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.
When you're starting to choke take some pills with your coke
It's inspirational
When your life is a mess light one more cigarette
It's so logical
Well it's something your mother can't abide
But it's something that I freely prescribe
Take yourself for a ride
It never felt so good
As the night that you and I played robin hood
Stealing from the backrooms of my mind
Remembering a time when we were five
A time I thought we'd left behind
When I'm starting to cry
Come and sit by my side
I will love you so
And when nightmares come
I will try to be fun, even though;
I'm so scared you know
Well it's something your mother can't abide
But it's something that I freely prescribe
Take yourself for a ride
It never felt so good
As the night that you and I played robin hood
Stealing from the backrooms of our minds
Stealing from a time when we were five
A time I thought we'd left behind
Stealing from the backrooms of our minds
Stealing from a time when we were five
A time I thought we'd left behind
When you're starting to choke take some pills with your coke
It's hysterical
It's inspirational
When your life is a mess light one more cigarette
It's so logical
Well it's something your mother can't abide
But it's something that I freely prescribe
Take yourself for a ride
It never felt so good
As the night that you and I played robin hood
Stealing from the backrooms of my mind
Remembering a time when we were five
A time I thought we'd left behind
When I'm starting to cry
Come and sit by my side
I will love you so
And when nightmares come
I will try to be fun, even though;
I'm so scared you know
Well it's something your mother can't abide
But it's something that I freely prescribe
Take yourself for a ride
It never felt so good
As the night that you and I played robin hood
Stealing from the backrooms of our minds
Stealing from a time when we were five
A time I thought we'd left behind
Stealing from the backrooms of our minds
Stealing from a time when we were five
A time I thought we'd left behind
When you're starting to choke take some pills with your coke
It's hysterical
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this song has so many memories, i saw them play this live at the corn exchange in cambridge it was amazing, they are amazing, this song brought at least 5 people around me in the crowd to tears, including me its so powerful i love this song