Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky
Are like shooting stars?
I could really use a wish right now
Wish right now, wish right now
Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky
Are like shooting stars?
I could really use a wish right now
Wish right now, wish right now
Dreaming (oh, oh-oh, oh)
Of falling (mm-mm, mm)
Dreaming (oh-oh-oh-oh-oh, ah)
Of falling (ah), yeah
Yeah, let's pretend like it's '98 ('98)
Like I'm eating lunch off of styrofoam trays (yeah)
Trying to be the next rapper coming out the A (A-town)
Hoping for a record deal to ignore my pain, yeah
Now let's pretend like I'm on a stage (stage)
And when my beat drops, everybody goes insane, okay (whoo)
And everybody know my name (Bob)
And everywhere I go, people wanna hear me sing (come on)
Oh yeah, and I just dropped my new album
On the first week, I did five hunnid thousand (yes)
Gold in the spring and diamond in the fall (okay)
And then a world tour just to top it all off (ah)
And let's pretend like they called me, "The greatest" (yup)
Selling out arenas, with big ass stages (aw)
And everybody loved me, and no one ever hated (hm)
Just try to use imagination
Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky
Are like shooting stars? (Shooting stars)
I could really use a wish right now (wish right now)
Wish right now (wish right now), wish right now (wish right now)
Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky
Are like shooting stars? (Shooting stars)
I could really use a wish right now (wish right now)
Wish right now (wish right now), wish right now (wish right now)
Okay, let's pretend like this never happened (never)
Like I never had dreams of being a rapper (rapper)
Like I didn't write raps up in all of my classes (classes)
Like I never used to run away into the blackness (yeah)
Now, let's pretend like it was all good (good)
Like I didn't live staring in a notebook (notebook)
Like I did the things that I probably knew I should (should)
But I ain't have neighbors that's why they call it hood (yeah)
Now, let's pretend like I ain't got a name (nah)
Before they ever call me "B.o.B", aka "Bobby Ray" (Ray)
I'm talking back before the mix-tapes (Cloud 9)
Before the videos and the deals and the fame (yeah)
Before the ever once (oh-oh) compared me to André (3 Stacks)
Before I ever got on MySpace (yeah)
Before they ever noticed my face (yeah)
So let's just pretend, and make wishes out of airplanes
Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky
Are like shooting stars? (Shooting stars)
I could really use a wish right now (wish right now)
Wish right now (wish right now), wish right now (wish right now)
Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky
Are like shooting stars? (Shooting stars)
I could really use a wish right now (wish right now)
Wish right now (wish right now), wish right now (wish right now)
And it seems like yesterday, it was just a dream
But those days are gone, they're just memories (oh-oh)
And it seems like yesterday, it was just a dream
But those days are gone, gone
Alright, let's pretend, Marshall Mathers, never picked up a pen
Let's pretend things would have been no different
Pretend he procrastinated, had no motivation
Pretend he just made excuses that were so paper thin
They could blow away with the wind, "Marshall, you're never gonna make it
Makes no sense to play the game, there ain't no way that you'll win"
Pretend he just stayed outside all day, and played with his friends
Pretend he even had a friend to say was his friend
And it wasn't time to move and schools weren't changing again
He wasn't socially awkward and just strange as a kid
He had a father and his mother wasn't crazy as shit
And he never dreamed, he could rip stadiums and just lazy as shit
Fuck a talent show in a gymnasium, bitch
You won't amount to shit, quit daydreaming, kid
You need to get your cranium checked
You're thinking like an alien, it just ain't realistic
Now, pretend they ain't just make him angry with this shit
And there was no one he could even aim when he's pissed it
And his alarm went off to wake him but he didn't make it
To the Rap Olympics, slept through his plane and he missed it
He's gon' have a hard time explaining to Hailie and Lainey
These food stamps and this WIC shit, 'cause he never risked shit
He hoped and he wished it, but it didn't fall in his lap
So he ain't even here, he pretends that
Airplanes in the night sky
Are like shooting stars
I could really use a wish right now
Wish right now, wish right now
Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky
Are like shooting stars?
I could really use a wish right now
Wish right now, wish right now
Uh-hm, oh-oh-ooh
Uh, mm
Ha-la, la, la, la, la-la
Ah-ah, ah, ah
Uh-hm, oh-oh-ooh
Uh, mm
About This Song
"Airplanes" is a melancholic hip-hop ballad that explores themes of nostalgia, regret, and the desire to escape from life's complexities and mistakes. The song uses the metaphor of wishing on airplanes as if they were shooting stars, expressing a longing to return to simpler, more innocent times before fame, partying, and poor decisions complicated the narrator's life. Musically, it blends B.o.B's introspective rap verses with Hayley Williams' soaring pop-rock chorus, creating a unique crossover sound that bridges hip-hop and alternative rock. The track's emotional vulnerability and relatable themes of wanting to undo past mistakes resonated widely, making it a mainstream hit that showcased hip-hop's capacity for introspection. Its distinctive airplane metaphor and the contrast between B.o.B's reflective verses and Williams' anthemic chorus created a memorable formula that captured the universal feeling of wishing you could start over.
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