Lyrics
Now do you see this, the way the grey controls only
The speaker observes how the color gray dominates and influences certain souls.
The souls that go to sleep to sink and dissolve
Gray seems to have a negative impact on the souls that sleep, causing them to sink and dissolve.
I set adrift, in between the concrete and the mist
The speaker feels adrift between the concrete (urban) and the mist, describing it as inner city bliss.
Just another inner city bliss
Reflecting on urban life as just another form of bliss within the inner city.
Now do you see this, the way the grey controls only
Repetition of the theme, emphasizing the control of gray on sleeping souls and the speaker's sense of drifting in the city.
The souls that go to sleep to sink and dissolve
-I set adrift, in between the concrete and the mist
-Just another inner city river bliss
-Uptown, soul of American century, no dispute
References to Uptown, Malcolm X's assassination, and the challenges of urban life, including encounters with deception and inner struggles.
Our foreign coup, Malcolm gets shoot, shot
-Harlem screaming, "How come it's you, not?"
-Some other fucker at that audubon spot, got
-Houdini to seedy schemey, junkies who would easily deceive me, believe me
-Monthly, must be, easy to fuck with Wik
-In my ear saying "Suck this dick 'fore I get sadistic"
-I'm in the corner, crying "what's this shit?"
-Seems I'm either puffing that bliss or cuffs on my wrist
-Yin and yang, either stinging with pain or bringing that grain
Expressing the dualities of life, pain, and pleasure, with a determination to keep trying despite difficulties.
Either way yo it's all the same thang
-Thinking, might it be worth it, life in the circle, write in my journal
-My journals the, city it flows with the prettiest prose
-Mixed with the gritty and gross, I pity the
-Hideous shmoe, not the idiot shmucks, still giving a fuck
-But I pity them so I guess I care too, prepared to
-I-I-I dare to, keep trying when dying
-The island be my heirloom
Describing the speaker's connection to an island as something precious passed down through generations.
Now do you see this, the way the grey controls only
Reiteration of the impact of gray on sleeping souls and the speaker's sense of drifting in the inner city.
The souls that go to sleep to sink and dissolve
-I set adrift, in between the concrete and the mist
-Just another inner city bliss
-Now do you see this, the way the grey controls only
-The souls that go to sleep to sink and dissolve
-I set adrift, in between the concrete and the mist
-Just another inner city river bliss
-Marred Muts, upstream harbored us
Describing the struggles and challenges faced by individuals in a specific urban setting, emphasizing the need to be cautious of the consequences of the "come up."
Luck loop of lucky louie shufflin' suave struts
-Wrists carved up, from center street souls
-Whose scars won't shut, no scars won't shut!
-Back in kickball they were the kids that got cut
-Type to lick ya tears off, poke ya gut and such
-Now who's stuck? And where's my luck?
-Barged baxter in bayard boom, where's my buck?
-You wouldn't last long on Lennox, you scared to come up
-But you need to be as scared of the come up
-When you need to be shootin' shoats and saving the young pups
-Torrid heat, Time Square post let it erupt
-We're bashing and barking like, dogs in the fog
-Down the South, slow draws, haggard hogs
-I can feel ya hunger baby, scribble and make ya starve
Addressing hunger, both literal and metaphorical, and the consequences of societal expectations.
Taught you 'bout tatted walls, scratched and scattered scrawls
-Night you like to breathe but you talk timid towards tamed with awe
-And tongues rip through holes with pockets to draws
-I was born in the ocean and adapted to life ashore
Reflecting on the speaker's origin, adapting to life ashore, and sharing sick stories while contemplating failure and suffering.
Take it as a simple world, world, world
-Guess I'm spatting off like hell, now what the hell
-All the, all the, sick stories to tell
-Sittin' in ya cell thinkin' to yourself, "how'd I fail"
Pondering the reasons for failure and expressing the emotional response to it.
Well, why'd I wail?
-Now do you see this, the way the grey controls only
Repeated lines highlighting the influence of gray on sleeping souls and the speaker's sense of drifting in the inner city.
The souls that go to sleep to sink and dissolve
-I set adrift, in between the concrete and the mist
-Just another inner city bliss
-Now do you see this, the way the grey controls only
-The souls that go to sleep to sink and dissolve
-I set adrift, in between the concrete and the mist
-Just another inner city river bliss
-Suave slobs, conquer, Manahatta
Describing suave individuals conquering the city, with a mention of nostalgia and karma as potential consequences.
Wally's on my feet, Squallies on the creep 'cross the
-Street where the people that peep the nostalgia
-All dat karma can come upon ya
-Suave slobs, conquer, Manahatta
Repetition of the theme of suave conquerors in Manahatta, warning about karma and the potential consequences of nostalgia.
Wally's on my feet, Squallies on the creep 'cross the
-Street where the people that peep the nostalgia
-All dat karma can come upon ya
-Suave slobs, conquer, Manahatta
Continuation of the theme, emphasizing the presence of suave conquerors and the potential repercussions of karma.
Wally's on my feet, Squallies on the creep 'cross the
-Street where the people that peep the nostalgia
-All dat karma can come upon ya
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