The Good Lyrics Thread

[leadshoes]

And here's one for you guys.

[leadshoes]

The Dubliners' version of the traditional Skibbereen tells a story from the time of the Irish famine, which James Connolly so clearly explained had no need to happen given the fact there was plenty of food at the time, and it wouldn't have happened "were the laws of capitalist society set aside, and human rights elevated to their proper position."

Oh father dear, I oft-times hear you speak of Erin's isle
Her lofty hills, her valleys green, her mountains rude and wild
They say she is a lovely land wherein a saint might dwell
So why did you abandon her, the reason to me tell.

Oh son, I loved my native land with energy and pride
Till a blight came o'er the praties; my sheep, my cattle died
My rent and taxes went unpaid, I could not them redeem
And that's the cruel reason why I left old Skibbereen.

Oh well do I remember that bleak December day
The landlord and the sheriff came to take us all away
They set my roof on fire with their cursed English spleen
I heaved a sigh and bade goodbye to dear old Skibbereen.

Your mother too, God rest her soul, fell on the stony ground
She fainted in her anguish seeing desolation 'round
She never rose but passed away from life to immortal dream
She found a quiet grave, me boy, in dear old Skibbereen.

And you were only two years old and feeble was your frame
I could not leave you with my friends for you bore your father's name
I wrapped you in my cóta mór in the dead of night unseen
I heaved a sigh and bade goodbye to dear old Skibbereen.

Oh father dear, the day will come when in answer to the call
All Irish men of freedom stern will rally one and all
I'll be the man to lead the band beneath the flag of green
And loud and clear we'll raise the cheer, Revenge for Skibbereen!

[leadshoes]

A moving tribute to brave friends and loved ones who've passed on. Probably my most favorite hiphop song ever.

Harderthanally'all by Volume 10
----------------------

Three started with a pebble
Twenty dollars so I wonder
Why we started tossin' doubles
To them Frankensteins
But I was blind
We tripled time
All for bullsh…
Soon bull is what life came with
So I had to quit
Never thought I'd ever be back 
But what do ya know 
Moms pulled the straps
So I'm out like that
Searchin for a spot in the apartment
To toss her
What's up Arthur
Treece, I can always count on Treece

But we lost Art Loc in 1989
I was smokin' up the world
Almost lost my fucking mind
What else to do
I might die by his crew 
You see
They never liked me anyway
So the truce is through
Now that he's gone
Now that he's dead
Fools wanna kill me
Cuz I was able to slang
Without bein' from the family
But if I go out
I'm goin' out as a G

This is for Ten
Cuz he was harder than all y'all niggas

This is for Ten
Cuz he was harder than all y'all niggas

This is for Ten
Cuz he was harder than all y'all niggas

This is for Ten
This is for Ten
This is for Ten
Cuz he was harder than all y'all niggas

Take a drive through the heart of a hurt man
Art took a drive
To the storm
Now my brother's dead
But I already said that
Left his fuckin' family
And that shit is wack
But you know, yo
Treece
I'm getting tired of this hustling tip
I think I got a grip and a hip
Called hop
Gave her lovin' blessings 
As I left the cocaine block
Headed for the shop
Now I'm rapping with wizards
I would visit
But it isn't the same
No one to blame
Her lips never left his name
A shame
But that's how it is
As I hug them kids
Before it got cloudy
Tried to kick it
But the streets wouldn't let me
And forever her vision flashing in my memory

It's the same when you get to heaven
All about a party but ain't no colors wavin'

This is for my brotha
Cuz he was harder than all y'all niggas

This is for my brotha
Cuz he was harder than all y'all niggas

This is for my brotha
This is for my brotha
This is for my brotha
Cuz he was harder than all y'all niggas

1993 June to the summer
I threw dice to the industry
Time to see kinfolk
Haven't spoke to her
Since I came upon the deal
So I must be real
So she could check
How I have been
Shall neva eva no longer
Too stronger
To be
Street life in 
Recently a new baby born
Just before the storm

