What do you think Dare means?

Gorillaz: Dare Meaning

Album cover for Dare album cover

Song Released: 2002


Dare Lyrics

It's coming up
It's coming up
It's coming up
It's coming up
It's coming up
It's coming up
It's coming up
It's DARE

It's DARE

You've got to press it on you
You just think it
That's what you do, baby
Hold it down, DARE

Jump with...

  1. 1TOP RATED

    #1 top rated interpretation:
    anonymous
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    Jul 31st 2012 !⃝

    You guys got it all wrong... The reason they call it Dare and say Dare is because Shaun Ryder, the guy singing in the video (not as 2D but as himself), has such a thick Mancunian (from Manchester, England) accent that when he says THERE it comes out as DARE. So replace every DARE with THERE and it makes a little more sense. It's not about truth or dare (seriously?), rather it draws back to classic horror movies, using the Pazuzu from the exorcist, crows for Birds by Alfred Hitchcock, Shaun is supposed to symbolize a Frankestein type monster awakening when the music plays and the zoom on Noodle's eye at the end was taken directly from the Ring. Rosie Wilson took over the voice of Noodle instead of Miho Hatori who voiced Noodle in the first album. Hope this makes better sense of the song! :D

  2. 2TOP RATED

    #2 top rated interpretation:
    Noodle_Doodle
    click a star to vote
    Oct 16th 2016 !⃝

    It's a very upbeat and somewhat simple song.
    Not every Gorillaz song has a deep, psychological meaning behind it.
    Sometimes a fun song is just a fun song.

    Dare represents all things to do with joy, fun, excitement and innocence.
    It's literally just about being yourself and having a good time.
    Noodle (the Guitarist for the Gorillaz, and the girl in this music video) is having fun, dancing about in her bedroom and doing what she wants.
    She's a kid, and has that youthful glow, that innocent fun in her.

    A lot of people think this song is about masterbation, and I guess that's somewhat understandable, but really I think what it's trying to say is that you shouldn't hide from happiness, you shouldn't hide away and be scared.
    You should just have fun.
    Listen to the lyrics properly. The video helps too.

    It's very simple, really.

    It's relatable, what with Noodle dancing alone in her room. It's supposed to remind you of the simple pleasures in life, the fun and the partying, the laughter and the confidence.
    Noodle is just.having.fun.
    That's it!
    And YOU should too!
    Don't worry all the time, simply have fun and be yourself.
    Dance. Sing. Play.
    You wanna put on loud music and dance around alone in your bedroom? Go ahead!
    Have fun!

    The word Dare isn't literally supposed to mean dare.
    The guy saying it, Shaun Ryder, simply has an accent that makes "There" sound like "Dare".
    There's interviews about it as well.

    Again, it's very simple.
    It's simply a good tune with a great beat, a song that's about having fun. :)

  3. 3TOP RATED

    #3 top rated interpretation:
    anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Sep 7th 2014 !⃝

    I heard that the song is about you at home pretending to be at a nightclub or dancing somewhere when you are to afraid to dance in public so you so you do it alone where you have no one watching you.

  4. anonymous
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    Jul 31st 2023 !⃝

    what does the ending of the music video DARE mean? i get an idea, but does anybody know the full explanation? when i try to look it up, not much shows up, i dunno.

  5. anonymous
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    Apr 30th 2023 !⃝

    マードックが言うのを聞いて、それが何を意味するのか疑問に思っていることを、ヌードルが歌っているのかもしれません。たぶん、それを説明しようとすることの意味を2次元で理解することもできますが、彼女がとても若いことが問題になるでしょう.しかし、私はおそらく間違っており、おそらくそれを予測するよりもはるかに単純です.それはおそらく、バンドの他のメンバーが自分のことをしている間、ヌードルと2-Dがただ楽しい時間を過ごして楽しんでいるということです(Maybe Noodle is singing what she hears Murdoc saying some stuff and wondering what it means. Maybe 2-D is trying to explain it, but the fact that she's so young would be a problem. It's also much simpler. It's probably just Noodle and 2-D just having a good time and having fun while the rest of the band are doing their own thing.

  6. anonymous
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    Jun 8th 2022 !⃝

    The album Demon Days is really about the demons of this world. DARE being a song about positivity doesn't fit well with the album. We have songs about death, war crimes, the oppressing music industry and other things and a positive song just doesn't work. While I'm not sure whether this about masturbation or not, I think this song is probably about fitting in. Now, the title DARE would fit with this theme, however, DARE is not the real title. It was changed to DARE because of Shaun Ryder (the backup singer)'s accent. The original word was "there". Anyways, there are lyrics saying "You've got to press it on you. You've just been thinking, that's what you do baby. Hold it down, DARE." This sounds like someone hiding their true selves to fit in. The lyrics "Jump with them all and move it. Jump back and forth and feel like you were there yourself to work it out" seems to mean fitting in with a crowd, sounding likes it's at a club or a dance because it talks about "jumping with them all". "Never did no harm" are lyrics sounding like someone trying to tell themselves that they've done nothing wrong. The backup vocals in general seem to represent the protagonist lying to themselves, as it seems like a voice saying that they've done nothing wrong and everyone else is right there having a good time. I could be wrong, but this is what I think.

