Rap/Hip-Hop
Year: 2004
Words Fail Me
Written by: Rachel Kann
Glossed by: Sean Linen
Is it any wonder when words fail me? I’m just trying
to say something undeniable.
They’ve been coming at me talking about
Counting coins and marketing strategies
And packaging and I’m like
Alright (alright) But in the meantime
I’ve been packing spiritual heaps
Smuggling secrets under my coat in the trenches
Infiltrating homes of so called knowledge
Attempting to eradicate the societally imposed
Literary laryngitis.
To give voice to the voiceless
Presenting choices to exploited
Underage angels, begging them to
Break their own chains because
Only they [can] do it.
To make joyous rage and commit to the page.
And I pray, a lot
And I get angry sometimes.
Knowing full well they could get expelled
Or even arrested for said expression
In this powder keg post-Columbine¹ and 9/11²
Life they lead, literally (literally)
Don’t believe me?
(Check the L.A. Times front page)
June 18th, 2003³
So, while they’re busy quoting scriptures
From the good books of touring and distribution
I’m like, cool but in the meantime (uh)
I’m trying to figure out if there’s anything I can
Do for these sacrificial lambs being lead to the
Slaughter, the, sons and daughters of this land
Of Exhaustion.
Is it any wonder when words fail me?
Y’know what? My masters must’ve been
Earned in the art of subversion.
I slip my contraband passion in the Subtext of my own lines, subliminal Messages like, you are beautiful and, you
Have been imprisoned
Fuck the silence or they fastened on your Mind, saw that intellectual shotgun and Set it off.
See this is more than a novelty for me.
Its more than a vehicle for my Personality. This is my life preserver and
and I gladly toss it out to any sweet soul
That’s drowning, repression is Unacceptable.
Expression
is the release
On the pressure valve hearts of these Pressure jars of innocence, fear, and Panic, and anticipation, and I’m not
Trying to canonize myself or make a Martyr out of a molehill.
I do this because it saves me.
I have a harder time getting from A to B
Let alone Z in this world of hypocrisy Than you can imagine.
Afraid simultaneously to and to not place
My soul on the chopping block to hack Off my slice
of the pie while trying to get by financially and
maintain some form of integrity.
But I’m not going eat my own heart out just to get left empty handed.
Is it any wonder when words fail me?
Is it any wonder when words fail me?
This is more than a hobby for me, it’s More than
1)An infamous school shooting of 1999 where two students killed 13 people, injured 20, and then committed suicide
2)A terrorist attack occurring on September 11th, 2001
3)The article referenced talks about the many different scenarios in which creative works were deemed lethal threats since violent scenes occurred either in schools or with authority figures
4)Anne Sexton, poet of the mid 20th century. Poetry usually consisted of her inner anguish of her everyday life
5)RAC stands for Remix Artist Collective. They’re a group of indie artists that remix several different genres that specifically stay away from “club music”
a way for me to get my face On TV, this is my
everything.
My roots [go] deeper, I am of a different breed,
This is how I breathe.
I open my mouth and out pour suicide notes
And four part harmony with Silvia,
Sexton⁴, and RAC⁵ and this is not a joke for me
And I take it personally, and I take it seriously
Is it any wonder when words fail me?
I just so badly want to say it right that sometimes
I fall silent
(I fall silent)
I’m just trying to say something
Undeniable.
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