Fate took a drive with her to Texas
She's stressed
She wasn't gonna make it
Exactly like Art Loc
Road accident
Ain't that a shammy
Time for surgery 
Lives are leaving me constantly 
Highs ain't helping me
Deal with all this pain and misery
In my family
See they trippin'
But I know what to do
I pour out a little brew
For my niece
Cuz she was harder than all y'all bitches

This is for my niece
Cuz she was harder than all y'all bitches

This is for my niece
Cuz she was harder than all y'all bitches

This is for my niece
This is for my niece
This is for my niece
Cuz she was harder than all y'all bitches

[leadshoes]

And taking a cue from a line in the last one ("It's the same when you get to heaven, all about a party but ain't no colors wavin'), here are two songs that are said to describe what it'll be like when you get to heaven after you die....

I Never Lied to You by Syd Barrett
---------------------------------
----------------
There will be shoulders pressing in the hall
And I won't know if you're here at all
There will be wine and drinking in the yard
There won't be anybody very hard
There will be lots of things that we can do
And all and more will be for you
Everything I knew I tried with you
But everything to you was never easy
So I went ahead around my world
I saw the things you do arriving by your side
To see you looking too
But I know this. I know, I never lied to you
It's been just like you're gone
For just one day for so long!
It's been so hard to bear with you not there
But though I think of you, the things you do
When I'm with you, to be with you,
To be alone can only think,
"Why I am here? What's meant to be?"

Stoned Soul Picnic by Laura Nyro or The Fifth Dimension
--------------------------
Can you surry, can you picnic?
Can you surry, can you picnic?
Surry down to a stoned soul picnic
Surry down to a stoned soul picnic
There'll be lots of time and wine
Red yellow honey, sassafras and moonshine
Red yellow honey
Sassafras and moonshine (moonshine)
Stoned soul, stoned soul
Surry down to a stoned soul picnic
Surry down to a stoned soul picnic
Rain and sun come in akin
And from the sky come the Lord and the lightning
And from the sky come
The Lord and the lightning
Stoned soul, stoned soul
Surry on soul
Surry, Surry, Surry, Surry
There'll be trains of blossoms (there'll be trains of blossoms)
There'll be trains of music (there'll be music)
There'll be trains of trust, trains of golden dust
Come along and surry on sweet trains of thought
Surry on down
Can you surry, can you surry
Surry down to a stoned soul picnic
Surry down to a stoned soul picnic
There'll be lots of time and wine
Red yellow honey, sassafras and moonshine
Red yellow honey
Sassafras and moonshine (moonshine)
Stoned soul, stoned soul
Stoned soul yeah
Surry on soul
Surry

[leadshoes]

My favorite Doors song, their epic When the Music's Over, another cryptically apocalyptic song...

When the music's over 
When the music's over, yeah 
When the music's over 
Turn out the lights 
Turn out the lights 
Turn out the lights, yeah 

When the music's over 
When the music's over 
When the music's over 
Turn out the lights 
Turn out the lights 
Turn out the lights 

For the music is your special friend 
Dance on fire as it intends 
Music is your only friend 
Until the end 
Until the end 
Until the end 

Cancel my subscription to the Resurrection 
Send my credentials to the House of Detention 
I got some friends inside 

The face in the mirror won't stop 
The girl in the window won't drop 
A feast of friends 
"Alive!" she cried 
Waitin' for me 
Outside! 

Before I sink 
Into the big sleep 
I want to hear 
I want to hear 
The scream of the butterfly 

Come back, baby 
Back into my arms
We're gettin' tired of hangin' around 
Waitin' around with our heads to the ground 

I hear a very gentle sound 
Very near, yet very far 
Very soft, yet very clear 
Come today, come today 

What have they done to the earth? 
What have they done to our fair sister? 
Ravaged and plundered and ripped her and bit her 
Stuck her with knives in the side of the dawn 
And tied her with fences and dragged her down 

I hear a very gentle sound 
With your ear down to the ground 
We want the world and we want it... 
We want the world and we want it... 
Now 
Now? 
Now! 

Persian night, babe 
See the light, babe 
Save us! 
Jesus! 
Save us! 

So when the music's over 
When the music's over, yeah 
When the music's over 
Turn out the lights 
Turn out the lights 
Turn out the lights 

Well the music is your special friend 
Dance on fire as it intends 
Music is your only friend 
Until the end 
Until the end 
Until the end!

