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.
We live our lives in fever
In a choking sweat of fear
In the heat of the night you can feel so much
In the heat of the night I scream
Don't touch
I remember a time when we used and abused
And fought all our battles in vain
I remember a time we thought that passion was free
In the heart of the night, bodies aflame
We live in fever
I hear your secret heartbeat
I can hear your silent cries
The kids have lost their freedom
And nobody cares till somebody famous dies
I remember a time when we used and abused
And fought all our battles in vain
I remember a time we thought that passion was free
In the heart of the night, bodies aflame
We live in fever
We live in fever
Now we live, in a world of uncertainty
Fear is the key, to what you want to be
You don't get a say
The majority gets its way
You're outnumbered by the bastards
'Til the day you die
I hear your silent heartbeat
I hear your silent cries
Oh your just in lies, lies and lies
The kids have lost their freedom
And nobody cares 'til somebody famous dies
Keep telling lies and lies and lies and lies and lies and lies and lies and lies and lies and lies
Ah, ah, ah
I remember the time when we used and abused
Ah, it was just lies
I remember the time we thought that passion was free
Ah, it was just lies and lies and lies and lies and lies and lies and lies
Hear the night, oh
We live in fever
We live in fever
We live in fever
Now we live in a world of insanity
Fear is the key to what you want to be
You don't get a say the majority gets it's way
You're outnumbered by the bastards 'til the day you die
In a choking sweat of fear
In the heat of the night you can feel so much
In the heat of the night I scream
Don't touch
I remember a time when we used and abused
And fought all our battles in vain
I remember a time we thought that passion was free
In the heart of the night, bodies aflame
We live in fever
I hear your secret heartbeat
I can hear your silent cries
The kids have lost their freedom
And nobody cares till somebody famous dies
I remember a time when we used and abused
And fought all our battles in vain
I remember a time we thought that passion was free
In the heart of the night, bodies aflame
We live in fever
We live in fever
Now we live, in a world of uncertainty
Fear is the key, to what you want to be
You don't get a say
The majority gets its way
You're outnumbered by the bastards
'Til the day you die
I hear your silent heartbeat
I hear your silent cries
Oh your just in lies, lies and lies
The kids have lost their freedom
And nobody cares 'til somebody famous dies
Keep telling lies and lies and lies and lies and lies and lies and lies and lies and lies and lies
Ah, ah, ah
I remember the time when we used and abused
Ah, it was just lies
I remember the time we thought that passion was free
Ah, it was just lies and lies and lies and lies and lies and lies and lies
Hear the night, oh
We live in fever
We live in fever
We live in fever
Now we live in a world of insanity
Fear is the key to what you want to be
You don't get a say the majority gets it's way
You're outnumbered by the bastards 'til the day you die
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IronBlackZepp is right. Freddie Mercury died of AIDS the year before this song was released, and was the first (or one of the first) big stars to die of the disease, and really spread awareness of how devastating the disease is. I'm actually having to read a book about something similar for school, "Still Life With Buddy" by Leslie Newman. Read it if you get the chance; it's an excellent book. I cried reading it. Now we have antiretrovirals and stuff like that, but in 1992, there was nothing they could dofor you if you were HIV-positive. It was horrible.