In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
They say, "What's happenin'?"
We say the facts and then, they lie
We comin' back for them
They might say but they don't know
(They say, they say)
They don't know
They say a nigga lost his mind
But in the scheme of things I never lost a rhyme
The thin line between love and hatred
I'm the black pill in the Matrix, the saturated life
They say life is what you make it
So I wait quick on a spaceship so I can take it
As high as the stakes get when paper get low
I be tellin' Derick, "Tell Cara get us a show"
Little Com, I make righteous bitches get low
The richest man ain't necessarily the nigga with dough
They say, "You ripped", "Wow", yeah, that's what they say
My niggas couldn't tell it was me, like Jamie in Ray
Paintin' a day, with focused crime, broads, and good wine
They say, "Dope is sour so it's homework and hood crimes"
I stood mine, for forever and a day, so goodbye
They never could say, tell 'em, J
They say, "What's happenin'?"
We say the facts and then, they lie
We comin' back for them
They might say but they don't know
(They say, they say)
They don't know
Ah, the sweet taste of victory
Go 'head and breath it in like antihistamine
I know they sayin', "Damn, Ye' snapped with this beat"
Fuck you expect? I've got a history
Groupie love now, gotta be them wheels
Haters back down, gotta be that steel
I know they can't wait 'til ya outta ya deal
Look how they did D'Angelo, ask him, "How do it feel?"
My best friends worry 'bout me
'Cause they know when you famous
And you had made cash the media aims at us and you be up so high
If you ever fall off, it feel like a plane crash
But God don't ever give me nothin' I can't handle
So please don't ever give me records I can't sample
So I could vacay where it ain't no channels
But it's quite okay for a gangsta to wear sandals
They say because of the fame and stardom
I'm somewhere in between the church and insane asylum
I guess it's messin' with my health then
And this verse so crazy when I finish
I'm just gon' check myself in
They (again) say, "What's happenin'?"
We say the facts and then (uh), they lie (ha)
We comin' back for them
They might say but they don't know
(They say, they say)
They don't know
They say, "Dude think he righteous"
I write just to free minds, from Stony to Rikers
Amongst the lifeless, in a world crazy as Mike is
On my paper, whether it's weed or Isis
They say life is a game, so I play hard
Writin' for my life 'cause I'm scared of a day job
They say "Sef kept the hood together"
I tell the young, "We can't play the hood forever"
Play my cards right, they say I went too left
They showed me strange love, like I was Mr. F
Played chess in this game of pawns and knights
Now I claim "King" like Don, or Frank White
They say my life is comparable to Christ
The way I sacrificed and resurrected twice
They say, "The crochet pants and the sweater was wack"
Seen "The Corner", now they say, "That nigga's back," uh
They say, "What's happenin'?"
We say the facts and then, they lie
We comin' back for them
They might say but they don't know
(They say, they say)
They don't know
We say the facts and then, they lie
We comin' back for them
They might say but they don't know
(They say, they say)
They don't know
They say a nigga lost his mind
But in the scheme of things I never lost a rhyme
The thin line between love and hatred
I'm the black pill in the Matrix, the saturated life
They say life is what you make it
So I wait quick on a spaceship so I can take it
As high as the stakes get when paper get low
I be tellin' Derick, "Tell Cara get us a show"
Little Com, I make righteous bitches get low
The richest man ain't necessarily the nigga with dough
They say, "You ripped", "Wow", yeah, that's what they say
My niggas couldn't tell it was me, like Jamie in Ray
Paintin' a day, with focused crime, broads, and good wine
They say, "Dope is sour so it's homework and hood crimes"
I stood mine, for forever and a day, so goodbye
They never could say, tell 'em, J
They say, "What's happenin'?"
We say the facts and then, they lie
We comin' back for them
They might say but they don't know
(They say, they say)
They don't know
Ah, the sweet taste of victory
Go 'head and breath it in like antihistamine
I know they sayin', "Damn, Ye' snapped with this beat"
Fuck you expect? I've got a history
Groupie love now, gotta be them wheels
Haters back down, gotta be that steel
I know they can't wait 'til ya outta ya deal
Look how they did D'Angelo, ask him, "How do it feel?"
My best friends worry 'bout me
'Cause they know when you famous
And you had made cash the media aims at us and you be up so high
If you ever fall off, it feel like a plane crash
But God don't ever give me nothin' I can't handle
So please don't ever give me records I can't sample
So I could vacay where it ain't no channels
But it's quite okay for a gangsta to wear sandals
They say because of the fame and stardom
I'm somewhere in between the church and insane asylum
I guess it's messin' with my health then
And this verse so crazy when I finish
I'm just gon' check myself in
They (again) say, "What's happenin'?"
We say the facts and then (uh), they lie (ha)
We comin' back for them
They might say but they don't know
(They say, they say)
They don't know
They say, "Dude think he righteous"
I write just to free minds, from Stony to Rikers
Amongst the lifeless, in a world crazy as Mike is
On my paper, whether it's weed or Isis
They say life is a game, so I play hard
Writin' for my life 'cause I'm scared of a day job
They say "Sef kept the hood together"
I tell the young, "We can't play the hood forever"
Play my cards right, they say I went too left
They showed me strange love, like I was Mr. F
Played chess in this game of pawns and knights
Now I claim "King" like Don, or Frank White
They say my life is comparable to Christ
The way I sacrificed and resurrected twice
They say, "The crochet pants and the sweater was wack"
Seen "The Corner", now they say, "That nigga's back," uh
They say, "What's happenin'?"
We say the facts and then, they lie
We comin' back for them
They might say but they don't know
(They say, they say)
They don't know
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