Stankonia

Gasoline Dreams

Outkast

Lyrics & Rhyme Analysis

20

End

136

Internal

81

Multi

197

Slant

5

Chain

Rhyme Groups — hover to spotlight
[Chorus: André 3000]
Don't everybody✦ like the smell of gasoline?✦
Well, burn, muthafucka,✦ burn, American✦ dreams
Don't everybody✦ like the taste of apple pie?
We'll snap for yo' slice of life, I'm tellin'✦ ya why
I hear that Mother✦ Nature✦ now's on birth control✦
The coldest✦ pimp be looking✦ for somebody✦ to hold
The highway✦ up to Heaven✦ got a crook on the toll
Youth full of fire, ain't got nowhere✦ to go, nowhere✦ to go
[Verse 2: Big Boi]
It's shitty✦ like Ricky✦ Stratton got a million✦ bucks
My cousin✦ Ricky✦ Walker✦ got ten years, doing Fed time
On a first offense drug bust—fuck the ho-lice!✦
That's if you're racist or you're crooked
Arrest me for this dope, I didn't weight it up or cook it
You gotta✦ charge the worldm 'cause over✦ a million✦ people took it
Look at me, I'm out of your jurisdiction,✦ now you're lookin'✦ stupid
"Officer,✦ get off me, sir
Don't make me call L.A.—he'll✦ have you walking, sir"
A couple of months ago, they gave OutKast the key to the city✦
But I still gotta✦ pay my taxes, and they give us no pity✦
About✦ these youngsters amongst us
You think they respect the law?
They think they monsters, they love us, reality rappin'✦
And giving✦ the youth the truth from this booth
And when we on stage, we scream –
Don't everybody,✦ everybody...✦
[Chorus: André 3000]
Don't everybody✦ like the smell of gasoline?✦
Well, burn, muthafucka,✦ burn, American✦ dreams
Don't everybody✦ like the taste of apple pie?
We'll snap for yo' slice of life, I'm tellin'✦ ya why
I hear that Mother✦ Nature✦ now's on birth control✦
The coldest✦ pimp be looking✦ for somebody✦ to hold
The highway✦ up to Heaven✦ got a crook on the toll
Youth full of fire, ain't got nowhere✦ to go, nowhere✦ to go
[Verse 3: Khujo]
Officer✦ of the Most High
You touch me, you touch the apple of his eye
If they kick us out, where will we go?
Not to Africa✦ 'cause not one of them acknowledge us as they kinfolk
Still eating✦ pork
Abomination,✦ desecration✦ for beating flesh
Penalty for violation✦ is death
Woe, woe, to the man that strive with his maker✦ on Judgment Day
Hip-hip-hooray!✦
Mystery, Babylon the great
The mother✦ of harlots is falling,✦ prophecy must be fulfilled
The lake of fire is calling✦
[Chorus: André 3000]
Don't everybody✦ like the smell of gasoline?✦
Well, burn, muthafucka,✦ burn, American✦ dreams
Don't everybody✦ like the taste of apple pie?
We'll snap for yo' slice of life, I'm tellin'✦ ya why
I hear that Mother✦ Nature✦ now's on birth control✦
The coldest✦ pimp be looking✦ for somebody✦ to hold
The highway✦ up to Heaven✦ got a crook on the toll
Youth full of fire, ain't got nowhere✦ to go, nowhere✦ to go

Technical Breakdown

8.0
Multisyllabic Rhymes9.5

Complexity of rhyme schemes (data-driven)

Internal Rhymes9.5

Rhymes within a line (data-driven)

Wordplay / Double Entendres8.0

Clever language, metaphors, punchlines

Cadence / Rhythm6.5

Flow variation and timing (data-driven)

Vocabulary Complexity8.0

Range and depth of words used (data-driven)

Delivery / Breath Control9.0

Performance and control

Computed Score8.04

Production

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Critic Analysis
RAPLEDGER BAROMETER™

Big Boi juxtaposes state-sanctioned legitimacy against systemic injustice by contrasting the 'key to the city' with the reality of targeted policing and judicial sentencing.

A
9.5
Multisyllabic
9.5
Internal Rhymes
6.5
Cadence / Flow
8
Vocabulary
8
Wordplay
9
Delivery
Internal rhyme linkageSocio-political juxtapositionDirect address of authoritySubversion of social status
Rhyme Architecture: Complex multi-syllabic chaining centered on AAAA and BBBB patterns, utilizing internal assonance to link disparate sociological observations into a cohesive narrative flow.
Verified Doubles & Entendres

"You gotta charge the world, 'cause over a million people took it"

① The systemic societal consumption of illicit substances ('dope') creates a collective addiction.② The legal system is hypocritical because it jails the individual while the world at large participates in the market for the product.

"A couple of months ago, they gave OutKast the key to the city / But I still gotta pay my taxes, and they give us no pity"

① A ceremonial honor provided by local government to celebrities.② A symbol of status that fails to shield the artist from the mundane, predatory nature of the state's financial and legal systems.

High-density rhythmic delivery

Authentic sociopolitical critique

Effective use of real-world legal frustrations to ground abstract lyrical themes

Commanding, aggressive performance style that matches the chaotic energy of the song

Some internal logic of the 'Ricky Stratton' reference remains opaque to listeners outside the specific socio-historical context of the era

The density of the rhyme scheme occasionally sacrifices narrative clarity in the middle of the verse

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