[leadshoes]

Another favorite cryptic love song, again with seemingly apocalyptic overtones, that talks of unlearning what you've learned in order to learn what you need to ascend beyond this crazy world...

Haywire - Aztec Camera
-------------
The moment's here
Hold it and we'll keep it clear
Just like a crush
I wonder when I'll feel your rush
Losing nothing but pride
I got game enough to go for a ride
And I'm riding like a buoy on a wave
Yes I'm searching for the one on a wave
But I'm cold as I'm wet
'Cos I know it's no one I've ever met
So I'm leaving all my lessons today
Yes I'm throwing all my lessons away
'Cos it's one half open
It's one half shut
Like a life, like a knife
But the world wouldn't cut
It's like one mouth open
One mouth shut
A kiss I could miss
Like a kick in the gut
I just get haywire
Haywire

Par for the course
We've had it till I just got hoarse
From night down to day
It doesn't change what I say
Ooh confidence why did you desert me then
When I could've kicked I snuggled up to think again
But I'm still on the make
When you give I have to take take take
And I'm riding like a buoy on a wave
And I'm learning all my lessons today
So let that voice be untamed
Let it cry and let some names be named
We'll be wired with the force of a wave
We'll be leaving with the force of a wave
It's like
"But how can I help it, if they break then they break
When my hands are untied they're entitled to shake"
It's like
I look to Leicester's left-it-lad
And the sickness was singing and the song it was sad
It should be haywire
Haywire 

[leadshoes]

A strangely beautiful anti-war song, has to be one of the bleakest songs in existence aside from the line that "the children have the world one day." Also has more guts than any song I can think of, despite its utter grimness.

The Mirror Breaks by The Mob
------------------------

We walk in fear and trepidation
Count the rows of dead
While the murderer plays his trumpets
For the ones that he has led
And there's nothing much that can be done
For we're few while you're still strong
And the big boys laugh to see such fun
And the little girl cries 'cos she knows what's wrong

You may think I don't know anything
You may think I've got it wrong
But I know what it means when I hear the hangman
Whistling his song
And the knives so sharp in Whitehall
Are the knives they keep for us
And the only weapons we've got
Are our hopes and fragile love

There's many pints of blood
Upon the hands that rule the earth
Though for every body dragged out
Another one gives birth
And the children have the world one day
And I hope they use it well
And I wish their elders all the best
And I hope they burn in hell

And the sun goes down
And leaves me with the night
Where I suffer with the ghosts
And still more fright
And the mirror breaks, I stand alone, alone
And I light another cigarette and drown
And all the big boys laugh to see such fun
And the little girl cries 'cos she knows what's wrong
All the big boys laugh to see such fun
The little girl cries 'cos she knows what's wrong

[leadshoes]

The first time I heard Ballad of the Carpenter, Ewan MacColl's retelling of the life story of Jesus, it was the cover version by Phil Ochs. That one ends: "But the dream of this poor carpenter remains in the hands of you." So I was surprised when I finally heard the original and it ended: "But the dream of this poor carpenter, at last it is coming true." Anyway, the song makes Jesus out to be more of a humanist early labor organizer than the mythical miracle worker and "Saviour" of the Bible. I have a strong feeling it's probably closer to the truth.

Ballad of the Carpenter by Ewan MacColl
-------------------------------
Jesus was a working man
And a hero, you shall hear
Born in the slums of Bethlehem
At the turning of the year
At the turning of the year 

When Jesus was a little lad
The streets rang with his name
For he argued with the older men
And he put them all to shame
He put them all to shame 

His father he apprenticed him
A carpenter to be
To plane and drill and work with skill
In the town of Galilee
The town of Galilee 

He became a roving journeyman
And he wandered far and wide
And he saw how wealth and poverty
Lived always side by side
Always side by side 

He said, "Come all you working men
You farmers and weavers too
If you would only organise
This world belongs to you
This world belongs to you" 

So the fishermen sent two delegates
And the farmers and weavers too
And they formed a working committee of twelve
To see the struggle through
To see the struggle through 

