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 passed by silent tigers
The ailing ape
The forgotten llama
The penguin face down in the water
I retreat into the nocturama
When will I ever be your husband?
When will you ever be my bride?
When will you take me from this place
With hope and hopelessness collide?
To be by your side
To be by your side
To be by your side
To be by your side
To be by your side
To be by your side
To be by your side
Again and again
Baby I'm not that strong
I got a chain around my ankle
And it's dragging me down
Oh nothing moves behind the glass
Deep inside this artificial night
The tiny eyes blink from the darkness
Saying everything will be alright
It'll be alright
It'll be alright
It'll be alright
It'll be alright
To be by your side
To be by your side
To be by your side
To be by your side
But again and again
Baby I'm not that tough
When night falls round here
It's never not enough
To be by your side
To be by your side
To be by your side
To be by your side
To be by your side
To be by your side
To be by your side
To be by your side
Well it will be alright
It'll be alright
It'll be alright
It'll be alright
To be by your side
To be by your side
The ailing ape
The forgotten llama
The penguin face down in the water
I retreat into the nocturama
When will I ever be your husband?
When will you ever be my bride?
When will you take me from this place
With hope and hopelessness collide?
To be by your side
To be by your side
To be by your side
To be by your side
To be by your side
To be by your side
To be by your side
Again and again
Baby I'm not that strong
I got a chain around my ankle
And it's dragging me down
Oh nothing moves behind the glass
Deep inside this artificial night
The tiny eyes blink from the darkness
Saying everything will be alright
It'll be alright
It'll be alright
It'll be alright
It'll be alright
To be by your side
To be by your side
To be by your side
To be by your side
But again and again
Baby I'm not that tough
When night falls round here
It's never not enough
To be by your side
To be by your side
To be by your side
To be by your side
To be by your side
To be by your side
To be by your side
To be by your side
Well it will be alright
It'll be alright
It'll be alright
It'll be alright
To be by your side
To be by your side
Lyrics submitted by smallwonderrobot, edited by TheEcho
Nocturama Lyrics as written by
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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This sounds like the singer is also a part of the zoo (the chain around his ankle, him mentioning how he wants out).
Although it can be read literally, it almost sounds like a metaphor for fame.
The lines "When will you take me from this place Where hope and hopelessness collide?" are pleading whomever he is addressing in the song.
It is tempting to see this as autobiographical but sometimes a song is just a song. The way Cave is singing here is wonderful, however.