"What The World Needs" is the fourth song featured in Ride the Cyclone, as Ocean's song.
Lyrics[]
Ocean:
No-nooo!
What the world needs
Is people like me
To keep it all spinning around
I'm the mover, I'm the shaker, I'm the headline-maker
Mmm, I get up
I get up
And no one's gonna keep me down
Okay, it's clear, I'm the top of this class
These folks here, well, they pump the gas
Fetch me a coffee, shine my shoes
Some of us are winners, some were born to lose
You got the sandwich artist, the security guard
The Walmart greeter with an overdrawn credit card
He smokes ganja
Ooh, it's so groovy
To stay at home and watch a Transformer movie!
She serves me coke and a medium fries
And no thanks, I don't want it supersized
'Cause that's low-class! Diabetes in a cup!
Keep your head down, and things will look up
Ocean/Choir:
What the world needs is people like me
To keep it all spinning around
I'm the mover, I'm the shaker, I'm the headline-maker
Ocean:
Mmm, I get up
Constance:
She gets up!
Ocean:
And no one's gonna keep me down
Seriously?
This one here, he's rarein' to fail!<
He'll rob a 7-11 and go straight to jail
Maybe steal hubcaps, maybe steal booze
Expressing himself with his homemade tattoos!
Soccer mom, minivan
Four little brats, no steady man
Do we really need another organ donor?
...Maybe that was a little harsh, love you!
Ohhhh,
Pokémon, Spiderman
This kid doesn't have an attention span
And what's he gonna do, solve a Rubik's Cube?
[whispered]
How long's he got if we feed him through a tube?
Ocean/Choir:
What the world needs is people like me
To keep it all spinning around
I'm the mover, I'm the shaker, I'm the headline-maker
Ocean:
Mmm, I get up
Choir:
She gets up!
Ocean:
And no one's gonna keep me down!
And as we move through life
We find our place in the crowd
Choir:
Some don't make the cut
That's crystal clear-o!
Ocean:
Oh yes, oh yes!
Oh, isn't someone keeping score
I've gotta say this out so loud
I mean
Ocean/Choir:
Do we really need another zero?
Or a zero?
Or a zero?
Or a zero?
Or a zero?
Ocean:
Add 'em all up and you still get zero!
What you really need is a futher muckin' hero!
Choir:
And oh oh
Ocean:
He'll never learn to read!
Choir:
And oh oh
Ocean:
He's never gonna breed!
Choir:
And oh oh
Ocean:
Going to jail, guranteed!
Ocean/Choir:
And she's a freaky monster!
Choir:
Yes, there's a problem!
Ocean:
I'm the solution!
Darwin had a theory called
Choir:
Evolution!
Ocean:
He put it into words, and it's plain to see
We need a little less of them
A little more of me!
Mischa/Ricky:
What the world needs is people like me
To keep it all spinning around
I'm the mover, I'm the shaker, I'm the headline-maker
Mmm, she gets up!
Constance/Jane/Noel:
We can't all be heroes
No!
Most of us?
Zero-ohs!
Ocean [ad-libbing]:
Me
Me me
Me me
Me me
Me me
Oh oh
A little more of
Me!
Mischa/Ricky:
She gets up!
Oh what the world needs is people like me
To keep it all spinnin' around
I'm the mover, I'm the shaker, I'm the headline maker
Mmm, she gets up!
She gets up!
Some stay down
Constance/Jane/Noel:
We can't all be heroes
No!
Most of us?
Zero-ohs
Some fly high
She gets up
She gets up
Ocean:
I get up!
I get up!
Choir:
Some stay down
Ocean:
And no one's gonna keep me down!
Doooown!
Trivia[]
- There were two previous versions of "What The World Needs", called "Play to Win" and "Choose Me!"
- Some performances vary the lines of this song, such as "Pokémon, Spiderman, this kid doesn't have an attention span!" and "Ooh, it's so groovy, to stay at home and watch a Transformer movie!", instead naming different things.
- In the leaked 2016 pro shot, Ocean sings this song in a slightly lower key, as Taylor Louderman, who was originally meant to play the role as Ocean in this production but quit due to creative differences, sang it in this key. It is theorised that Tiffany Tatreau, who took on the role, had to sing it in the altered key due to the short timeframe and an inability to change the backing music in time for the recording, however it is unclear when the key was changed back.
Official Audio[]