  7. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Jun 27th 2019 !⃝

    It's dare was original supposed to be "its there" but the guy is cockney southerner so changed it to its dare as the title.






  8. anonymous
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    Oct 21st 2018 !⃝

    These lyrics are clearly sexual. The 'it' is clearly a penis. The gasping at the end of the line implies an orgasm. The video is a duet between an older gentleman and a young girl. The other character has his ear pressed against the wall to hear what kind of devious sexual acts the two are doing.

    But why does she appear to have control of his head/brain/mind? Is it symbolic of a man who can't get this woman out of his mind? Or she's who keeps him alive?

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
  9. CESAR
    click a star to vote
    Apr 13th 2018 !⃝

    This song has no meaning. It is just about a wonderful feeling. Wonderful feeling of joy and happiness. end when you feel it you´ll know it is there in your mind. and soul.

  10. anonymous
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    Feb 1st 2015 !⃝

    Its about masturbation? "Its comping up" could mean a lot of things and plus that part wasn't going to be in the song anyway. this part was actually an issue when the song was being made but they liked how it sounded so they kept it in. This would have been called "There" if the whole song went the way it was supposed to go, From what I've read I feel the song is either two things. 1:Its about suppressing dark urges (Unlikely though) and 2:about not being shy (noodle seeming to act much more different then she would in front of others)

    Well that's really all I have to say.

  11. anonymous
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    Sep 18th 2014 !⃝

    You have to look at the song under the same lens as the rest of the album. The album is about war and cruelty as well as being stuck in a world that one has no control over
    so with this known we can deduce that the song describes evil actions or urges rising (It's coming up), and your conscious (Sung by Noodle) trying to suppress the urge (Hold it down), then you evil (sung by Shaun Ryder)side is trying to cokes you into doing it (Never did no harm), later when they are singing in unseen it is because your conscious is wining.

  12. anonymous
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    Jul 3rd 2014 !⃝

    I can't say much about an interpretation but I can say a bit about the song history.

    The, "it's coming up," part of the song that repeats was actually not originally intended to be put into the song. The guest artist simply couldn't hear himself while in the recording studio and as the volume was being turned up said, "it's coming up," until it finally reached a good volume. Then he said, "it's there." Which got changed to "It's DARE" after they decided to include the lines in the song. I read this somewhere in their book, titled, "Rise of the Ogre".
    Also, Noodle recorded this song without the rest of the crew knowing, which is why during the music video there are snapshots of the other's elsewhere throughout the house.

  13. anonymous
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    May 22nd 2014 !⃝

    I think it's about cutting. When it says Youv go to hold" it on you" she's talking about the knife and "you just think it" meaning she'll never actually do it and she has to DARE herself to do it. As for the it's coming up part I believe it means death

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
  14. KokoroChiaki
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    Nov 5th 2013 !⃝

    I think that Noodle is trying to express herself to the world, being as she is, not caring about what other people would say about it. I see it like it's a ''dare'' to express in front of a society as you are, not really caring about to ''fit in'', just to be as you are, and finding people who accept that. ''Never did no harm'' to try it out, ''and feel like you were there yourself'' ''that's what you do, baby''.

  15. anonymous
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    Apr 10th 2013 !⃝

    i read somewhere, this song is about masturbating, like cause of his accent it's suppose to say "its there" so "its coming up,its coming up,its coming up, its there" (meaning a erection) and then "you got to press it on you" "hold it down there (dare)" its pretty self explanatory

  16. anonymous
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    Mar 22nd 2013 !⃝

    In my point of view, Noodle is someone who had the dream of being a football player (as shown at the end of the video) but her/his (dont judge me because i dont know the sex) parents always suppressed him/her. The fact the he/she is alone in a locked room could mean that there he/she could build up his/her own universe, just like millions of teenagers around the world. Was he/she druging him/herself? I dont know but dancing is a recognized way of human expression, and thats the point... Would you DARE to express yourself?

  17. anonymous
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    Jan 8th 2012 !⃝

    I think that they were playing truth or dare. And they spun to see if they were doing truth or dare. Which is why it says 'Its coming up' like anticipation. Then it landed on dare which is why it says 'its dare' all the other stuff has to do with them playing the game. Like saying 'Never did no harm' meaning it wont hurt anyone nor has it ever hurt anyone.
    'Thats what you do babe' is saying what the person has to do.

  18. anonymous
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    Aug 26th 2011 !⃝

    I see it as when it does the its coming up start, that 2D is trying to hide something, and when Noodle sings I remember in the first line she sings "you've got to press it on you , you just think it that what you do baby, hold it down there." She saying to think about this hidden thing, and to hold it down. There is also a part where I forget who speaks "Never did no harm, never did no harm." I'm thinking that up perhaps someone got hurt when 2D opened whatever he is hiding, and he is testifing against hurting anyone.


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