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No Regrets Lyrics
Lucy was 7 and wore a head of blue barettes
City born, into this world with no knowledge and no regrets
Had a piece of yellow chalk with which she'd draw upon the street
The many faces of the various locals that she would meet
There was joshua, age 10
Bully of the block
Who always took her milk money at the morning bus stop
There was Mrs. Crabtree, and her poodle
She always gave a wave and holler on her weekly trip down to the bingo
parlor
And she drew
Men, women, kids, sunsets, clouds
And she drew
Skyscrapers, fruit stands, cities, towns
Always said hello to passers-by
They'd ask her why she passed her time
Attachin lines to concrete
But she would only smile
Now all the other children living in or near her building
Ran around like tyrants, soaking up the open fire hydrants
They would say
"Hey little Lucy, wanna come jump double dutch?"
Lucy would pause, look, grin and say
"I'm busy, thank you much"
Well, well, one year passed
And believe it or not
She covered every last inch of the entire sidewalk,
And she stopped-
"Lucy, after all this, you're just giving in today??"
She said:
"I'm not giving in, I'm finished," and walked away
(Chorus: x2)
1 2 3
That's the speed of the seed
A B C
That's the speed of the need
You can dream a little dream
Or you can live a little dream
I'd rather live it
Cuz dreamers always chase
But never get it
Now Lucy was 37, and introverted somewhat
Basement apartment in the same building she grew up in
She traded in her blue barettes for long locks held up with a clip
Traded in her yellow chalk for charcoal sticks
And she drew
Little bobby who would come to sweep the porch
And she drew
The mailman, delivered everyday at 4
Lucy had very little contact with the folks outside her cubicle day
But she found it suitable, and she liked it that way
She had a man now: Rico, similar, hermit
They would only see each other once or twice a week on purpose
They appreciated space and Rico was an artist too
So they'd connect on saturdays to share the pictures that they drew
(Look!)
Now every month or so, she'd get a knock upon the front door
Just one of the neighbors,
Actin nice, although she was a strange girl, really
Say, "Lucy, wanna join me for some lunch??"
Lucy would smile and say "I'm busy, thank you much"
And they would make a weird face the second the door shut
And run and tell their friends how truly crazy Lucy was
And lucy knew what people thought but didn't care
Cuz while they spread their rumors through the street
She'd paint another masterpiece
(Chorus x2)
Lucy was 87, upon her death bed
At the senior home, where she had previously checked in
Traded in the locks and clips for a head rest
Traded in the charcoal sticks for arthritis, it had to happen
And she drew no more, just sat and watched the dawn
Had a television in the room that she'd never turned on
Lucy pinned up a life worth's of pictures on the wall
And sat and smiled, looked each one over, just to laugh at it all
No Rico, he had passed, 'bout 5 years back
So the visiting hours pulled in a big flock o' nothin
She'd never spoken once throughout the spanning of her life
Until the day she leaned forward, grinned and pulled the nurse aside
And she said:
"Look, I've never had a dream in my life
Because a dream is what you wanna do, but still haven't pursued
I knew what I wanted and did it till it was done
So i've been the dream that I wanted to be since day one!"
Well!
The nurse jumped back,
She'd never heard Lucy even talk,
'Specially words like that
She walked over to the door, and pulled it closed behind
Then Lucy blew a kiss to each one of her pictures
And she died.
(Chorus x2)
1 2 3...
A B C...
Notice how Lucy always has "7" in her age (7>37>87). Slug is also known as "SepSeven" or "Se7en", his birthday is on September 7th 1972 and he has a "7" ball tatooed on his arm. This song is definitely referring to Slug. Slug also, in his earlier stuff, would talk about being an "artist" and "drawing", e.g. "Make the love, paint the picture, write the song" or "Got the surface, the tools, the motivation to paint this. Don't know which colours to use, detail is not my game" etc. Also her name is Lucy so notice how much Slug refers to a woman named Lucy
let me start off by saying that no one besides the artist can completely interpret a songs meaning,and many of you have voiced your opinion that you feel this song is about a girl who lives her life to fullest working hard through out her entire life.
let me start off by saying that no one besides the artist can completely interpret a songs meaning,and many of you have voiced your opinion that you feel this song is about a girl who lives her life to fullest working hard through out her entire life.
However, it seems to me that this is a kind of warning because Aesop rock, in many of his lyrics, seems to say that he works hard and is somewhat of a 'tortured artist', saying things like 'must not sleep, must warn others'. In these lyrics he says that the girl '...has...
