Gifted

i swear they say "i'm armed with pens, i got my rhymes."

If you watch the music video, it makes the meaning of the song much different then if I were to have just read the lyrics. It shows an astronaut, by some miracle, surviving an impact on a distant celestial object, killing his partner instantly. He suffers a lack of sleep and food, showing obvious signs of sleep deprivation and fatigue. He even suffers heavy hallucinations at the end, and yet he still survives. Combined with Kanye's rap and the chorus, makes him seem as if he's by some chance one of the durable men alive, surviving on raw will and luck. A true BA. And, when Santogold's part comes in, she say's that she can't suffer mediocrity, the staying with the "thick-headed;" essentially, that she's special, gifted, better than the rest. She addresses herself as a separate kind, even. She tries to settle down, holding herself back, but can't get herself to lower herself to those standards. Helps to support that this lone, surviving astronaut is truly special, a beast of willpower and luck. Yet, the very end of the music video, we find that the astronaut is merely being tested, put under these horrors by scientists for whatever purpose. This leads to the thought that maybe what is implied is that we are all the same, that it is only perceived that we are better than anyone, that no matter what we do we will be all of the same importance and ability. Maybe, the thought that we are all under the illusion we are any better, fabricated to get through the hardships in our lives to survive to the next day, even as we toil under the direction of something far beyond our mental capacity.

A beautiful song, with a morbidly incredible music video.

Thanks, Jon!

yes wouldn't normally do this but thanks a lot ... been waiting a while for these.

As for the meaning... being gifted... and staying ahead... because you know that you can face the challenges which come your way.

THANKS

i think these lyrics are wrong, especially santogold's part..

This is what i found on another site, which makes much more sense

You don't know my mind Like I said a thousand times I gotta stay ahead Know what I'm fighting for I leave you to your talk Never seen my kind before And you're all so thick-headed Follow and I know I let it Part of me won't let me quit Won't let me just not say shit So much is there to be bored with Can't be still, I can't afford it Try to hold it in but it make me sick, So I spit it out say the hell with it I dream it and I build it tall Make a way for when it falls

You're definitely right. It's "I'm armed with pens."

this song is the shit

I love Kanye's rap in this song, it's so boss. One of my favorite raps ever.

Both music and song are in totally different realms, but share or play around with the same theme (theme's at the end).

The song (lyrics) is about determination for success and telling those who underestimates them "you don't know my mind, like i said a thousand times". Kanye's verse explains the superiority complex (ego) of his skill or of his success; "I am the king and will not beheaded". He also explains his underlying fear of not reaching success; "being broke made my head hurt", in other words fear of poverty. Santagold's verse explains her goal to 'prove them wrong'; "i dream it and i build it tall". She also explains her impulsive nature that backs up that goal; "part of me won't let me quit, won't let me not say shit, can't be still i can't afford it, try to hold it in but it makes me sick". However towards the end she ultimately let in some doubt implying the consequences of outdoing/overdoing things (build it bigger); "make a way for when it falls", in other words failure is a part of success. Lykke Li's chorus throughout the song reinforces both verses saying "with mics in hand we'll stand the test of time". And since all of them happens to be musical artists from different genres pushing/exploring new musical boundaries, her chorus seems fit.

The music video, although syncs with some of the words in the lyrics itself hold its own story. The video actually reminds me of Apollo 18, a horror movie that explains the mystery of 2 astronauts flying to the moon and never came back. The end of the video lies the reason for the 'journey', to test the human psyche against the vast unknown of of the extraterrestrials. We see an astronaut in a lab facility with scientists running tests probing his mind, generally in the pursuit of knowledge. In the video 2 astronauts are traveling to the planet/satellite, although it's depicted larger than the planet (resembles earth) they fly over, meaning the importance placed on manned missions and human explorations of the last frontier. Although they lose control of the shuttle and an astronaut dies from the impact while the other is still alive as he travels across the planet/satellite in search of life or communication. His mind however plays a trick on him when he thinks he sees a space shuttle from afar. Eventually he's too tired and drained that he collapses making way for hallucinations, hallucinations consumed by science, space, sexual desires, and guilt (guilt of him surviving while his partner died).

But the irony of it all, both song and video combined is that we're all consumed by our 'arrogance'. How often humans strive for success and 'survival of the fittest' consumed by everyday life that we fail to forget how we're incomparable to really, everything at large.

"Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves." - Carl Sagan

this song is nasty, such a good group of artists