Vipassana

Macklemore

Yesterday, forget it
Tomorrow is, nada
The present is, right here, through the breath, watch it
Atheist Jesus piece, hangin' on a cross
We sit and discuss God on lawn chairs
About how we got here,
What it is, what it isn't, shit
Fate versus faith, scrimmagin' with coincidence
Leave out the market and hold up on the business end
Focus on the genuine, with everything else, you can shed the skin
I was a couple moves away from being dead
In that ER overdosin', eyes bleedin' red
I fell in love, made an album, got a buzz
Lost it all, sobered up and guess what?
Now we meet again
And I'm back, finally just laughin'
Expectations are resentments waiting to happen
Studying the dharma, karma of Vipassana practice
Bahá'u'lláh, Buddha, God, to the mountaintop and I'm traveling
Learnin', yes, reflectin' on what matters
People, permanence, lack of attachments
It's space and time, a couple man-made distractions
The measure of a spirit that no human can ever capture
Church, this booth is my Vatican
I don't control life, but I can control how I react to it
Student of the breath, brick beats and balancin'
Desire versus truth until I finally find happiness

I was put here to do something before I'm lyin' in that casket
I'd be lyin' on the beat if I said I didn't know what that is
The world's a stage and we play a character, I found him
It took me 20 something years and a bunch of shitty sound checks
I'm not gonna be content, until I find gratitude
Regardless of my sales or the record deals they're handin' you
If the next generation takes our legacy and samples you
We'll have a bunch of mp3's and misled kids to pass 'em to
I use my veins to create the color I paint from
Delve into something 'til my heart becomes my paint brush
I told my mama I'm not stoppin' 'til my name's up
Thinkin' those comments on that blog is gonna save us
Searchin' for everything but Gods and validation
Get insecure and then we start blamin' the haters
Used to look to women to fill a part of me that was vacant
Truth, the only thing that I ever used in moderation
So I stare into this paper instead of sitting at a cubicle
Take all ugly shit inside and try to make it beautiful
Use the cement from rock bottom and make it musical
So the people can relate to where I've been,
Where I'm going, what I've seen, what I've heard
From the guts, fuck the glory
Just a person on a porch putting it all into recording
Many in my past and many that came before me
I just keep walkin' my path and blessed to share my story


Lyrics submitted by idk555, edited by tessat19, blacksand

Vipassana song meanings
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10 Comments

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  • +2
    General Comment
    I absolutely love this, and the lyrics are amazing, they really speak to you. I really hope this guy gets more popular, he's one of the only real rappers out there
    juderefrainon June 11, 2010   Link
  • +2
    General Comment
    This song is amazing. It actually drove me to tears once I finally realized it's meaning. It's difficult to comprehend fully without the actual experience of Vipassana meditation but I fully recommend looking into the practice and you'll realize on another level how incredible this song is.
    disordered1on August 03, 2011   Link
  • +1
    Lyric Correction
    *searching for everything but god's validation not gods and validation. little thing that changes the entire meaning of the song, lol.
    ruthixoxoon July 01, 2011   Link
  • +1
    General Comment
    Oh and it's actually "People, IMpermanence, lack of attachments" Impermanence in Buddhism is a concept which indicated one of the laws of nature of all phenomenon in the universe .i.e., all matter is subject to change, all mental processes are subject to change and nothing remains the same and hence everything is impermanent. The implication of impermanence is that since everything in the human experience is impermanent, every experience is bound to be unsatisfactory and hence that cannot be considered as belonging to oneself.
    disordered1on August 03, 2011   Link
  • +1
    General Comment
    the line says "Studying the Dharma, Karma of vipassana practice" NOT "Studying the Dharma, Karma of a pastor and his practice" why the fuck would he be mentioning a pastor in a song that is clearly about meditation?
    kassadagaon January 17, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    this song is dope macklemore is the shit yo
    Hunterannon June 28, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    "truth--the only thing that i ever used in moderation" shit is ill.
    calisunshineloveon July 07, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    and it's "bahá’u’lláh, Buddha, God, to the mountaintop and I'm traveling" NOT gautama buddha, god...etc.
    kassadagaon January 17, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    Favorite Lyric: "I don't control life, but I can control how I react to it"
    Karlos2121on June 27, 2013   Link
  • 0
    Song Meaning
    "Vipassan? is commonly used as a synonym for vipassan?-meditation, in which satipatthana, four foundations of mindfulness or anapanasati, "mindfulness of breathing," is used to become aware of the impermanence of everything that exists." i love this song, how often does a popular rapper talk about Buddhism. this is amazing and perfectly summarizes, in my opinion, the Buddhist basics in a really cool way
    yummymeatson September 05, 2013   Link

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