When the rich men heard what the carpenter had done
To the Roman troops they ran
Saying "Put this rebel Jesus down
He's a menace to God and man
Menace to God and man" 

The commander of the occupying troops
He laughed and then he said
"There's a cross to spare on Cavalry Hill
By the weekend he'll be dead
By the weekend he'll be dead 

Jesus walked among the poor
For the poor were his own kind
And they never let the cops get close enough
To take him from behind
Oh, to take him from behind 

So they hired a man of the traitor's trade
And a stool pigeon was he
And he sold his brother to the butcher's men
For a fistful of silver money
A fistful of money 

When Jesus stood in the prison cell
They beat him and offered him bribes
To desert the cause of his own poor folk
And work for the rich men's tribe
Work for the rich men's tribe 

The sweat stood out upon his brow
And the blood was in his eye
And they nailed his body to the Roman cross
And they laughed as they watched him die
They laughed as they watched him die 

Two thousand years have passed and gone
And many a hero too
But the dream of this poor carpenter
At last it is coming true
At last it is coming true

[leadshoes]

I just read that a pink moon is the full moon in April every year, and it's called that because in old times it heralded the arrival of one of spring's first flowers, wild ground phlox. Not sure how that makes the full moon pink, but In honor of it coming up....

Pink Moon by Nick Drake
-------------
Saw it written and I saw it say
Pink moon is on its way
And none of you stand so tall
Pink moon gonna get ye all
And it’s a pink moon
Hey it's a pink moon
Pink, pink, pink, pink, pink moon
Pink, pink, pink, pink, pink moon

I saw it written and I saw it say
Pink moon is on its way
And none of you stand so tall
Pink moon gonna get ye all
It’s a pink moon
Yea, it's a pink moon

[leadshoes]

Out with the old and in with the new, as the medieval intersects with flower power in Tim Buckley's lovably kooky Goodbye and Hello....

The antique people are down in the dungeons
Run by machines and afraid of the tax
Their heads in the grave and their hands on their eyes
Hauling their hearts around circular tracks
Pretending forever their masquerade towers
Are not really riddled with widening cracks
And I wave goodbye to iron
And smile hello to the air 

O the new children dance -- I am young
All around the balloons -- I will live
Swaying by chance -- I am strong
To the breeze from the moon -- I can give
Painting the sky -- You the strange
With the colors of sun -- Seed of day
Freely they fly -- Feel the change
As all become one -- Know the Way 

The velocity addicts explode on the highways
Ignoring the journey and moving so fast
Their nerves fall apart and they gasp but can't breathe
They run from the cops of the skeleton past
Petrified by tradition in a nightmare they stagger 

Into nowhere at all and they look up aghast
And I wave goodbye to speed
And smile hello to a rose 

O the new children play -- I am young
Under the juniper trees -- I will live
Sky blue or gray -- I am strong
They continue at ease -- I can give
Moving so slow -- You the strange
That serenely they can -- Seed of day
Gracefully grow -- Feel the change
And yes still understand -- Know the Way 

The king and the queen in their castle of billboards
Sleepwalk down the hallways dragging behind
All their possessions and transient treasures
As they go to worship the electronic shrine
On which is playing the late late commercial
In that hollowest house of the opulent blind
And I wave goodbye to Mammon
And smile hello to a stream 

O the new children buy -- I am young
All the world for a song -- I will live
Without a dime -- I am strong
To which they belong -- I can give
Nobody owns -- You the strange
Anything anywhere -- Seed of day
Everyone's grown -- Feel the change
Up so big they can share -- Know the Way 

The vaudeville generals cavort on the stage
And shatter their audience with submachine guns
And Freedom and Violence the acrobat clowns
Do a balancing act on the graves of our sons
While the tapdancing Emperor sings "War is peace"
And Love the Magician disappears in the fun
And I wave goodbye to murder
And smile hello to the rain 

O the new children can't -- I am young
Tell a foe from a friend -- I will live
Quick to enchant -- I am strong
And so glad to extend -- I can give
Handfuls of dawn -- You the strange
To kaleidoscope men -- Seed of day
Come from beyond -- Feel the change
The Great Wall of Skin -- Know the Way 

