Released: August 1, 1988

Songwriter: Peter Harris Will Smith DJ Jazzy Jeff

Producer: DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince Bryan “Chuck” New Pete Q. Harris

[Intro: Fresh Prince]
Now I have a story that I'd like to tell
About this guy you all know him, he had me scared as hell!
He comes to me at night after I crawl into bed
He's burnt up like a weenie and his name is Fred!
He wears the same hat and sweater every single day
And even if it's hot outside he wears it anyway!
He's gone when I'm awake but he shows up when I'm sleep
I can't believe that there's a nightmare on my street!

[Verse 1: Fresh Prince]
It was a Saturday evening, if I remember it right
And we had just gotten back off tour last night
So the gang and I thought that it would be groovy
If we summoned up the posse and bum rushed the movies
I got Angie, Jeff got Tina
Ready Rock got some girl I'd never seen in my life
That was all right though 'cause the lady was chill
Then we dipped to the theater set to ill
Buggin', cold havin' a ball
And somethin' ‘bout Elm Street was the movie we saw
The way it started was decent, you know nothing real fancy
About this homeboy named Freddy and this girl named Nancy
But word when it was over I said, “Yo, that was def!”
And everything seemed alright when we left
But when I got home and laid down to sleep
That began the nightmare, but on my street!

[Verse 2: Fresh Prince & Freddy Kruger]
It was burning in my room like an oven
My bed soaked with sweat, man, I was buggin'
I checked the clock and it stopped at 12:30
It had melted, it was so darn hot, and I was thirsty
I went downstairs to grab some juice or a Coke
Flipped the TV off, and then I almost choked
When I heard this awful voice comin' from behind
It said, "You turned off David Letterman, now you must die!"
Man, I ain't even wait to see who it was
Broke outside in my drawers and screamed, "So long, cuz!"
Got halfway up the block I calmed down and stopped screamin'
Then thought, "Oh, I get it, I must be dreamin"
I strolled back home with a grin on my grill
I figured since this is a dream I might as well get ill
I walked in the house, the Big Bad Fresh Prince
But Freddy killed all that noise real quick
He grabbed me by my neck and said
"Here's what we'll do, we got a lot of work here, me and you
The souls of your friends you and I will claim
You've got the body, and I've got the brain"
I said, "Yo Fred, I think you've got me all wrong
I ain't partners with nobody with nails that long!
Look, I'll be honest, man, this team won't work
The girls won't be on you, Fred your face is all burnt!"
I pat him on the shoulder said, "Thanks for stopping by."
Then I opened up the door and said, "Take care guy!"
He got mad, drew back his arm, and slashed my shirt
I laughed at first, then thought, "Hold up, that hurt!"
It wasn't a dream, man, this guy was for real
I said, "Freddy, uh, pal, there's been an awful mistake here."
No further words and then I darted upstairs
Crashed through my door then jumped on my bed
Pulled the covers up over my head
And said, "Oh please do somethin' with Fred!"
He jumped on my bed, ripped through the covers with his claws
Tried to get me, but my alarm went off
And then silence! It was a whole new day
I thought, "Huh, I wasn't scared of him anyway."
Until I noticed those rips in my sheets
And that was proof that there had been a nightmare, on my street

[Outro: Fresh Prince, Jazzy Jeff & Freddy Krueger]
Oh man, I gotta call Jeff, I gotta call Jeff
Come on, come on
Come on Jeff, answer
Come on, man
Hello?
Jeff, this is Prince, man
Jeff, wake up
Jeff, wake up
What do you want?
Jeff, wake up, man
Listen to me, Jeff
It's three o'clock in the mornin', what do you want?
Jeff, Jeff, would you listen to me?
Listen, whatever you do, don't fall asleep
Man!
Jeff, listen to me, don't go to sleep, Jeff
Look, look, I'll talk to you tomorrow, I'm going to bed
RRAHHHH!
Ahhhhhh!
Jeff! Jeff!
Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, haaaa!
Ahhhhhh!
Jeff!
RRAHHHH!
Jeff! Answer me, Jeff!
I'm your D.J. now, Princey!
Ahh, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, haaaaa!

DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince

“DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince” is a hip-hop duo from West Philadelphia.

Rapper Will Smith (The Fresh Prince) met disc jockey Jeff Townes (DJ Jazzy Jeff) in the 1980s, when they were both trying to make names for themselves in West Philadelphia’s local hip hop scene.

The group received the first Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance in 1989 for “Parents Just Don’t Understand”, though their most successful single was “Summertime” which earned the group their second Grammy and peaked at number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100.