’03 Bonnie & Clyde Lyrics

[Intro: JAY-Z]
Uh-huh, uh, uh
You ready, B?
Let's go get 'em

[Verse 1: JAY-Z, Jay-Z & Beyonce]
Look for me
Young, B, cruisin' down the Westside Highway
Doin' what we like to do, our way
Eyes behind shades
This necklace the reason all of my dates been blind dates
But today I got my thoroughest girl with me
I'm mashin' the gas, she's grabbin' the wheel, it's trippy
How hard she rides with me, the new Bobby and Whitney
Only time we don't speak is durin' Sex and the City
She gets Carrie fever, but soon as the show's over
She's right back to being my soldier

'Cause mami's a rider and I'm a roller
Put us together, how they gon' stop both us?
Whatever she lacks I'm right over her shoulder (Woo)
When I'm off track, mami is keepin' me focused
So let's lock this down like it's supposed to be
The '03 Bonnie and Clyde: Hov' and B, holla

[Chorus: JAY-Z & Beyoncé]
All I need in this life of sin is me and my girlfriend
(Me and my girlfriend)
Down to ride 'til the very end, is me and my boyfriend
(Me and my boyfriend, that's right)
All I need in this life of sin is me and my girlfriend
(Me and my girlfriend, look for me)
Down to ride 'til the very end, is me and my boyfriend
(Me and my boyfriend)

[Verse 2: JAY-Z]
The problem is, you dudes treat the one that you lovin'
With the same respect that you treat the one that you humpin'
That ain't 'bout nothin', if ever you mad about somethin'
It won't be that, oh no, it won't be that

I don't be at places where we comfy at
With no be-atch, oh no, you won't see that
And no, I ain't perfect, nobody walkin' this earth's surface is
But girlfriend, work with the kid
I keep you workin' that Hermès Birkin bag
Manolo Blahnik Timbs, Aviator lens
Six hundred drops, Mercedes Benz
The only time you wear Burberry to swim
And I don't have to worry, only worry is him
She do anything necessary for him
And I do anything necessary for her
So don't let the necessary occur, yep

[Chorus: JAY-Z & Beyoncé]
All I need in this life of sin is me and my girlfriend
(Me and my girlfriend)
Down to ride 'til the very end, is me and my boyfriend
(Me and my boyfriend, that's right)
All I need in this life of sin is me and my girlfriend
(Me and my girlfriend, look for me)
Down to ride 'til the very end, is me and my boyfriend
(Me and my boyfriend, talk to 'em, B)

[Bridge: Beyoncé, JAY-Z & Both]
If I was your girlfriend (Uh, uh, uh-huh)
I'll be there for you (Woo, uh)
If somebody hurts you (Uh)
Even if that somebody was me (Woo, that's hot)
Yeah-hee (Uh, break it down for 'em, B)
Sometimes I trip on how happy we could be (Take 'em outside)

And so I put this on my life (Woo, uh)
Nobody or nothing will ever come between us (Woo, uh, woo)
And I promise I'll give my life (Woo, I'm dancin', woo)
My love and my trust if you was my boyfriend (One more time)
Put this on my life (Uh, uh, uh)
The air that I breathe in, all that I believe in (Woo, uh)
I promise I'll give my life (Woo)
My love and my trust if you was my boyfriend (Uh, uh)

[Chorus: JAY-Z & Beyoncé]
All I need in this life of sin is me and my girlfriend
(Me and my girlfriend)
Down to ride 'til the very end, is me and my boyfriend
(Me and my boyfriend, that's right)
All I need in this life of sin is me and my girlfriend
(Me and my girlfriend)
Down to ride 'til the very end, is me and my boyfriend
(Me and my boyfriend)

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About

Genius Annotation

In their first musical collaboration, Jay-Z and Beyoncé put their own spin on 2Pac’s classic “Me And My Girlfriend”, only with a twist: while 2Pac was referring to his gun, Jay’s talking about his actual girlfriend. Due to the track’s content it was the first indication of Jay and Bey’s romantic status, spawning rumors about a burgeoning relationship. The track reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was, at the time, Beyoncé’s highest charting single as a solo artist.

Recorded in August 2002, Hov had implored producer Kanye West to create “the best beat you ever made.” While listening to The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory West realized how perfect the Pac sample would be:

So I went home and called my dog, E Base, who plays a lot of instruments up at Baseline for me and Just Blaze. I programmed the drums in 10 minutes, and then he played all the different parts. This version is all live bass, live guitars, live chords on it. I brought it to Hov that night, he heard it, he thought of the video treatment before he thought of the rap. He just knew it was gonna be the one.

Tensions arose during the conception of “‘03 Bonnie & Clyde” over the sampling of “Me and My Girlfriend,” as explained by Def Jam A&R Tina Davis in 2003:

We only had one day to clear the [2Pac] sample that was used. We were back and forth with Afeni Shakur all day until we got the clearance. And then it’s a hit.

This song is the fourth episode in the progression of Jay’s portrayal of women in his raps. As he told NPR:

I mean, a song on my first album was “Ain’t No Nigga.” […] It was like, this careless relationship. And then that went to “Big Pimpin” in ‘99. And on that same album was a song called “Song Cry,” and then “Song Cry” became “Bonnie & Clyde” on 2004, which became “Venus vs. Mars” on my last album. So there’s a steady growth in the conversations – that’s being had as it pertains to women, you know, as I grew.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJAEpILeLi8

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

What has Jay said about the track?
Genius Answer

I remember this record on multiple levels. First, Tupac Shakur because it uses his 1996 ‘Me and My Girlfriend,’ and the beef he had with Big. I don’t remember ever meeting Pac. We never had an encounter. He dissed me too, but for me it wasn’t a personal thing. When he passed, those things are gone. Plus the song was so perfect with the timing. This was when everyone was first talking about B and I. As a songwriter, you can’t help but express your life through your music. I was definitely playing with the controversy of it all.

What did JAY-Z say about "'03 Bonnie & Clyde"?
Genius Answer

In an interview in 2016, Kareem “Biggs” Burke explained how this track was the moment he and Dame Dash knew their friend was in love with Beyoncé:

When Jay first met Beyoncé, Dame was like ‘You should wife her, she’s the one.’ There was a time in Paris when they sent us ‘Bonnie & Clyde.’ Dame and I were at the Plaza Athénée and they sent us that song. It was the final [cut] and when we heard that song Dame looked at me and said 'Yo, he’s in love.’ So if y'all know Jay, a lot of times everything comes out in music. When he does interviews he’s a little more reluctant to speak about certain things. But it always comes out in his albums; so at that time when 'Bonnie & Clyde’ came out we knew he was in love with Beyoncé.

What was the inspiration for the track's video?
Genius Answer

Filmed in Mexico in October 2002, the music video for “‘03 Bonnie & Clyde” was inspired by the 1993 romance crime film True Romance, which happens to be one of Jay’s favorite films. According to producer Kanye West Hov had planned the track’s video treatment before he had even recorded his verses.

Is this Jay and Bey's first ever collaboration?
Were there any legal troubles surrounding the song?
Was this song commercially successful?
What else have the artists said about the song?
Credits
Featuring
Produced By
Mastering Engineer
Mastered at
Phonographic Copyright ℗
Keyboards
Performance Rights
Instrumentation
Mixing Engineer
Recorded At
Baseline Studios
Release Date
October 10, 2002
’03 Bonnie & Clyde Interpolations
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