With crude oil currently trading for ~$90 a barrel, striking even a modest pool of oil can lead to riches. To find a million dollars worth in Jed’s time was a once-in-a-lifetime event.

Oil is often called “black gold” because of its extreme value to size ratio, much like real gold. Also mimicking the appearance of the mixed drink, “Texas tea” refers back to the main source of early oil and the thick, dark look of tea.

“The Ballad of Jed Clampett” served as the backstory to and theme song of The Beverly Hillbillies. Finding oil in his backyard, Jed moves from a poor mountain man to a n oil-rich Californian, enjoying the finer things in life and comically misunderstanding wealth.

A child of the ghetto, Jay is well aware of the many, many areas that politicians fail to address. During his rise to fame, the same politicians criticized his lyrics and influence. Now, they criticize his choice to travel to Cuba.

Writing them off, he has no taste for the political elite. While he tried to play the game, they constantly changed the rules, covering historical facts with blind laws; incorrect generalizations; and a mask of “progress” that only covered up the issues. Jay may be economically stronger than the richest of Senators, but he will never join their ranks.

Like Jay said on “Watch Me”

“They gave us drugs then turned around and investigated us”

This song addresses both Jay’s trip to Cuba and his recent decision to sell his stake in the Brooklyn Nets. Though he helped move the team and celebrated them endlessly, in order to invest in the NBA as a whole, Jay was forced to renounce ownership to start his ROC Nation Sports outfit.

While he may no longer have any formal affiliation with the team, we all know where his allegiance lives. On top of that, Jay believed when this was written that thanks to his personal investment, he still owned a monetary and spiritual stake in Brooklyn’s Barclay’s Center, along with his seat on the Barclays Center Board of Directors. So even when he leaves the Nets, he thought he’d keep his personal seats and his connection. But…. not so much

Jay also will continue to make money from the Barclays Center and it’s success because one of his 40/40 clubs is located INSIDE of it, as well as a Rocawear clothing store.

Zoolander, the Ben Stiller film about a male model of the same name, followed the journey from celebrity to role model and teacher. Derek, the main character, eventually opened a school for “kids who can’t read good and want to learn to do other stuff good too,” being the “model” for their learning.

Like Zoolander, Jay’s music is a new “model” for how music should sound. Yet, unlike Zoolander, he isn’t soft: this is aggressive domination.

Blue steel!

Also note: Will Ferrell’s character was trying to use Derek Zoolander to bring down the prime Minister of Malaysia in the movie.

Stuck on a Louisiana riverboat casino, Tweedy has little else to do beside gamble. Addicted to the green felt of the tables and the thrill of the risk, he burns through his money. The way he interacts with the gambling, he seems to idolize the system and love the “Queen” of the cards.

Tweedy’s “blue sky” is only that he has not yet died. With so little to look forward to, he must trust only that merely being alive is a good thing. Continuing the sarcastic trend, he knows that looking toward non-death as a good sign is anything but.

The sadness of watching home fall apart and moving away from what you know is nearly impossible to mitigate. Tweedy is not serious here; a blue sky would do little to change his sadness. Instead, he is sarcastically noting now even a tiny change would play contrast against what seems an immense sadness.

Poets generally try to abstract and rationalize the world around them. Seeing only chaos, Tweedy does not understand why anyone would waste time attempting the impossible. With nobody giving a “fuck” about order, why seek it?

Not much unique can come out of a love song. Guessing at the plot and music, Tweedy’s love is not impressed. His best efforts are no better than every other song on the topic. For Tweedy, putting effort into something futile is a waste, but he tries anyway.