Mos Def - Respiration Lyrics
Whatd you do last night?We did umm, two whole carsIt was me, dez, and main three right?And on the first car in small letters it saidall you see is.. and then you knowBig, big, you know some block silver lettersThat said ..crime in the city right?It just took up the whole car?Yeah yeah, it was a whole car and shit...[spanish speaking woman] escuchela.. la ciudad respirando(translation of spanish: listen to it.. the city breathing)* woman repeats 3x *[spanish speaking woman] escuchela..[mos def]The new moon rode high in the crown of the metropolisShinin, like who on top of this?People was hustlin, arguin and bustlinGangstaz of gotham hardcore hustlinIm wrestlin with words and ideasMy ears is picky, seekin what will transmitThe scribes can apply to transcript, yoThis aint no time where the usual is suitableTonight alive, lets describe the inscrutableThe indisputable, we new york the narcoticStrength in metal and fiber opticsWhere mercenaries is paid to trade hot stock tipsFor profits, thirsty criminals take pocketsHard knuckles on the second hands of workin class watchesSkyscrapers is collosus, the cost of livingIs preposterous, stay alive, you play or die, no optionsNo batman and robin, cant tell betweenThe cops and the robbers, they both partners, they all heartlessWith no conscience, back streets stay darkenedWhere unbeliever hearts stay hardenedMy eagle talons stay sharpened, like city lights stay throbbinYou either make a way or stay sobbin, the shiny appleIs bruised but sweet and if you choose to eatYou could lose your teeth, many crews retreatNightly news repeat, who got shot down and locked downSpotlight to savages, nasdaq averagesMy narrative, rose to explain this existanceAmidst the harbor lights which remain in the distanceSo much on my mind that it cant reclineBlastin holes in the night til she bled sunshineBreathe in, inhale vapors from bright stars that shineBreathe out, weed smoke retrace the skylineHeard the bass ride out like an ancient mating callI cant take it yall, I can feel the city breathinChest heavin, against the flesh of the eveningSigh before we die like the last train leaving[talib kweli]Breathin in deep city breaths, sittin on shitty stepsWe stoop to new lows, hell froze the night the city sleptThe beast crept through concrete junglesCommunicatin with one anotherAnd ghetto birds where waters fallFrom the hydrants to the guttersThe beast walk the beats, but the beats we be makinYou on the wrong side of the track, lookin visibly shakenTaken them plungers, plungin to death thats painted by the numbersWith crime unapplied pressure, cats is playin godBut havin children by a lesser baby mother but ***** itWe played against each other like puppets, swearin you got pullWhen the only pull you got is the wool over your eyesGettin knowledge in jail like a blessing in disguiseLook in the skies for god, what you see besides the smogIs broken dreams flying away on the wings of the obsceneThoughts that people put in the airPlaces where you could get murdered over a glareBut everything is fairIts a paradox we call realitySo keepin it real will make you casualty of abnormal normalityKillers born naturally like, micky and malloryNot knowing the waysll get you capped like an nba salarySome cats be emceeing to illustrate what we be seeingHard to be a spiritual being when shit is shakin what you believe inFor trees to grow in brooklyn, seeds need to be plantedIm asking if yall feel me and the crowd left me strandedMy blood pressure boiled and rose, cause new york niggazActin spoiled at shows, to the winners the spoils goI take the l, transfer to the 2, head to the gatesNew york life type trife the roman empire state[mos def and crew]So much on my mind I just cant reclineBlastin holes in the night til she bled sunshineBreathe in, inhale vapors from bright stars that shineBreathe out, weed smoke retrace the skylineYo dont the bass ride out like an ancient mating callI cant take it yall, I can feel the city breathinChest heavin, against the flesh of the eveningSigh before we die like the last train leaving[spanish speaking woman] escuchela.. respirando ? ?[common]Yo...on the amen, corner I stood lookin at my former hoodFelt the spirit in the wind, knew my friend was gone for goodThrew dirt on the casket, the hurt, I couldnt mask itMixin down emotions, struggle I hadnt masteredI coreograph seven steps to heavenAnd hell, waiting to exhale and make the bread leavenedVeteran of a cold war its chica-i-go forWhat I know or, whats knownSo some days I take the bus home, just to touch homeFrom the crib I spend months goneSat by the window with a clutched dome listenin to shorties cuss longYoung girls with weak minds, but they butt strongTried to call, or at least beep the lord, but didnt have a touch-toneIts a dog-eat-dog world, you gotta mush onSome of this land I must ownOutta the city, they want us goneTearin down the jects creatin plush homesMy circumstance is between cabrini and love jonesSurrounded by hate, yet I love homeAsk my God how he thought travellin the world soundFound it hard to imagine he hadnt been past downtownIts deep, I heard the city breathe in its sleepOf reality I touch, but for me its hard to keepDeep, I heard my man breathe in his sleepOf reality I touch, but for me its hard to keep[mos def and crew]So much on my mind I just cant reclineBlastin holes in the night til she bled sunshineBreathe in, inhale vapors from bright stars that shineBreathe out, weed smoke retrace the skylineYo how the bass ride out like an ancient mating callI cant take it yall, I can feel the city breathingChest heavin, against the flesh of the eveningKiss the ides goodbye, Im on the last train leaving
