Beyonce — II MOST WANTED | Analyrical Content
Below you will find the complete lyrics to the song II MOST WANTED and its meaning. Then I will post an image. After the image will be an analytical lyrical (analyrical) analysis of the song with some additional commentary. Her lyrics will be in bold in the second section, and the commentary will look unbolded like this.
Lyrics:
[Verse 1: Miley Cyrus & Beyoncé]
Know we’re jumping the gun, but we’re both still young
One day, we won’t be
Didn’t know what I want ’til I saw your face
Say goodbye to the old me
[Pre-Chorus: Miley Cyrus, Beyoncé, Beyoncé & Miley Cyrus]
Came out of nowhere, didn’t give no warnin’
Pedal so heavy like the two most wanted
And I don’t know what you’re doin’ tonight
But I
[Chorus: Beyoncé & Miley Cyrus]
I’ll be your shotgun rider
’Til the day I die
Smoke out the window flyin’
Down the 405
I’ll be your backseat baby, drivin’ you crazy
Anytime you like
Woah, I’ll be your shotgun rider
’Til the day I, ’til the day I die
[Verse 2: Miley Cyrus & Beyoncé]
Making waves in the wind with my empty hand
My other hand on you
Been a while since I haven’t tried to pull away
But it’s time for something new
[Pre-Chorus: Beyoncé & Miley Cyrus]
Came out of nowhere, didn’t give no warnin’
Pedal so heavy like the two most wanted
And I don’t know what you’re doin’ tonight
But I
[Chorus: Beyoncé & Miley Cyrus]
I’ll be your shotgun rider
’Til the day I die
Smoke out the window flyin’
Down the 405
Yeah, I’ll be your backseat baby, drivin’ you crazy
Anytime you like, woah
I’ll be your shotgun rider
’Til the day I, ’til the day I die
[Post-Chorus: Beyoncé, Beyoncé & Miley Cyrus]
(’Til the day I, ’til the day I, ’til the day I die)
’Til the day I die
(’Til the day I, ’til the day I, ’til the day I die)
[Bridge: Beyoncé, Miley Cyrus, Beyoncé & Miley Cyrus]
I know we’re jumpin’ the gun and we’re both still young
But one day, we won’t be
I’ll go wherever you take me, seems kinda crazy
Ooh, oh
[Chorus: Beyoncé & Miley Cyrus]
I’ll be your shotgun rider
’Til the day I die
We’re gettin’ high ’til we don’t realize
Time is passin’ by
Yeah, I’ll be your backseat baby, I’m drivin’ you crazy
Anytime you like, oh, oh
I’ll be your shotgun rider
’Til the day I, ’til the day I die
[Post-Chorus: Beyoncé, Beyoncé & Miley Cyrus]
(’Til the day I, ’til the day I, ’til the day I die)
’Til the day I die
(’Til the day I, ’til the day I, ’til the day I die)
Mm, oh
[Verse 1: Miley Cyrus & Beyoncé]
Know we're jumping the gun, but we're both still young
One day, we won't be
Didn't know what I want 'til I saw your face
Say goodbye to the old me
Throughout this album, Beyonce has been using guns and cars to illustrate different things. She starts off with a nice idiom about jumping the gun, which is fitting because country culture has an underlying gun culture.
She emphasizes that she is prematurely changing into a person that fits like a puzzle piece into her new person’s life. And the reason is because time is running out, and being young is the best time to do these kinds of things.
[Pre-Chorus: Miley Cyrus, Beyoncé, Beyoncé & Miley Cyrus]
Came out of nowhere, didn't give no warnin'
Pedal so heavy like the two most wanted
And I don't know what you're doin' tonight
But I
Another car-related word, “pedal”. This sentence plays with several ideas. Using the word “heavy” makes us think of someone who has a “lead foot”. This also hints at the phrase “pedal to the metal” all at once. It’s obvious that they are speeding, but she calls the pedal heavy, giving all of the responsibility to the car. And of course, being the two most wanted refers to speeding like they’re running away from the law.
But it could also refer to the two female artists being the two most desired women in country. Hence it being a duet. But I’m sure the couple (Beyonce & Jay Z) are the two most wanted.
Beyonce does a great job at maintaining the spelling with using “ii” in the title of the song, since this is renaissance act ii.
The feeling Beyonce is describing is love at first sight. But this type of love is a Bonnie & Clyde love (who were also in Texas) which allows the couple to risk everything and rely on each other.
[Chorus: Beyoncé & Miley Cyrus]
I'll be your shotgun rider
'Til the day I die
Smoke out the window flyin'
Down the 405
I'll be your backseat baby, drivin' you crazy
Anytime you like
Woah, I'll be your shotgun rider
'Til the day I, 'til the day I die
Again she mentions the passenger seat, emphasizing her supportive role. She’s expressing how she will commit crimes and run from the law, and she’s so unconcerned with everything else.
