NOT PART OF SONG, SKIP THIS IF POSTING LYRICS
This is a formal look at the meaning of the song "We Are Number One" in the Icelandic Children's Television series "Lazytown" which is known for spawning a variety of memorable content, most importantly "memes" based on the famous track "We Are Number One" sung by the main antagonist of the series, Robbie Rotten, played by Icelandic actor Stefan Karl Stefansson, who has become someone of a miniature celebrity in the realms of the internet community.
Now for a look at the meaning of the lyrics
INTRO:
"Are you a real villain? "
"Well uh... technically.... uh"
"Have you ever caught a good guy, like a real SUPERHERO?"
"Nah"
"Have you ever tried a disguise?"
"Nah nah..."
"Alright! I can see that I will have to teach you how to be villains!"
Explanation
Robbie Rotten asks whether his clone-like counterparts are the genuine artifact. This is an important philosophical question that examines their commitment to the villain mentality.
He tests their ambitions and aspirations, knowing that they will need to give it their all to surpass Sportacus, Also known as Sportaflop.
Discouraged by the lack of will power and self-consciousness, Robbie Rotten decides to teach them "How to be villains" by singing a song. This is a trope seen in several animated stories, a prime example being the track "I'll Make A Man Out Of You" out of the 1998 Disney produced animated film, Mulan.
Their meek responses to his motivational speaking shows they are not yet fit to defeat Sportaflop.
[Hook]
Hey!
We are Number One
Hey!
We are Number One
Explanation
"Hey" is used multiple times in the song, indicating Robbie's deep psychological struggle and his journey to find himself. He is crying out for attention.
This simple phrase "We Are Number One" poortrays the overly-egotistic nature of moerdn society. Robbie and his followers call themselves "Number One" even though the crew fruitlessly attempts to catch the super hero Sportaflop, which results mostly in failure. They can not literally be number one, because of their Wile E. Coyote levels of failure, but they must construct a facade to preserve their sanity nonetheless.
///
[VERSE 1]
Now Listen Closely
Here's a little lesson in trickery
This is going down in History
If you wanna be a Villain Number One
You have to chase a superhero on the run
Just follow my moves, and sneak around
be careful not to make a sound
EXPLANATION
"Now Listen Closely. Here's a little lesson in trickery"
Robbie, once a righteous hero, has chosen to become evil in order to stop the greater evil Sportaflop, using dirty and ethically questionable methods such as the use of a Flunitrazepam (Also known as Roofie) infused apple.
Even though Robbie knows it's not the right method to subdue and defeat Sportaflop, he's willing to bend his morals to create and ensure the survival of a great and perfect society.
[If you wanna be a villain number one, you have to chase a superhero on the run. Just follow my moves, and sneak around. Be careful not to make a sound. (Shh. No Dont touch that!))
Is Robbie Rotten truely a villain as the residents in Lazy Town call him?
Was Frankenstein's creature a monster?
Or was he a misunderstood angel pining for love and acceptance?
In lazy Town, a state of calmness and rest is labeled as "Laziness" and is shunned and shamed, as someone is creating a mortally abhorred sin. Sportaflop forces civilians to be in constant action, which leaves no room for calmness and rest. This fascism will ultimately lead to exhaustion and exploitation of the people, therefore leading to the doom of a small society.
However, unlike Sportaflop, who follows and guides the town's concensus, Robbie Rotten, being a rebel, chose to go against the social norm to have his own peace and relaxation in his lair, since he instinctively knew the value of rest. Robbie isn't much different than the Buddha in this instance.
///
[Hook]
[Verse 2]
Ha ha ha. Now look at this net, that I just found. When I say go, be ready to throw!
Go!
(Self Explanatory)
"Throw it on him, not me!"
He says go, but one of the clones throws it on him, rather than on Sportaflop
"Ughh, lets try something else! Now watch and learn, heres the deal, he'll slip and slide on this banana peel!"
Even though Robbie's effort was fruitless, he never gives up his effort to stop exploitative dictator Sportaflop who never allows any space for "Laziness"
Here, Robbie came up with a brilliant new plan to stop Sportaflop's totalitarian rule, buy placing the outer layer of a commercial fruit known as a "Banana", he lets his followers to learn his will to bring justice in the town, where people can restrain working, rest, and do nothing as long as they damn well please, at their own whim.
The Banana peel is also symbolic of the hypocritical nature of Sportaflop's dictatorial rule over Lazytown. While the inner fruit of the banana is eaten, a piece of it is left behind, a piece widely regarded as worthless. However, the path to "Fitness" requires full dedication, and the fact that Sportaflop and his cronies discard the peel of the banana is symbolic of a flow in their ideology that Robbie Rotten hopes to exploit
However, even his own followers can't understand his reasoning (As represented by them slipping on the peels), and thus Robbie's ideological approach is as fruitless as the peels that it was based upon.
"Hahaha - *Gasp* What are you doing?!?!)
Robbie is laughing and having a good time when suddenly it strikes him that nobody can tame the immature clones and he thinks for a split-second that maybe he is not Number One in the first place. He ponders the universe and everything in it. Is life worth living?
///
[Outro]
Ba-ba-biddly-ba-ba-ba-ba, ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba
We are number one
Hey!
Ba-ba-biddly-ba-ba-ba-ba, ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba
We are Number One
Ba-ba-biddly-ba-ba-ba-ba, ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba
We Are Number One
Hey!
Ba-ba-biddly-ba-ba-ba-ba, ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba
We are Number One
Hey!
Hey!
Explanation
"Ba-ba-biddly-ba-ba-ba-ba, ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba" has strong ties to the sound of machine gun fire in the Lazy War, one that both Robbie Rotten and Dictator Sportaflop served in.
In the bloody conflict to determine who is right, each side had caused a great amount of casualties, leaving heaps of rotting mannequin corpses all around Lazy Town.
That's where Robbi got his nickname "Rotten", or more precisely, Robbie "Rotten Corpses"; he always had the stench of rotting flesh around him, a consequence of his 507 confirmed kills, including the death of Fidel "Meanswell" Castro.
After the war, Robbie started to suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, which is why he makes machine gun sounds during the song -- he is trying to get rid of the machine gun sound and the wailing of his fallen comrades-in-arms echoing in his head.
