Step Lyrics

How to Format Lyrics:

  • Type out all lyrics, even repeating song parts like the chorus
  • Lyrics should be broken down into individual lines
  • Use section headers above different song parts like [Verse], [Chorus], etc.
  • Use italics (<i>lyric</i>) and bold (<b>lyric</b>) to distinguish between different vocalists in the same song part
  • If you don’t understand a lyric, use [?]

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About

Genius Annotation

“Step” is inspired by “Step to My Girl” by Souls of Mischief. Per the band:

“Souls Of Mischief I’ve always loved. I kind of associate them with the first time that I really started become a music fan as a young teenager. This song apparently was recorded around the time of their first album, which was called 93 ‘til Infinity, but it never made the record and it floated around as a bootleg for awhile. I only discovered it five or six years ago but it always really stuck with me, especially the chorus. I didn’t know where it came from but they’re kind of like scratching somebody saying, "Every time I see you in the world, you always step to my girl.” Slowly as I listened to this song, I found myself kind of writing this alternate song based on that phrase."

Souls Of Mischief, however, also recycled this line which appeared first in YZ’s “Who’s That Girl.”

The first verse is almost a parody of the early Vampire Weekend lyrics, as they’re so dense and knotty that they are really superfluous and unnecessary to advance the melody. That was part of their charm, if you are into that kind of thing, but could be alienating as well. This narrator rejects that knowingness for deeper, more primitive truths. Given the recurring references to an ex from northern California on Contra, it’s possible that this one might have been written during (or cut from?) that album.

The official lyrics video shows scenes of New York in a black-and-white scheme reminiscent of the iconic opening to Woody Allen’s Manhattan.

Q&A

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

What did Vampire Weekend say about "Step"?
Genius Answer

Ezra Koenig explained the lengthy sample and interpolation clearing process for “Step” on Ep. 17 of his Beats 1 Radio Show Time Crisis.

Koenig was interesting in using the chorus and melody to Souls of Mischief’s “Step To My Girl”. He later learned that the melody was sampled from Grover Washington’s “Aubrey”, which itself was a cover of Bread’s “Aubrey”.

The line in “Step To My Girl”’s chorus was also borrowed from YZ’s “Who’s That Girl”, adding another step to the process.

What did Souls of Mischief think of this song?
Genius Answer

When I finally heard “Step,” it was so good; I was just happy we were able to be part of that. I’ve heard so many terrible “'93 ‘Til Infinity” remakes that it’s refreshing to hear something that is actually not a remake but is an “inspired by.”

— Tajai, The Daily Swarm, 2013

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