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.
You say one for the treble, two for the time
Come on, y'all, let's rock this
You say one for the treble, two for the time
Come on
Speech is my hammer, bang the world into shape
Now let it fall (huh)
My restlessness is my nemesis
It's hard to really chill and sit still
Committed to page, I write a rhyme
Sometimes won't finish for days
Scrutinize my literature, from the large to the miniature
I mathematically administer
Subtract the wack
Selector, wheel it back, I'm feeling that
(Ha ha ha) from the core to the perimeter black
You know the motto
"Stay fluid even in staccato"
(Mos Def) full blooded, full throttle
Breathe deep inside the drum hollow
There's the hum, young man where you from?
Brooklyn number one
Native son, speaking in the native tongue
I got my eyes on tomorrow (there it is)
While you still tryna find where it is
I'm on the Ave where it lives and dies
Violently but silently
Shine so vibrantly that eyes squint to catch a glimpse
Embrace the bass with my dark ink fingertips
Used to speak the king's English
But caught a rash on my lips
So now my chat just like dis
Long range from the base-line (swish)
Move like an apparition
Low to the ground with ammunition (chi-chi-chi-baow)
Move from the gate, voice cued on your tape
Putting food on your plate
Many crews can relate
Who choosing your fate? Yo
We went from picking cotton
To chain gang line chopping
To B-Bopping
To Hip-Hopping
Blues people got the blue chip stock option
Invisible man, got the whole world watching
(Where ya at?) I'm high, low, East, West, all over your map
I'm getting big props, with this thing called Hip Hop
Where you can either get paid or get shot
When your product in stock
The fair-weather friends flock
When your chart position drop
Then the phone calls
Chill for a minute
Let's see who else tops
Snatch your shelf spot
Don't gas yourself akh'
The industry just a better built cell block
A long way from the shell tops
And the bells that L rocked
Rock (rock), rock (rock), rock (rock), rock (rock)
Rock, rock (ha), rock, rock
(Over here just sayin')
(Hip Hop)
(Class is in session)
(Hip Hop, one, on-on-one, one, two, one, two)
(Sweat inside my hand)
(Hip Hop)
(The more emotion I put into it, the harder I rock)
(Hip Hop)
Hip Hop is prosecution evidence
An out of court settlement, ad space for liquor
Sick without benefits (huh)
Luxury tenements choking the skyline
It's low life getting tree-top high (top high)
It is a back water remedy
Bitter intent to memory, a class E felony
Facing the death penalty (huh)
Stimulant and sedative, original repetitive
Violently competitive, a school unaccredited (there it is)
The break beats you get broken with
On time and inappropriate
Hip Hop went from selling crack to smoking it
Medicine for loneliness
Remind me of Thelonius and Dizzy
Boppers to B-Boys getting busy
The war-time snap shot
The working man's jack-pot
A two dollar snack box
Sold beneath the crack spot
Olympic sponsor of the black Glock
Gold medalist in the back shot
From the sovereign state of the have-nots
Where farmers have trouble with cash crops (huh)
It's all city like Phase 2
Hip Hop will simply amaze you
Praise you, pay you
Do whatever you say do
But, black, it can't save you
Come on, y'all, let's rock this
You say one for the treble, two for the time
Come on
Speech is my hammer, bang the world into shape
Now let it fall (huh)
My restlessness is my nemesis
It's hard to really chill and sit still
Committed to page, I write a rhyme
Sometimes won't finish for days
Scrutinize my literature, from the large to the miniature
I mathematically administer
Subtract the wack
Selector, wheel it back, I'm feeling that
(Ha ha ha) from the core to the perimeter black
You know the motto
"Stay fluid even in staccato"
(Mos Def) full blooded, full throttle
Breathe deep inside the drum hollow
There's the hum, young man where you from?
Brooklyn number one
Native son, speaking in the native tongue
I got my eyes on tomorrow (there it is)
While you still tryna find where it is
I'm on the Ave where it lives and dies
Violently but silently
Shine so vibrantly that eyes squint to catch a glimpse
Embrace the bass with my dark ink fingertips
Used to speak the king's English
But caught a rash on my lips
So now my chat just like dis
Long range from the base-line (swish)
Move like an apparition
Low to the ground with ammunition (chi-chi-chi-baow)
Move from the gate, voice cued on your tape
Putting food on your plate
Many crews can relate
Who choosing your fate? Yo
We went from picking cotton
To chain gang line chopping
To B-Bopping
To Hip-Hopping
Blues people got the blue chip stock option
Invisible man, got the whole world watching
(Where ya at?) I'm high, low, East, West, all over your map
I'm getting big props, with this thing called Hip Hop
Where you can either get paid or get shot
When your product in stock
The fair-weather friends flock
When your chart position drop
Then the phone calls
Chill for a minute
Let's see who else tops
Snatch your shelf spot
Don't gas yourself akh'
The industry just a better built cell block
A long way from the shell tops
And the bells that L rocked
Rock (rock), rock (rock), rock (rock), rock (rock)
Rock, rock (ha), rock, rock
(Over here just sayin')
(Hip Hop)
(Class is in session)
(Hip Hop, one, on-on-one, one, two, one, two)
(Sweat inside my hand)
(Hip Hop)
(The more emotion I put into it, the harder I rock)
(Hip Hop)
Hip Hop is prosecution evidence
An out of court settlement, ad space for liquor
Sick without benefits (huh)
Luxury tenements choking the skyline
It's low life getting tree-top high (top high)
It is a back water remedy
Bitter intent to memory, a class E felony
Facing the death penalty (huh)
Stimulant and sedative, original repetitive
Violently competitive, a school unaccredited (there it is)
The break beats you get broken with
On time and inappropriate
Hip Hop went from selling crack to smoking it
Medicine for loneliness
Remind me of Thelonius and Dizzy
Boppers to B-Boys getting busy
The war-time snap shot
The working man's jack-pot
A two dollar snack box
Sold beneath the crack spot
Olympic sponsor of the black Glock
Gold medalist in the back shot
From the sovereign state of the have-nots
Where farmers have trouble with cash crops (huh)
It's all city like Phase 2
Hip Hop will simply amaze you
Praise you, pay you
Do whatever you say do
But, black, it can't save you
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
Standing On The Edge Of Summer
Thursday
Thursday
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Little Feat
Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
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.
You can't get the full effect of this song unless you listen to Fear Not of Men right before it on the album. It flows perfectly right into it.
Anywho, truly perfect hip hop right here.
Not only does this song have one of the illest beats in history, Mos absolutely kills throughout the whole song.