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.
So it began this way, I can't recall how it got started
So it began this way, I don't recall a thing
And all in all I guess it's for the better
If you don't remember anything, sit and sing
There was a time when everything we did seemed second nature
There was a time when everything we did seemed free
And all in all I guess it's for the better
If you don't remember anything, sit and sing
And I wanted you to know
It was you that we were thinking of as we quietly died in the snow
A place we'd never leave
A place we'd never want to call home
A place we'd call a final resting place in pieces
So we began this way, I don't recall where we got started
And so we end this way no trace of us in spring
All in all, I guess it's for the better if you just can't feel a fucking thing
Fall asleep and die
And I wanted you to know
It was you that we were thinking of as we quietly died in the snow
A place we'd never leave
A place we'd never want to call home
A place we'd call a final resting place in pieces
And I wanted you to know
It was you that we were thinking of as we quietly died in the snow
A place we'd never leave
A place we'd never want to call home
A place we'd call a final resting place in pieces
So it began this way, I don't recall a thing
And all in all I guess it's for the better
If you don't remember anything, sit and sing
There was a time when everything we did seemed second nature
There was a time when everything we did seemed free
And all in all I guess it's for the better
If you don't remember anything, sit and sing
And I wanted you to know
It was you that we were thinking of as we quietly died in the snow
A place we'd never leave
A place we'd never want to call home
A place we'd call a final resting place in pieces
So we began this way, I don't recall where we got started
And so we end this way no trace of us in spring
All in all, I guess it's for the better if you just can't feel a fucking thing
Fall asleep and die
And I wanted you to know
It was you that we were thinking of as we quietly died in the snow
A place we'd never leave
A place we'd never want to call home
A place we'd call a final resting place in pieces
And I wanted you to know
It was you that we were thinking of as we quietly died in the snow
A place we'd never leave
A place we'd never want to call home
A place we'd call a final resting place in pieces
Lyrics submitted by rjbucs28
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I guess you could see this song as being a metaphor for a relationship, but i keep thinking of it as a message from Alk3 to their longtime fans about justifying 'selling out', a story continued from Mr. Chainsaw. The lyrics all make sense if you think of them in that context.