Released: July 30, 2007

Songwriter: Sean Garrett Pharrell Williams Beyoncé

Producer: Beyoncé The Neptunes

[Intro]
Give it to mama
Give it, give it
Give it to my mama, oh
Give it
Give it to my mama

[Verse 1]
For some strange reason
You're done pleasin' me like it's okay, ohh
Like a perm that's been left too long (It's starts to burn)
The result is it just won't take, ohh (I can see)
Now it's all coming so clear to me now (I can see)
Misinterpreted all my naiveness
Was just thinking if I had no you then I can't do
My stock just went up over two million

[Chorus]
So if you want to, you got the green light
So if you want to, you got the green light
So if you want to, you got the green light
So if you want to, you got the green light
(Give it to mama)

[Post-Chorus]
Go, go, go, go
Go, go, go, go
Go, go, go, go
Go, go, red light, green light

[Verse 2]
Some see me, say I should be trophied
'Cause it gets no stronger
Ladies y'all know (Yeah girl, ya'll know)
This pimp -ish gets no older
Is that a threat? (What's another threat?)
Yep! (That's another threat)
I'm immune, you can get no colder
You got the green light, you the king, right?
You holdin' up traffic, green means go!

[Pre-Chorus]
Go, go, go, goooo
Go, go, go, goooo
Go, go, go, goooo
Go, go, red light, green light
(I said you're holdin' up traffic, green means go!)

[Chorus]
So if you want to, you got the green light (Green light, baby)
So if you want to, you got the green light
So if you want to, you got the green light
So if you want to, you got the green light
Give it to mama

[Bridge]
(Go, go, go, go)
Ain't no problem, you can go
I will find somebody else (Go, go, go, go)
It's alright, I'll move along
You got the green light so you can go
Go, go, go, go
Go, go, red light, green light
I gave all I could give
My love, my heart
Now we're facing the end
From what you did from the start, my love
You're holdin' up traffic, green means go!

[Chorus]
So if you want to, you got the green light
So if you want to, you got the green light
So if you want to, you got the green light
So if you want to, you got the green light
(Give it to mama)

[Outro]
(Go, go, go, go)
Ain't no problem, you can go
(Go, go, go, go)
I will find somebody else
(Go, go, go, go)
So why not move along?
(go, go, go, go)
You got the green light so you can go
(Go, go, go, go)
(Go, go, go, go)
Go, go, green light

Beyoncé

In the twenty-first century, no pop star was as poised, as polished, or as generally fierce as Beyoncé. She scored early success with Destiny’s Child, who started out as a sexier and sassier (if less adult) version of TLC, then steadily became more and more of a vehicle for Beyoncé’s operatic vocals and general diva-tude, which may have been the plan all along.

Whether appearing in TV spots, co-starring in films like Dreamgirls, or killing it every night on stadium tours, Beyoncé was omnipresent in the 2000s. Almost everybody, Beygency member or otherwise, loved shiny, hip-hop-fueled hits like “Crazy in Love”, and “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)”. Moving into the 2010s, Beyoncé fights on, gaining more and more traction in pop culture with her work and music.

She has made a significant impact upon the music landscape in general with her recent albums 4 and BEYONCÉ, which explored complex themes like motherhood, feminism, marriage, sexuality, and doubt in a greater depth. With Lemonade, she went a step further—the fierce, intimate exploration of marriage, infidelity, and forgiveness was her most personal and musically daring album yet.