chart Rankings
US – 1
GERMANY – 3
Lyrics
Doh
Doh doh doh, doh doh doh
Doh doh
Doh doh doh, doh doh doh
Doh doh
Doh doh doh, doh doh doh
Doh doh
Doh doh doh (aaaaaow!)
This hit, that ice cold
Michelle Pfeiffer, that white gold
This one, for them hood girls
Them good girls, straight masterpieces
Stylin', wildin'
Livin' it up in the city
Got Chucks on with Saint Laurent
Gotta kiss myself, I'm so pretty
I'm too hot (hot damn)
Called a police and a fireman
I'm too hot (hot damn)
Make a dragon wanna retire, man
I'm too hot (hot damn)
Say my name, you know who I am
I'm too hot (hot damn)
Am I bad 'bout that money?
Break it down
Girls hit your hallelujah (wooh)
Girls hit your hallelujah (wooh)
Girls hit your hallelujah (wooh)
'Cause Uptown Funk gon' give it to you (wooh)
'Cause Uptown Funk gon' give it to you
'Cause Uptown Funk gon' give it to you
Saturday night, and we in the spot
Don't believe me, just watch, come on!
Don't believe me, just watch
Don't believe me, just watch
Don't believe me, just watch
Don't believe me, just watch
Don't believe me, just watch
Hey, hey, hey, oh!
Stop
Wait a minute
Fill my cup, put some liquor in it
Take a sip, sign a check
Julio, get the stretch
Ride to Harlem, Hollywood, Jackson, Mississippi
If we show up, we gon' show out
Smoother than a fresh jar of Skippy
I'm too hot (hot damn)
Called a police and a fireman
I'm too hot (hot damn)
Make a dragon wanna retire, man
I'm too hot (hot damn, hot damn)
Bitch, say my name, you know who I am
I'm too hot (hot damn)
Am I bad 'bout that money?
Break it down
Girls hit your hallelujah (wooh)
Girls hit your hallelujah (wooh)
Girls hit your hallelujah (wooh)
'Cause Uptown Funk gon' give it to you (wooh)
'Cause Uptown Funk gon' give it to you
'Cause Uptown Funk gon' give it to you
Saturday night, and we in the spot
Don't believe me, just watch, come on!
Don't believe me, just watch
Don't believe me, just watch
Don't believe me, just watch
Don't believe me, just watch
Don't believe me, just watch
Hey, hey, hey, oh!
Before we leave
I'mma tell y'all a lil' something
Uptown Funk you up
Uptown Funk you up
Uptown Funk you up
Uptown Funk you up
I said Uptown Funk you up
Uptown Funk you up
Uptown Funk you up
Uptown Funk you up
Come on, dance, jump on it
If you sexy than flaunt it
If you freaky then own it
Don't brag about it, come show me
Come on, dance, jump on it
If you sexy than flaunt it
Well, it's Saturday night, and we in the spot
Don't believe me, just watch, come on!
Don't believe me, just watch
Don't believe me, just watch
Don't believe me, just watch
Don't believe me, just watch
Don't believe me, just watch
Hey, hey, hey, oh!
Uptown Funk you up
Uptown Funk you up (say what?)
Uptown Funk you up
Uptown Funk you up
Uptown Funk you up
Uptown Funk you up (say what?)
Uptown Funk you up
Uptown Funk you up
Uptown Funk you up
Uptown Funk you up (say what?)
Uptown Funk you up
Uptown Funk you up
Uptown Funk you up
Uptown Funk you up (say what?)
Uptown Funk you up
____________________________________________________________________________
The History behind Mark Ronson's Popular Song "Uptown Funk"
Mark Ronson's song "Uptown Funk" was one of the year's biggest hits. As we continue our series of some of our best interviews from the year, Ronson is the speaker today. Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang, the creators of the Netflix comedy series "Master Of None," will be featured in a later article after my chat with them. Although Bruno Mars, who co-wrote "Uptown Funk," provides the main vocal, Mark Ronson's album "Uptown Special" contains the song.
BRUNO MARS: (Singing) This hit, that icy Michelle Pfeiffer, that white gold, this one for them street girls, them decent girls, straight masterpieces. Living in style and luxury in the metropolis. put on some Saint Laurent and Chucks. Gotta give myself a hug, I'm so lovely. Damn, I'm too hot. Call the fireman and the cops. Damn, I'm too hot. Make a dragon want to hang up his wings. Damn, I'm too hot. You recognise me; just say my name. Damn, I'm too hot. And my band regarding that cash. Take it apart. Girls make you ooh and hallelujah. Girls make you ooh and hallelujah. Girls make you ooh and hallelujah. For Uptown Funk is going to give it to you.
RONSON:...where that's it originated from, and it was born out of a jam at Bruno's studio, don't you know? He was banging on a drum. I was playing bass, and Jeff Bhasker, who co-produced the album with us, is on synths. And I believe that spirit, or at the very least the raucousness of perhaps that, is present. And then you adjust it along the way because you're thinking, "OK, we need to now convert this into a song," or something of that effect.
You almost need to like ironclad it to make sure it gets through when you're doing something that doesn't sound like anything else on the radio at the time, you know? You know you have to put these hooks in it? To get it through the gate, you must make sure it contains all of that ear pleasure.
So, on occasion, if I'm working with a rapper like Ghostface Killah or Nas, producing typically refers to making the music in hip-hop. You produce the music and deliver it to them. They also create the rhymes. The producer's other, more conventional duty in the Quincy Jones sense is sort of part-arranger, you know. You hear these tunes that are very basic, and you imagine what the band is doing, so how do you come up with these songs? What's going on in the rhythm section? What kind of pianos, guitars, strings, etc. are there?
When Mars and his band were on tour, they used a particular lick as the basis for the song. "I pushed myself far harder than I have on anything else in the past," Mark Ronson said in an interview with Billboard Magazine. "When we struck on that initial line (This crap, that icy cold, Michelle Pfeiffer, that white gold), we realised that we had the root of this incredibly exciting idea." The atmosphere was electrified when Ronson and Bruno first came up with the instrumental track and a few lyrics for what would become the blockbuster song "Uptown Funk," according to Ronson. Ronson also said, "There's nothing more exciting than that part of the song, because the potential is endless," in an interview with Terry Gross for Fresh Air.
But after that, the co-writers found the process to be tedious and drawn out. Mars, Ronson, and Jeff Bhasker would get together and work on it in Memphis, London, or Los Angeles, but the vibe wasn't the same. Ronson claims, "You can never get that spirit back." The second verse you attempt to compose comes off as forced because the first one was so organic. For a split second, Mark Ronson believed that this song was simply not meant to be. However, Ronson fought for it because he recognised the potential. "Hey, can we get back in and attempt to work on that song again?" I would ask after waiting a month or two for everyone's nerves to calm down. We did finally obtain it.
While "funk" is the beat and release, the title "Uptown" suggests high status. The song's lyrics mention that the dragons are retiring and that he is so heated that he phoned the police and a fireman. Look at the lyrics, which were written using a variety of rhyme schemes: "Stop wait a minute"
The boxing champion Larry Holmes is quoted in a few of the song's lyrics. In an interview, Larry exclaimed, "Gotta kiss myself I'm so pretty," and then kissed his arm.
When Mark Ronson received a text message from his management informing him that this was the new number one hit in the States, he was out and about in London. I contacted Bruno, we spoke for a moment, and I said, "I'm going to let out a primal scream right now if that's okay," Ronson stated in a statement to Billboard Magazine. In order to save his beautiful ears, I cupped the phone.