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

Colin Hay

Colin HaySongwriter Interviews

Established as a redoubtable singer-songwriter, the Men At Work frontman explains how religion, sobriety and Jack Nicholson play into his songwriting.

Sub Pop Founder Bruce Pavitt On How To Create A Music Scene

Sub Pop Founder Bruce Pavitt On How To Create A Music SceneSong Writing

With $50 and a glue stick, Bruce Pavitt created Sub Pop, a fanzine-turned-label that gave the world Nirvana and grunge. He explains how motivated individuals can shift culture.

Narada Michael Walden - "Freeway of Love"

Narada Michael Walden - "Freeway of Love"They're Playing My Song

As a songwriter and producer, Narada had hits with Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey and Starship. But what song does he feel had the greatest impact on his career?

Who's Johnny, And Why Does He Show Up In So Many Songs

Who's Johnny, And Why Does He Show Up In So Many SongsSong Writing

For songwriters, Johnny represents the American man. He has been angry, cool, magic, a rebel and, of course, marching home.

P.F. Sloan

P.F. SloanSongwriter Interviews

P.F. was a teenager writing hits and playing on tracks for Jan & Dean when he wrote a #1 hit that got him blackballed.

David Bowie Leads the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Long-Haired Men

David Bowie Leads the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Long-Haired MenSong Writing

Bowie's "activist" days of 1964 led to Ziggy Stardust.