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.
C.I.A (Criminals In Action) - Zack De La Rocha, The Last Emperor & KRS-ONE
Yeh! yeh! yeh! yeh! yeh! yeh!
KRS-1 coming thru... Big Zack... Last Emperor
Woo! Woo!...that's the sound of EMS...
(Ha Ha!)...Last Emperor, KRS...
(Ha Ha!)...Big Zack you know the rest...
Now we gonna come down like this now, hold tight, all crew... LISTEN!
This voice shatters the calm of the day like an alarm
so wake up bright anew; and take up arms
'cause more is necessary than vocabulary war
'cause the toxic rock import's hitting on your door
C.I.A. I'll see you later; 'cause your time is coming soon
I'll flip the shit like Pacino in a Dark Dog Day Afternoon
Attica! Attica!, drug agents you bring your statica
my alphabet will slash & then can flip you automatica, dramatic;
like Ali Shaheed Mohammed brought the vibe
I'll bring the sun at red dawn upon the thoughts that Frantz Fanon
so stand at attention devil dirch;
you'll never survive choosing sides against the wretched of the earth
The infiltrator
child intoxicator
people incarcerator
liberation movement annhilator
We got you clocked pushing rocks and it failed
we got brothers trooping subways like the Ho Chi Ming trail
we got the truth daddy, Last Emperor, KRSin' history's manifestin'
tomorrow's next lesson.
You claim I'm selling' crack; but you be doing that (2X)
You know the cops they got a network for the toxic rock!
You claim I'm selling' crack; but you be doing that
so get that flashlight outta my face!
You claim I'm selling' crack; but you be doing that
The Last Emperor, KRS-ONE & big Zack
As free market, capitalism & technology expands
the third world's fertile soil becomes a dessert wasteland
so it takes fans to demand the government provide answers
when Lady Liberty has me bewitched like Samantha,
and poverty is one of the most malignant forms of cancer
to all my black magic romancers & acid rain dancers,
develop close ties like Jerry Seinfeld & George Costanza
we fear no man & throw jams that attack Counter Intelligence Programs
exiting like the epic adventures of Conan,
I colonize minds like Zaire by the Belgians
now what hell is the problem with this system & what it sells us
I break the aincient ... billets like Wycleff did the zealots
I saw an iron curtain called Hip-Hop and got it opened like Boris Yeltsen
whirlwinds, tornadoes & the rain forest if you say so,
KRS & the last Emperor roll like the Green Hornet & Kato
Zack De La Rocha brings the enraged flow;
but all three drop science & become the most powerful alliance since N.A.T.O.
Need I say the C.I.A. be criminals in action
cocaine,crack unpackin' high surveillance trackin',
prominent blacks & whites giving orders for mass slaughters
I want all my daughters to be like Maxine Waters
when they flooded the streets with crack/cocaine I was like Noah
now they lower 'cause the whole Cold War is over
Communism fell to the dollars you were grabbin &
all the assault & battering; in the name of Intelligence gathering?
Now it's calm & you're battling a losing fight
I chose the mic to recite, ignite light in the night, aiiight
we should beat em President Clinton should delete 'em
It's not hard the CIA simply has no more job
oh my Goddess mother you can fix this
we rock over mixes not 666's
yo this is the message to all that can hear it
if you got secret information now's the time to share it
call your Congress woman, your Senator, your Mayor
It's time for all the scholars to unite with all the playas
rearrange & see times are definetely changing G.
they used to tap the phone now they're tapping while you're paging me
it's crazy B. yet it's plain to see who's the enemy who's left?
the NRA, the ATF, the AMA, ok, ok, it's all irrelevant
'cause in the new millenium; there'll be no Central Intelligence.
Yeh! yeh! yeh! yeh! yeh! yeh!
KRS-1 coming thru... Big Zack... Last Emperor
Woo! Woo!...that's the sound of EMS...
(Ha Ha!)...Last Emperor, KRS...
(Ha Ha!)...Big Zack you know the rest...
Now we gonna come down like this now, hold tight, all crew... LISTEN!
This voice shatters the calm of the day like an alarm
so wake up bright anew; and take up arms
'cause more is necessary than vocabulary war
'cause the toxic rock import's hitting on your door
C.I.A. I'll see you later; 'cause your time is coming soon
I'll flip the shit like Pacino in a Dark Dog Day Afternoon
Attica! Attica!, drug agents you bring your statica
my alphabet will slash & then can flip you automatica, dramatic;
like Ali Shaheed Mohammed brought the vibe
I'll bring the sun at red dawn upon the thoughts that Frantz Fanon
so stand at attention devil dirch;
you'll never survive choosing sides against the wretched of the earth
The infiltrator
child intoxicator
people incarcerator
liberation movement annhilator
We got you clocked pushing rocks and it failed
we got brothers trooping subways like the Ho Chi Ming trail
we got the truth daddy, Last Emperor, KRSin' history's manifestin'
tomorrow's next lesson.
You claim I'm selling' crack; but you be doing that (2X)
You know the cops they got a network for the toxic rock!
You claim I'm selling' crack; but you be doing that
so get that flashlight outta my face!
You claim I'm selling' crack; but you be doing that
The Last Emperor, KRS-ONE & big Zack
As free market, capitalism & technology expands
the third world's fertile soil becomes a dessert wasteland
so it takes fans to demand the government provide answers
when Lady Liberty has me bewitched like Samantha,
and poverty is one of the most malignant forms of cancer
to all my black magic romancers & acid rain dancers,
develop close ties like Jerry Seinfeld & George Costanza
we fear no man & throw jams that attack Counter Intelligence Programs
exiting like the epic adventures of Conan,
I colonize minds like Zaire by the Belgians
now what hell is the problem with this system & what it sells us
I break the aincient ... billets like Wycleff did the zealots
I saw an iron curtain called Hip-Hop and got it opened like Boris Yeltsen
whirlwinds, tornadoes & the rain forest if you say so,
KRS & the last Emperor roll like the Green Hornet & Kato
Zack De La Rocha brings the enraged flow;
but all three drop science & become the most powerful alliance since N.A.T.O.
Need I say the C.I.A. be criminals in action
cocaine,crack unpackin' high surveillance trackin',
prominent blacks & whites giving orders for mass slaughters
I want all my daughters to be like Maxine Waters
when they flooded the streets with crack/cocaine I was like Noah
now they lower 'cause the whole Cold War is over
Communism fell to the dollars you were grabbin &
all the assault & battering; in the name of Intelligence gathering?
Now it's calm & you're battling a losing fight
I chose the mic to recite, ignite light in the night, aiiight
we should beat em President Clinton should delete 'em
It's not hard the CIA simply has no more job
oh my Goddess mother you can fix this
we rock over mixes not 666's
yo this is the message to all that can hear it
if you got secret information now's the time to share it
call your Congress woman, your Senator, your Mayor
It's time for all the scholars to unite with all the playas
rearrange & see times are definetely changing G.
they used to tap the phone now they're tapping while you're paging me
it's crazy B. yet it's plain to see who's the enemy who's left?
the NRA, the ATF, the AMA, ok, ok, it's all irrelevant
'cause in the new millenium; there'll be no Central Intelligence.
Lyrics submitted by H-bomb
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hey rainbow_dick what the fuck are you talking about? take the rage poster down - you don't deserve to have it up. i wouldn't normally partake in character assassination - but you are a moron of the highest order. if you stopped for one minute and listened to ratm/zack you wouldn't come out with terms like 'whiteboy' you fucking inbred hill-billy racist fuck. go listen to something else and leave the enlightened to listen. i can't hate you enough...