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.
I want to follow the footprints across my lover's stomach
I want to call out her name before I plummet
I wish I had a map of the terrain so I could step around the landmines
Avoid the beasts under the bed that bring they bad times
I want to find this here so-called treasure
The pleasure, the trinkets, the never-ending weekends
Acknowledgin' that I'm still just a piece of the sequence
But seein' these different footprints got me needin' to show my weakness
The timeline, the time zones, I cross them with my eyes closed
Memorized the landmarks and learned the cycles
The weather patterns, how the seasons affect
The east and the west of each region learned the cycles
Forget about the fact that many trails have been tracked
Maybe it's a plus that there's a path
If this was some uncharted land I'd have to be a smarter man
Willing to travel the farthest to unravel the harvest
And natural resources are unlimited
Exploration only requires some desire and initiative
Take your time and find the right way to climb
It ain't safe to play games with natures mind
If I could show you, you would never leave it
And if I could show you, you would never leave it
If I could show you, you would never leave it
And if I could show you, you would never leave it
If I could show you, you would never leave it
And if I could show you, you would never leave it
If I could show you, you would never leave it
And if I could show you, you would never
I want to ride a train up my lover's arm, stop off at the brain
Then hop out and find out what's going on
Cut through trees and ride through rocks
And synchronize the universal sun down to my watch
I've seen a lot, but not quite as much as her
The top went of the memory and the imagination blurred
But I know she's been put through hell, I can feel it
And I know she's touched having this well, tryin' to steal it
It came on and it taught her a song
It's strung her along and it caught her when the god was gone
Now to the break-o-dawn she's tryin' to feel that fix
And all the family and friends is tryin' to seal them lips
But I ain't dumb, I can hear that train come from miles away
Setting obstacles to stop the arrival
I'm gonna blow up that iron in wood rogue
From what I understood those be the aura fits of his survival
My recital another tantrum
because she's highly excitable swinging wings of red nova
Happy endings always off to a bad start
Addictive voyeuristic to the track marks
And if I could show you, you would never leave it
I want to call out her name before I plummet
I wish I had a map of the terrain so I could step around the landmines
Avoid the beasts under the bed that bring they bad times
I want to find this here so-called treasure
The pleasure, the trinkets, the never-ending weekends
Acknowledgin' that I'm still just a piece of the sequence
But seein' these different footprints got me needin' to show my weakness
The timeline, the time zones, I cross them with my eyes closed
Memorized the landmarks and learned the cycles
The weather patterns, how the seasons affect
The east and the west of each region learned the cycles
Forget about the fact that many trails have been tracked
Maybe it's a plus that there's a path
If this was some uncharted land I'd have to be a smarter man
Willing to travel the farthest to unravel the harvest
And natural resources are unlimited
Exploration only requires some desire and initiative
Take your time and find the right way to climb
It ain't safe to play games with natures mind
If I could show you, you would never leave it
And if I could show you, you would never leave it
If I could show you, you would never leave it
And if I could show you, you would never leave it
If I could show you, you would never leave it
And if I could show you, you would never leave it
If I could show you, you would never leave it
And if I could show you, you would never
I want to ride a train up my lover's arm, stop off at the brain
Then hop out and find out what's going on
Cut through trees and ride through rocks
And synchronize the universal sun down to my watch
I've seen a lot, but not quite as much as her
The top went of the memory and the imagination blurred
But I know she's been put through hell, I can feel it
And I know she's touched having this well, tryin' to steal it
It came on and it taught her a song
It's strung her along and it caught her when the god was gone
Now to the break-o-dawn she's tryin' to feel that fix
And all the family and friends is tryin' to seal them lips
But I ain't dumb, I can hear that train come from miles away
Setting obstacles to stop the arrival
I'm gonna blow up that iron in wood rogue
From what I understood those be the aura fits of his survival
My recital another tantrum
because she's highly excitable swinging wings of red nova
Happy endings always off to a bad start
Addictive voyeuristic to the track marks
And if I could show you, you would never leave it
Lyrics submitted by dropyourheart
The Abusing of the Rib Lyrics as written by
Lyrics © UPSIDEDOWN HEART MUSIC, ANT TURN THAT SNARE DOWN
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when i first heard the song i thought it was about being completely in love with a girl. no matter whats shes done in the past, or her current flaws.
like when he says "i wanna follow the footprints across my lover’s stomach....i wish i had a map of the terrain so i could step around the landmines avoid the beasts under the bed that breathe they bad times" i think hes talking about being with someone whos already been madly in love with someone. and that hes trying to understand completely. learning her fears and weaknesses. he wants to do the things with her that she loved to do before. but with him now.
now i kinda think it might have to do with a girl whos got a heroin problem. the train metaphor, and the chorus play into that a lot.