Beat It (lyrics)

[ckcgordon]

There is a famous pop song called "Beat It". I don't understand the name of the song. The phrase "beat it" keeps repeating in the lyrics, but I don't understand what it means. I wonder if the phrase is an idiom or slang.

[Ouisch]

"Beat it" is a slang phrase the means "go away" or "get out of here." It's usually used when you're in potential trouble and need to escape in a hurry ("Do you hear that? I think the cops are coming! We'd better beat it!") or if someone has become bothersome to you ("You're getting on my nerves, why don't you just beat it.")

In Michael Jackson's song, he's advising that it's better to run away from a fight than to get hurt:

You better run, you better do what you can
Don't wanna see no blood, don't be a macho man
You wanna be tough, better do what you can
So beat it, but you wanna be bad

Just beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it
No one wants to be defeated
Showin' how funky and strong is your fight
It doesn't matter who's wrong or right
Just beat it, beat it

[ckcgordon]

Thanks for your explanation, Ouisch.
Can I ask you one more question? In the lyrics posted in your reply, there is a sentence "You wanna be tough, better do what you can, so beat it, but you wanna be bad." What does "but you wanna be bad" mean here? It seems to me that its meaning does not follow other sentences.

Sorry for bothering you again.

[Ouisch]

Originally Posted by ckcgordon

Thanks for your explanation, Ouisch.
Can I ask you one more question? In the lyrics posted in your reply, there is a sentence "You wanna be tough, better do what you can, so beat it, but you wanna be bad." What does "but you wanna be bad" mean here? It seems to me that its meaning does not follow other sentences.

Sorry for bothering you again.

No bother at all. In this case, he's using the slang meaning of "bad," which means to portray yourself as tough, or to give the impression that you're a "gangster" and very street-smart.

[ckcgordon]

Thanks again for your explanation, Ouisch.

[Offroad]

Originally Posted by Ouisch

.
Don't wanna see no blood

Is this sentence OK?

[Ouisch]

Originally Posted by marciobarbalho

Is this sentence OK?

It's not grammatically correct, but song lyrics often aren't.

[Lady Hawk]

"wanna" simply means "want to"

[Nightmare85]

I wonder why they use wanna.
Want to should be spoken as fast as wanna.
Gonna would be spoken faster than going to, which would be acceptable to use it for some songs (in my opinion).

Just a small thought.

So everything like gonna, wanna, gotta is slang which would mean it's not grammatically correct, yes?
If yes, I will try to avoid it, because I want to speak and write as best I can.
I'm not a slang fan :)

P.S. And thanks for the explanation. I did not know beat it = get out of here :)

Greets