The bloodless husbands are jesters who listen
Like sheep to the shrieks and commands of their wives
And the men who aren't men leave the women alone
See them all faking love on a bed made of knives
Afraid to discover or trust in their bodies
And in secret divorce they will never survive
And I wave goodbye to ashes
And smile hello to a girl 

O the new children kiss -- I am young
They are so proud to learn -- I will live
Womanwood bliss -- I am strong
And the manfire that burns -- I can give
Knowing no fear -- You the strange
They take off their clothes -- Seed of day
Honest and clear - Feel the change
As a river that flows - Know the Way 

The antique people are fading out slowly
Like newspapers flaming in mind suicide
Godless and sexless directionless loons
Their sham sandcastles dissolve in the tide
They put on their deathmasks and compromise daily
The new children will live for the elders have died
And I wave goodbye to America
And smile hello to the world

[leadshoes]

Another song on the same theme is this one that was used in a Target commercial a while back. It originally featured in the 1968 movie Wild in the Streets and was written by the husband/wife songwriting team of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, who wrote a ton of hit songs done by all kinds of acts, including You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling by the Righteous Brothers and We Gotta Get Out of This Place by the Animals.

The Shape of Things to Come by Max Frost and the Troopers
----------------------------------------
There's a new sun
Risin' up angry in the sky
And there's a new voice
Sayin' "we're not afraid to die"

Let the old world make believe
It's blind and deaf and dumb
But nothing can change the shape of things to come

There are changes
Lyin' ahead in every road
And there are new thoughts
Ready and waiting to explode

When tomorrow is today
The bells may toll for some
But nothing can change the shape of things to come

The future's comin' in, now
Sweet and strong
Ain't no-one gonna hold it back for long

There are new dreams
Crowdin' out old realities
There's revolution
Sweepin' in like a fresh new breeze

Let the old world make believe
It's blind and deaf and dumb

(But) nothing can change the shape of things
Nothing can change the shape of things
Nothing can change the shape of things
Nothing can change the shape of things to come

[leadshoes]

Two by the Shins. The first Australia is about girl who's something like a human ping-pong ball. The second Sleeping Lessons should really be Waking Lessons and I'm sure they knew it.

Australia
----------

Born to... born to multiply
Born to gaze into night skies
All you want's one more Saturday
Well look here until then
They gonna buy your life's time
So keep your wick in the air and your feet in the fetters
'Till the day...
We come in doing cartwheels
We all crawl out by ourselves
And your shape on the dance floor
Will have me thinking such filth I'll gouge my eyes

You'll be damned to be one of us, girl
Faced with the dodo's conundrum
I felt like I could just fly
But nothing happened every time I tried 

Wooo, ooooh!

Oh duo-tone on the wall
Selfless fool who hoped he'd save us all 
Never dreamt of such sterile hands
You keep 'em folded in your lap,
Or raise them up to beg for scraps
You know he's holding you down
With the tips of his fingers just the same

Will you be pulled from the ocean
But just a minute too late?
Or changed by a potion
and find a handsome young mate for you to love?

You'll be damned to pining through the windowpanes
You know, you'd trade your life for any ordinary Joe
Well do it now or grow old
Your nightmares only need a year or two to unfold

Been alone since you were twenty-one
You haven't laughed since January
You try and make like this is so much fun
But we know it to be quite contrary

La la la la la la la

Dare to be one of us, girl
Faced with the android's conundrum
I felt like I should just cry
But nothing happens every time I take one on the chin
Yeah, Himmler in your coat you don't know how long I have been
Watching the lantern dim, starved of oxygen
So give me your hand and let's jump out the window

Sleeping Lessons
----------------
Go without
'Til the need seeps in
You low animal
Collect your novel petals for the stem

And glow
Glow
Melt and flow
Eviscerate your fragile frame
And spill it out in the ragged floor
A thousand different versions of yourself

And if the old guard still offend
They got nothing left on which you depend
So enlist every ounce
Of your bright blood
And off with their heads

Jump from the hook
You're not obliged to swallow anything you despise
See, those unrepenting buzzards want your life
And they got no right
As sure as you have eyes
They got no right

Just put yourself in my new shoes
And see that I do what I do
Because the old guard still offend
Their pudgy hearts and slimy hands
They've got nothing left on which we depend
So enlist every ounce
Of your bright blood
And off with their heads

Jump from the hook
You're not obliged to swallow anything that you despise

[leadshoes]

Dave Thomas of Pere Ubu thinks up unexpected ways of saying things no one else would think of saying. And something about it usually cracks me up.

