When I was little my father was famous
He was the greatest samurai in the empire
And he was the Shogun's decapitator
He cut off the heads of a hundred and thirty-one lords
It was a bad time for the empire
The Shogun just stayed inside his castle and he never came out
People said his brain was infected by devils
My father would come home, he would forget about the killings
He wasn't scared of the Shogun, but the shogun was scared of him
Maybe that was the problem
Then, one night
The, the Shogun sent his ninja spies to our house
They were supposed to kill my father but they didn't
That was the night everything changed

See, sometimes you gotta flash 'em back
See niggas don't know where this shit started
Y'all know where it came from
I'm sayin', we gon' take y'all back to the source
Through knowledge, yo

When the MCs came to live out the name and to perform
Some had to snort cocaine to act insane
B-before Pete rocked it on
Now on with the mental plane to spark the brain
With the building to be born
Yo, RZA flip the track with the what to cut

Fake niggas get flipped
In mic fights I swing swords and cut clowns
Shit is too swift to bite, you record and write it down
I flow like the blood on a murder scene, like a syringe
On some wild out shit, to insert a fiend
But it was your op to shop stolen art
Catch a swollen heart from not rolling smart
I put mad pressure, on phony whack rhymes that get hurt
Shit's played like zodiac signs on sweatshirt
That's minimum and feminine like sandals
My minimum table stacks a verse on a gamble
Energy is felt once the cards are dealt
With the impact of roundhouse kicks from black belts
That attack, the mic-phones like cyclones or typhoon
I represent from midnight to high noon
I don't waste ink, nigga, I think
I drop megaton bombs more faster than you blink
'Cause rhyme thoughts travel at a tremendous speed
Through clouds of smoke of natural blends of weed
Only under one circumstance that's if I'm blunted
Turn that shit up, my clan in the front want it

When the MCs came to live out the name and t-to perform
Some had to snort cocaine t-to act insane
Before Pete rocked it on
Now on with the mental plane just to spark the brain
With the building to be born
Yo, RZA flip the track with the what, uh, chika, uh

I'm on a mission that niggas say is impossible
But when I swing my swords they all choppable
I be the body dropper, the heartbeat stopper
Child educator, plus head amputator
'Cause niggas styles are old like Mark 5 sneakers
Lyrics are weak like clock radio speakers
Don't even stop in my station and attack
While your plan failed, get derailed like Amtrak
What the fuck for? Down by law, I make law
I be justice, I sentence that ass two to four
'Round the clock, that state pen time check it
With the pens I be sticking but you can't stick to crime
Came through with the Wu, slid off on the DL
I'm low-key like seashells, I rock these bells (for the MC's)
Now come aboard, it's Medina bound
Enter the chamber, and it's a whole different sound
It's a wide entrance, small exit like a funnel
So deep it's picked up on radios in tunnels
Niggas are fascinated how the shit begin
Get vaccinated, my logo is branded in your skin

When the MCs came to live out the name and to perform
Some had to snort cocaine to act insane
Before Pete rocked it on
Now on with the mental plane just to spark the brain
With the building to be born
Yo, RZA flip the track, with the-, fuck, is it, the, uh

This gon' hit 'em, hit, hit 'em, hit 'em


Lyrics submitted by Relinquo1

Liquid Swords Lyrics as written by Gary E. Grice Robert F. Diggs

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.

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Liquid Swords song meanings
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5 Comments

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  • +1
    General Comment

    GZA has a way of turning simple lyrics into unparalleled rhymes. Amazing.

    k4ppahon September 24, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Badass. How does this song have no comments?

    It's on an amazing album.

    radio_cureon March 06, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    One of the best songs of one of the best rappers ever. The flow is incredible, those loser rap kiddies in the top100 should learn from that.

    Stonie_Stonsenon May 12, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Such a great song for an album opening.

    nowayjosexon December 11, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    His name is Gza the Genius for a reason I see. I was always listening to Wu-Tang, but I never listened to any of the solo records. This is insane.

    ToB_NarooNon December 10, 2009   Link

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