However, it seems to me that this is a kind of warning because Aesop rock, in many of his lyrics, seems to say that he works hard and is somewhat of a 'tortured artist', saying things like 'must not sleep, must warn others'. In these lyrics he says that the girl '...has been the dream shes wanted to be since day one' so that could allude to her being a person with no beliefs or wisdom of life because she just focused on creating art and nothing more, and what child can grow to be a functional human without learning to dream. also, with hard work comes the necessary contradiction of enjoyment of life and seeing what it has to offer, and this is what an artist needs to create any art. this is all brought together by the fact that she dies alone with no one, not even the man she had a loveless relationship with.
It looks to me that she does work hard but takes nothing out of life, has no love besides lifeless art, and she dies alone; leading me to belief that this song is a warning.
I disagree on a few points. Primarily: 'that could allude to her being a person with no beliefs or wisdom of life because she just focused on creating art and nothing more, and what child can grow to be a functional human without learning to dream.' I don't see how not 'learning to dream' doesn't make you a 'functional human'. Your definition of 'functional human' just appealing to the majority. The whole concept of the album is around the working class (the majority) and that sort. Lucy succeeds in living her life in such a way that she is free to do...
I disagree on a few points. Primarily: 'that could allude to her being a person with no beliefs or wisdom of life because she just focused on creating art and nothing more, and what child can grow to be a functional human without learning to dream.' I don't see how not 'learning to dream' doesn't make you a 'functional human'. Your definition of 'functional human' just appealing to the majority. The whole concept of the album is around the working class (the majority) and that sort. Lucy succeeds in living her life in such a way that she is free to do what she wants. Just read the lyrics in 9-5ers Anthem. This song is NOT a warning; if anything, this song is a recommendation. Remember:
"You can dream a little dream Or you can live a little dream I'd rather live it Cuz dreamers always chase But never get it"
Anyone else get the idea that Aesop is writing about himself? He's doing all the art he loves whether it be poetry, producing, or painting/drawing or whatever. He's being criticized by the mainstream critics and the people that don't understand him but he's happy what he's doing--observing the world. Seems like a modest way of saying because he pursues HIS dream rather than the "warpy american nonsense penned by the rich" (from Coffee).
Also, about whether Lucy is happy or not. Why has she suddenly changed? never talking until now, seems like she has to justify why she did all this, I can't really explain it. Almost seems like she is trying to convince herself that she is happy. Anyone got ideas?
yea this is exactly what i was thinking. i think aesop told the story because it directly relates his own life but at the same time lucy eventually dies so maybe aesop is hoping to be at that point when gets older.
yea this is exactly what i was thinking. i think aesop told the story because it directly relates his own life but at the same time lucy eventually dies so maybe aesop is hoping to be at that point when gets older.
Also it seems like Lucy is actually happy but also convincing herself that she is happy but the fact that she has to convince herself that shes happy doing what she wants to do says something about the way our current society is. society today makes you feel like your doing the wrong thing if you dont follow...
Also it seems like Lucy is actually happy but also convincing herself that she is happy but the fact that she has to convince herself that shes happy doing what she wants to do says something about the way our current society is. society today makes you feel like your doing the wrong thing if you dont follow the norm.
Good song. Very creative. A great way to start the day and take one very big step.
Wow... powerful story. A+.
this is one of those few songs of his that has lyrics that makes sense to me. I love it.
powerful art, hey staygold dig the name. peace ponyboy
Is Lucy happy when she dies?
I don't think you can tell if she's happy.. i think the point is just that she did what she wanted to do with her life. That by ignoring what other people wanted from her, she lived the life she wanted. and i personally think that by dying in a room, surrounded by her life long creations, Lucy died the way she wanted.
I don't think you can tell if she's happy.. i think the point is just that she did what she wanted to do with her life. That by ignoring what other people wanted from her, she lived the life she wanted. and i personally think that by dying in a room, surrounded by her life long creations, Lucy died the way she wanted.
"And Lucy knew what people thought but didn't care, cuz while they spread their rumors through the street she made another masterpeice."
"And Lucy knew what people thought but didn't care, cuz while they spread their rumors through the street she made another masterpeice."
lucy might not have been happy when she croaked.. but she was deffinitly happy with the way her life went. great song/message.
I think Lucy is happy when she dies, she's content and she's ready to go. She spent the course of her life pursuing her dream and doing what she believed she was here to do. Her last words to the nurse justify this (I think)
This song is absolutely beautiful