Nonalignment Pact by Pere Ubu
----------------------------

I wanna make a deal with you girl
And get it signed by the heads of state
I wanna make a deal with you girl
Be recognized round the world
It's my nonalignment pact
Nonalignment pact
Sign it!
Nonalignment pact

At night I can see the stars on fire
I can see the world in flames
And it's all because of you
And your thousand other names

Peggy
Carrie Ann
And Betty Jean
Jill
Jan
Joan
And Sue
Alice
Cindy
Barbara Ann
It's all because of you
It's all because of you girl!
It's all because of you
It's all because of you girl!
Sign my nonalignment pact
Nonalignment pact!
It's my
Nonalignment pact

[leadshoes]

"The stage is a cage, the mic is a third rail." No one dispenses wisdom like Rakim in Eric B. & Rakim's eternal hiphop classic
Follow the Leader
----------------
Follow me into a solo, get in the flow
And you can picture, like a photo
Music mix, mellow maintains to make
Melodies for emcees, motivates the breaks
I'm everlasting, I can go on for days and days
With rhyme displays that engrave deep as x-rays
I can take a phrase that's rarely heard
Flip it, now it's a daily word
I can get iller than 'Nam, I kill and bomb
But no alarm, Rakim'll remain calm
Self-esteem makes me super superb and supreme
Before a microphone, still I fiend
This was a tape, I wasn't supposed to break
I was supposed to wait, but let's motivate
I wanna see 'em keep followin' and swallowin'
Takin' and makin', bitin' and borrowin'
Brothers tried and others died to get the formula
But I'mma let you sweat. you still ain't warm, you a
Step away from frozen, stiff as if you're posin'
Dig into my brain as the rhyme gets chosen
So follow me, and while you're thinking you were first
Let's travel magnificent speeds around the universe
What could you say as the earth gets further and further away
Planets as small as balls of clay
Astray into the Milky Way, worlds out of sight
As far as the eye can see, not even a satellite
Now stop and turn around and look
As you stare into the darkness, your knowledge is took
So keep starin', soon you suddenly see a star
You better follow it 'cause it's the "R"
This is a lesson. If you're guessin' and if you're borrowin'
Hurry hurry step right up and keep followin'
The Leader

Follow the leader
Rakim'll say, "Follow the leader!"
Rakim'll say, "Follow the leader!"
Rakim'll say, "Follow the leader!"
Keep Followin'
Rakim'll say, "Follow the leader!"
Rakim'll say, "Follow the leader!"
Rakim'll say, "Follow the leader!"
Rakim'll say, "Follow the leader!"

This is a lifetime mission, vision a prison
Alright, listen
In this journey, you're the journal, I'm the journalist
Am I eternal? Or an eternalist?
I'm about to flow long as I can possibly go
Keep you movin' 'cause the crowd said so
Dance! Cuts rip your pants
Eric B. on the blades, bleedin' death, call an ambulance!
Pull out my weapon and start to squeeze
A magnum as a microphone, murderin' emcees
Let's quote, a rhyme from a record I wrote
(Follow the Leader) Yeah, dope
'Cause every time I stop, it seems you're stuck
As soon as you try to step off you self-destruct
I came to overcome before I'm gone
By showin' and provin' and lettin' knowledge be born
Then after that I'll live forever. You disagree?
You say never? Then follow me
From century to century, you'll remember me
In history, not a mystery or a memory
God by nature, mind raised in Asia
Since you was tricked, I have to raise ya
From the cradle to the grave
But remember, you're not a slave
'Cause we were put here to be much more than that
But we couldn't see because our mind was trapped
But I'm here to break away the chains, take away the pains
Remake the brains, rebuild my name
I guess nobody told you, a little knowledge is dangerous
It can't be mixed, diluted, it can't be changed or switched
Here's a lesson if you're guessin' and borrowin'
Hurry hurry step right up and keep followin'
The Leader

Follow the leader
Rakim'll say, "Follow the leader!"
Rakim'll say, "Follow the leader!"
Rakim'll say, "Follow the leader!"
Rakim'll say, "Follow the leader!"
Rakim'll say, "Follow the leader!"
Rakim'll say, "Follow the leader!"
Rakim'll say, "Follow the leader!"

