Namaste

Album: Check Your Head (1992)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The word "namaste" is familiar to yoga students, as it's typically said at the end of a practice. It's Sanskrit, meaning "greetings to you," although in Western yoga it's morphed into a word that can begin or end an encounter, like "aloha."

    Yoga wasn't popular in America in 1992, but Adam Yauch (MCA) of Beastie Boys encountered it in his travels to places like India and Nepal. Little did he know the word "namaste" would soon be appropriated by the yoga industry and start showing up on T-shirts and coffee mugs.
  • A very atypical Beastie Boys song, "Namaste" is spoken word by MCA, with no rhymes. It's just a series of thoughts and images that were on his mind. In the Beastie Boys Book (published after he died of cancer in 2012), Ad-Rock told the story:

    "Yauch was in a full-on transformation. He had started learning about, and practicing, Buddhism. He was traveling the globe any chance he got...

    He would hang with anyone, so long as they were fun. His demeanor had an odd, thrilling calmness. One night at the studio he said that he had some thought that he'd written down (not lyrics) and he'd like to try saying them over an instrumental track that we had waiting for just this occasion. And like most of the songs on this record, we were like, M'okay. If you wanna take the lead, go ahead. And so this song kind of tells us where he was at, and where he was headed."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Yacht Rock!

Yacht Rock!Song Writing

A scholarly analysis of yacht rock favorites ("Steal Away," "Baker Street"...) with a member of the leading YR cover band.

David Bowie Lyrics Quiz

David Bowie Lyrics QuizMusic Quiz

How well do you know your David Bowie lyrics? Take this quiz to find out.

Ed Roland of Collective Soul

Ed Roland of Collective SoulSongwriter Interviews

The stories behind "Shine," "December," "The World I Know" and other Collective Soul hits.

Have Mercy! It's Wolfman Jack

Have Mercy! It's Wolfman JackSong Writing

The story of the legendary lupine DJ through the songs he inspired.

Ben Kowalewicz of Billy Talent

Ben Kowalewicz of Billy TalentSongwriter Interviews

The frontman for one of Canada's most well-known punk rock bands talks about his Eddie Vedder encounter, Billy Talent's new album, and the importance of rock and roll.

Judas Priest

Judas PriestSongwriter Interviews

Rob Halford, Richie Faulkner and Glenn Tipton talk twin guitar harmonies and explain how they create songs in Judas Priest.