This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
Oh, please can you kill this pain away?
Can you fix what remains unspoken?
Can you even look me in the eye?
Or are you to good to deal with your own friend?
With heavy hands upon my shoulders,
Makeshift phrases, pre-packaged “feelings”
Lift me up? Too much fucking work,
Give me up? Another burden off your back.
So shove me deep into forgotten memories,
Shove me deep into lists of tragedies,
Sad story, didn’t hit too close to home,
So why should you even bat an eye?
Underrate me, toss my worth aside,
Don’t even care if my threat is suicide,
You couldn’t deal with someone you know you should,
Betray what I thought could be SO GOOD.
Live as if I never spoke a single word,
‘Cause all I am is another parasite,
Do I make it hard for you to breathe?
Oh please, you don’t think that I don’t know,
That others like you had it harder than me?
Does that make mine any less real?
So weak to even think I had a problem.
So shake your head, pass your judgements
And use me up to your advantage,
Just let me know when you need me,
What else are best friends for?
So shove me deep into forgotten memories,
Shove me deep into lists of tragedies,
Sad story, didn’t hit too close to home,
So why should you even bat an eye?
Underrate me, toss my worth aside,
Don’t even care if my threat is suicide,
You couldn’t deal with someone you know you should,
Betray what I thought could be SO GOOD.
Live as if I never spoke a single word,
‘Cause all I am is another parasite,
Do I make it hard for you to breathe?
Oh please, leaving in your wake, broken hearted
Black tie dress codes, dearly departed.
Would it hurt so bad just to shed a few,
Less need, so scared, now we’re just dead to you.
So self-involved, turn a world upside down,
“It burns inside”, when you’re around,
Setting up for a second fall,
Don’t you see that he cares for you at all?
So shove me deep into forgotten memories,
Shove me deep into lists of tragedies,
Sad story, didn’t hit too close to home,
So why should you even bat an eye?
Underrate me, toss my worth aside,
Don’t even care if my threat is suicide,
You couldn’t deal with someone you know you should,
Betray what I thought could be SO GOOD.
Live as if I never spoke a single word,
‘Cause all I am is another parasite,
Do I make it hard for you to breathe?
Underrate me, toss my worth aside,
(Shove me deep into forgotten memories)
Don’t even care if my threat is suicide,
(Shove me deep into lists of tragedies)
You couldn’t deal with someone you know you should,
(Sad story, didn’t hit too close to home)
Betray what I thought could be SO GOOD.
(So why should you even bat an eye?)
Live as if I never spoke a single word,
(Shove me deep into forgotten memories)
‘Cause all I am is another parasite,
(Shove me deep into lists of tragedies)
Do I make it hard for you to breathe?
(Sad story, didn’t hit too close to home)
So why should you even bat a fucking eye?
Can you fix what remains unspoken?
Can you even look me in the eye?
Or are you to good to deal with your own friend?
With heavy hands upon my shoulders,
Makeshift phrases, pre-packaged “feelings”
Lift me up? Too much fucking work,
Give me up? Another burden off your back.
So shove me deep into forgotten memories,
Shove me deep into lists of tragedies,
Sad story, didn’t hit too close to home,
So why should you even bat an eye?
Underrate me, toss my worth aside,
Don’t even care if my threat is suicide,
You couldn’t deal with someone you know you should,
Betray what I thought could be SO GOOD.
Live as if I never spoke a single word,
‘Cause all I am is another parasite,
Do I make it hard for you to breathe?
Oh please, you don’t think that I don’t know,
That others like you had it harder than me?
Does that make mine any less real?
So weak to even think I had a problem.
So shake your head, pass your judgements
And use me up to your advantage,
Just let me know when you need me,
What else are best friends for?
So shove me deep into forgotten memories,
Shove me deep into lists of tragedies,
Sad story, didn’t hit too close to home,
So why should you even bat an eye?
Underrate me, toss my worth aside,
Don’t even care if my threat is suicide,
You couldn’t deal with someone you know you should,
Betray what I thought could be SO GOOD.
Live as if I never spoke a single word,
‘Cause all I am is another parasite,
Do I make it hard for you to breathe?
Oh please, leaving in your wake, broken hearted
Black tie dress codes, dearly departed.
Would it hurt so bad just to shed a few,
Less need, so scared, now we’re just dead to you.
So self-involved, turn a world upside down,
“It burns inside”, when you’re around,
Setting up for a second fall,
Don’t you see that he cares for you at all?
So shove me deep into forgotten memories,
Shove me deep into lists of tragedies,
Sad story, didn’t hit too close to home,
So why should you even bat an eye?
Underrate me, toss my worth aside,
Don’t even care if my threat is suicide,
You couldn’t deal with someone you know you should,
Betray what I thought could be SO GOOD.
Live as if I never spoke a single word,
‘Cause all I am is another parasite,
Do I make it hard for you to breathe?
Underrate me, toss my worth aside,
(Shove me deep into forgotten memories)
Don’t even care if my threat is suicide,
(Shove me deep into lists of tragedies)
You couldn’t deal with someone you know you should,
(Sad story, didn’t hit too close to home)
Betray what I thought could be SO GOOD.
(So why should you even bat an eye?)
Live as if I never spoke a single word,
(Shove me deep into forgotten memories)
‘Cause all I am is another parasite,
(Shove me deep into lists of tragedies)
Do I make it hard for you to breathe?
(Sad story, didn’t hit too close to home)
So why should you even bat a fucking eye?
Lyrics submitted by meatspoon
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