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.
We met in the east
Poured in like a flood
You're the whispering kind
Dark sapphire blood
You're a vision of veils
All shimmery white
Like a backdrop of sails
All aglow from the light
Of the wonder behind
At a starry night
In the mountain's song
In the blue jay's call
My heartbeat flows
In crystal water falls
You were so beautiful
In your elegant bed
You'd have my blues
For your Nantucket reds
I'd wait in the dark
Balanced on a thread
So I'd wait in the dark
Balanced on this thread
And under the church-light
You stand there
With your wicked blood and your curls
Yeah, under the church-light
You stand there
In your fur and your pearls
These lines were here
Long before we came around
Yeah, these lines were here
And there's an ember in the rafters
And it's going to bring this whole thing down
In the neon mist
I heard you breathe
An exquisite sound
Some secret symphony
Your silken skin
My fingers rough
In the midnight dim
We went home and touched
Beneath the chandeliers
And your Persian's dust
Beneath your chandeliers
And your Persian's dust
And under the church-light
You stand there
With your wicked blood and your curls
Yeah, under the church-light
You stand there
In your fur and your pearls
These lines were here
Long before we came around
Yeah, these lines were here
And there's an ember in the rafters
And it's going to bring this whole thing down
Poured in like a flood
You're the whispering kind
Dark sapphire blood
You're a vision of veils
All shimmery white
Like a backdrop of sails
All aglow from the light
Of the wonder behind
At a starry night
In the mountain's song
In the blue jay's call
My heartbeat flows
In crystal water falls
You were so beautiful
In your elegant bed
You'd have my blues
For your Nantucket reds
I'd wait in the dark
Balanced on a thread
So I'd wait in the dark
Balanced on this thread
And under the church-light
You stand there
With your wicked blood and your curls
Yeah, under the church-light
You stand there
In your fur and your pearls
These lines were here
Long before we came around
Yeah, these lines were here
And there's an ember in the rafters
And it's going to bring this whole thing down
In the neon mist
I heard you breathe
An exquisite sound
Some secret symphony
Your silken skin
My fingers rough
In the midnight dim
We went home and touched
Beneath the chandeliers
And your Persian's dust
Beneath your chandeliers
And your Persian's dust
And under the church-light
You stand there
With your wicked blood and your curls
Yeah, under the church-light
You stand there
In your fur and your pearls
These lines were here
Long before we came around
Yeah, these lines were here
And there's an ember in the rafters
And it's going to bring this whole thing down
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I am a big fan of this song, especially the refrain. it's more cinematic than his past work. very catchy