She did this in another song on this album, but she’s again mentioning how the backseat of the car is for “crazy” sex.
I thought the 405 was an interesting choice. This interstate runs through California. In her other song JUST FOR FUN she mentions Clovis, California which sits close to the 405. So why is Beyonce mentioning California? I believe it’s to highlight Black cowboy culture in California.
I saw an interesting article about California police officers arresting black teens at a higher rate. No surprise there. It’s like this in every state. So when we imagine Beyonce and Jay-Z as a black couple speeding down the road, we’re sure (if they weren’t famous) that they would run into trouble with cops. It holds a different significance when Beyonce and Miley sing this. They are both going to have two different realities when dealing with the law.
Another place that’s not too far from the 405 is Agua Dulce, California. That’s the setting for the movie NOPE by Jordan Peele. Another movie that highlights Black cowboys in California. Which I don’t think is a coincidence. I believe the 405 was intentionally mentioned to make us connect California to black cowboy culture.
[Verse 2: Miley Cyrus & Beyoncé]
Making waves in the wind with my empty hand
My other hand on you
Been a while since I haven't tried to pull away
But it's time for something new
I love this first line. It’s something we’ve all done as kids when our parents drove on the highway with the windows down. As adults, we do it too sometimes, but when we were young, we likely did it a lot more. I believe this connects with the idea of the song where she says “we’re both still young” and this action should show how young they are, because I doubt really old people are doing this. At least from my experience.
The last 2 lines here confused me a bit because I asked myself, what is she going to pull away from? I believe she’s pulling away from limitations or societal standards of what we deem good and bad.
And she’s holding him and she’s ready to break some rules, and it’s time for “something new” since she is no longer alone and has a partner in crime.
[Pre-Chorus: Beyoncé & Miley Cyrus]
Came out of nowhere, didn't give no warnin'
Get Keván the Copywriter’s stories in your inbox
Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.
Pedal so heavy like the two most wanted
And I don't know what you're doin' tonight
But I
Nothing to add here.
[Chorus: Beyoncé & Miley Cyrus]
I'll be your shotgun rider
'Til the day I die
Smoke out the window flyin'
Down the 405
Yeah, I'll be your backseat baby, drivin' you crazy
Anytime you like, woah
I'll be your shotgun rider
'Til the day I, 'til the day I die
Let’s tie in some lyrics from this song. Beyonce is both “jumping the gun” and playing “shotgun rider” at the same time. Which means that she is aware that this level of devotion and support to a person isn’t normal. It isn’t normal to want to ride & die for someone that you don’t know that well. But I guess the feelings are just this strong.
I’d also like to point out that being in the backseat may also refer to her annoying side aka being a backseat driver. Which drives everyone crazy. I like this double entendre, but for consistency with the album it likely refers to sex.
[Post-Chorus: Beyoncé, Beyoncé & Miley Cyrus]
('Til the day I, 'til the day I, 'til the day I die)
'Til the day I die
('Til the day I, 'til the day I, 'til the day I die)
[Bridge: Beyoncé, Miley Cyrus, Beyoncé & Miley Cyrus]
I know we're jumpin' the gun and we're both still young
But one day, we won't be
I'll go wherever you take me, seems kinda crazy
Ooh, oh
This is the second time she uses the word crazy in this song. The first time she uses it to highlight how the sex in the backseat would be. Now she’s using it to talk about her logic.
[Chorus: Beyoncé & Miley Cyrus]
I'll be your shotgun rider
'Til the day I die
We're gettin' high 'til we don't realize
Time is passin' by
Yeah, I'll be your backseat baby, I'm drivin' you crazy
Anytime you like, oh, oh
I'll be your shotgun rider
'Til the day I, 'til the day I die
Nothing to add here. But I just want to talk about how Bonnie & Clyde died, “Clyde Champion Barrow and his companion, Bonnie Parker, were shot to death by officers in an ambush near Sailes, Bienville Parish, Louisiana on May 23, 1934, after one of the most colorful and spectacular manhunts the nation had seen up to that time.”
Beyonce is willing to face the same demise for her man.
[Post-Chorus: Beyoncé, Beyoncé & Miley Cyrus]
('Til the day I, 'til the day I, 'til the day I die)
'Til the day I die
('Til the day I, 'til the day I, 'til the day I die)
Mm, oh
Nothing to add here.
This was a cute song. I’d give it a 7/10 lyrically. But I’d give it a 10/10 conceptually because it was really creative and tied in several different narratives and stories. She left a little easter egg here that connected with other songs.
Anyway. I’m Kevan Hudson. I’m a copywriter. And now I analyze short-form black popular literature (lyrics) here on Medium. Give me a follow and share to support my analytical content.
See yall at the Beyonce concert!
