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.
I saw the mirror staring back at me
And it told me I'm a self machine
I saw the mirror staring back at me
And it told me I'm a self machine
It said I gave you these scars
And I gave you these wounds
I told you the false
And I showed you the truth
I saw the mirror staring back at me
And it told me I'm a self machine
Lonely robot in a wasteland,
rusting in a lonely harbour
Lonely robot in a wasteland
rusting in the harbour's water
I'm not a human if you say I'm not
I'm not a human if my hinges lock
And this motor that you call my heart
Is another machine that won't stop
And the impression of my self machine
The word was spoken and it was foreseen
Now we're too well too bothered in between
A pixel lost on my computer screen
Lonely robot in a wasteland,
rusting in a lonely harbour
Lonely robot in a wasteland
rusting in the harbour's water
I'm not a human if you say I'm not
I'm not a human if my hinges lock
And this motor that you call my heart
Is another machine that won't stop
Wait harbor, wait
Water still, water still
And shake, the ground will shake
Out stand still, out stand still
Lonely robot in a wasteland,
rusting in a lonely harbour
Lonely robot in a wasteland
rusting in the harbour's water
I'm not a human if you say I'm not
I'm not a human if my hinges lock
And this motor that you call my heart
Is another machine that won't stop
I'm not a human if you say I'm not
I'm not a human if my hinges lock
And this motor that you call my heart
Is another machine that won't stop
And it told me I'm a self machine
I saw the mirror staring back at me
And it told me I'm a self machine
It said I gave you these scars
And I gave you these wounds
I told you the false
And I showed you the truth
I saw the mirror staring back at me
And it told me I'm a self machine
Lonely robot in a wasteland,
rusting in a lonely harbour
Lonely robot in a wasteland
rusting in the harbour's water
I'm not a human if you say I'm not
I'm not a human if my hinges lock
And this motor that you call my heart
Is another machine that won't stop
And the impression of my self machine
The word was spoken and it was foreseen
Now we're too well too bothered in between
A pixel lost on my computer screen
Lonely robot in a wasteland,
rusting in a lonely harbour
Lonely robot in a wasteland
rusting in the harbour's water
I'm not a human if you say I'm not
I'm not a human if my hinges lock
And this motor that you call my heart
Is another machine that won't stop
Wait harbor, wait
Water still, water still
And shake, the ground will shake
Out stand still, out stand still
Lonely robot in a wasteland,
rusting in a lonely harbour
Lonely robot in a wasteland
rusting in the harbour's water
I'm not a human if you say I'm not
I'm not a human if my hinges lock
And this motor that you call my heart
Is another machine that won't stop
I'm not a human if you say I'm not
I'm not a human if my hinges lock
And this motor that you call my heart
Is another machine that won't stop
Lyrics submitted by deltasunlight, edited by Psychomaniac
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Hello, I'm new here and from Germany. So please excuse any mistakes I make wirting this.
I just love this song and also thought it deserves more comments. To me it has a very personal meaning. I suffer from episodes of depersonalisation. I have this as kind of an escape mechanism from overwhelming feelings because of harmful experiences in my childhood and youth.
These are citations of this state I copied from the internet to try and make you understand what it feels like: 1."A feeling of disconnection from one's sense of self. The classic manifestation is looking in the mirror and not connecting the image you see with your internal sense of self."
Although I know that my interpretation is probably wrong and not what she meant, sometimes this songs helps me, because I feel understood. "This motor that you call my heart" then reminds me that there's another part of me that also won't stop fighting and that's it's love and a hunger for life that keep me going.