A furified freestyle, lyrics of fury
My third eye make me shine like jewelry
You're just a rent-a-rapper, your rhymes are minute-maid
I'll be here when it fade, I'll watch you flip like a renegade
I can't wait to break and eliminate
On every traitor or snake, so stay awake
And follow and follow 'cause the tempo's a trail
The stage is a cage, the mic is a third rail
I'm Rakim, the fiend of a microphone
I'm not him, so leave my mic alone
Soon as the beat is felt, I'm ready to go
So fasten your seatbelt 'cause I'm about to flow
No need to speed, slow down and let the leader lead
Word to Daddy... indeed
The "R's" a rollin' stone, so I'm rollin'
Directions is told then the rhymes are stolen
Stop buggin'! a brother said,dig him, I never dug him
He couldn't follow the leader long enough so I drug him
Into the danger zone he should arrange his own
Face it, it's basic, erase it, change your tone
There's one "R" in the alphabet
It's a one letter word and it's about to get
More complex from one rhyme to the next
Eric B., be easy on the flex
I've been from state to state. Followers tailgate
Keep comin' but you came too late, but I'll wait
So back up regroup, get a grip, come equipped
You're the next contestant. clap your hands. you won a trip
The price is right. don't make a deal too soon
How many notes, can you name this tune?
"Follow the Leader" is a title they task
Now you know; you don't have to ask
Rap is rhythm and poetry, cuts create sound effects
You might catch up if you follow the records E wrecks
Until then keep eatin' and swallowin'
You better take a deep breath and keep followin'
The leader

Follow the leader.
Rakim'll say, "Follow the leader!"
Keep followin'.
Rakim'll say, "Follow the leader!" Rakim'll say, "Follow the leader!"
The "R!"
Rakim'll say, "Follow the leader!" Rakim'll say, "Follow the leader!"
Rakim'll say, "Follow the leader!" Rakim'll say, "Follow the leader!"
Rakim'll say, "Peace."
Rakim'll say, "Follow the leader!" Rakim'll say, "Follow the leader!"
Rakim'll say, "Follow the leader!" Rakim'll say, "Follow the leader!"
Follow the leader.
Rakim'll say, "Follow the leader!" Rakim'll say, "Follow the leader!"
Rakim'll say, "Follow the leader!" Rakim'll say, "Follow the leader!"
Rakim'll say, "Follow the leader!" Rakim'll say, "Follow the leader!"
Rakim'll say, "Follow the leader!"
Follow the leader!
[Kaboom!]

[leadshoes]

Richard Fariña's poem set to music The Quiet Joys of Brotherhood seems to be about that mythical collective past life referred to in songs like the Pretenders' Back on the Chain Gang, ("a place in the past we've been cast out of") a time when "love was lord of all." Unfortunately, as the last verse tells us, mankind managed to screw things up (of course).

The Quiet Joys of Brotherhood by Mimi & Richard Fariña or Fairport Convention/Sandy Denny
----------------------------

Where gentle tides go rolling by
Along the salt-sea strand
The colors blend and roll as one
Together in the sand
And often do the winds entwine
To send their distant call
The quiet joys of brotherhood
When love is lord of all

Where oat and wheat together rise
Along the common ground
The mare and stallion light and dark
Have thunder in their sound
The rainbow sign, the blended flood
Still have my heart enthralled
The quiet joys of brotherhood
When love is lord of all

But men have come to plow the tides
The oak lies on the ground
I hear their fires in the field
They drive the stallion down
The roses bleed, both light and dark
The winds do seldom call
The running sands recall the time
When love was lord of all