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.
Lies!
My truth has been revealed
At the cost of everything I knew
My last safe haven falls behind me
With the self that once consumed
Into the void
I'm pursuing only answers
I'm shedding skins and faces
Past loves and bitter hatreds
And it has come to pass
A path set in stone now breaks like glass
The failings of yesterday
Become the catalyst to seek my change
And it has come to pass
A path set in stone now breaks like glass
The failings of yesterday
Become my catalyst
So here I stand
A stranger to my new-found freedom
I am a vessel
I am a vessel without destination
Devoid of direction
No roles define me
Yet conflict embraces me
At the mercy of lucidity
I am adrift in a world all too real
A hollow man
Into the arms of eternal struggle
I must condemn
My restless mind
I must condemn
My restless mind
And it has come to pass
A path set in stone now breaks like glass
The failings of yesterday
Become my catalyst to seek my change
And it has come to pass
A path set in stone now breaks like glass
The failings of yesterday
Become my catalyst
I seek the guidance gained from silence
Illumination from within the darkness
My council kept with the emptiness
In the heart of the unknown
My truth has been revealed
At the cost of everything I knew
My last safe haven falls behind me
With the self that once consumed
Into the void
I'm pursuing only answers
I'm shedding skins and faces
Past loves and bitter hatreds
And it has come to pass
A path set in stone now breaks like glass
The failings of yesterday
Become the catalyst to seek my change
And it has come to pass
A path set in stone now breaks like glass
The failings of yesterday
Become my catalyst
So here I stand
A stranger to my new-found freedom
I am a vessel
I am a vessel without destination
Devoid of direction
No roles define me
Yet conflict embraces me
At the mercy of lucidity
I am adrift in a world all too real
A hollow man
Into the arms of eternal struggle
I must condemn
My restless mind
I must condemn
My restless mind
And it has come to pass
A path set in stone now breaks like glass
The failings of yesterday
Become my catalyst to seek my change
And it has come to pass
A path set in stone now breaks like glass
The failings of yesterday
Become my catalyst
I seek the guidance gained from silence
Illumination from within the darkness
My council kept with the emptiness
In the heart of the unknown
Lyrics submitted by alien13, edited by BlueDiamondx3
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
When We Were Young
Blink-182
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
I think it's about not knowing what to do with your life or having your life dramatically change. Sick song.
Also about how everything will eventually work out. "I must condemn my restless mind." "Illumination from within the darkness."
If you've seen the interview just before deep blue came out winston said “It’s basically about the search for truth in a world that seems to be devoid of that,The story is told through the eyes of a man who wakes up and realizes that his life is a lie and nothing he believes in is real. So he tries to find the truth within himself and his journey takes him to the bottom of the ocean and back again.”
and if you buy the CD you get all the artwork that explains the story. i believe "A path set in stone now breaks like glass" just means what he thought was real suddenly shattered and now is searching for the truth, "the failings of yesterday become my catlyst" that just means his failings are now what are going to lead him to the truth. "I'm persuing only answers ,shedding skin past loves and bitter hatreds" means that he is forgetting about the past etc. etc.
Everyone song has its own part in this story, maybe unrest and samsara dont count :S.
In this, he's saying nothing will stop him. He's searching for answers. Anything he's ever known is forgotten. "So here I stand, a stranger to my newfound freedom" He's now unchained. pez explains well.