The Three Jewels - Laurie Anderson

We return from the depths of the badland With a gun and a knife and a waistband Went to war with the devil and Sheitan He wore a bad toupee and a spray tan So high now, hoping that I land On a Thai stick, moving through Thailand On the radio, heard 'em playing hijack Government be in debt while they cook crack I move in a world of conspiracies Obey no rules, I'm doing me Smoke kush, transport to the airport Customs found a joint and my passport Pull cash and I gave him what he asked for Goddamn it, it's a motherfucking miracle Small bribe, made it back into America Hit Uber and manoeuvred out the area Rhyme animal, pitbull terrier Rap terrorist, terrorize, teared up Brought gas and the matches to flare it up Militant Michael might go psycho On any ally or rival Born black, that's dead on arrival My job is to fight for survival In spite of all of these all lives matter-ass white folk This is spiritual warfare that you have been dealing with This is not a fight that you have been dealing with flesh and blood But this is a fight against principalities And evildoers and unclean spirits (RTJ3 motherfuckers) Rain man didn't die face down in the Vietnam mud, so I could not style on you I didn't walk uphill both ways to the booth and back to not wild on you You think baby Jesus killed Hitler just so I'd whisper? When you're safe and sound and these crooks tap your phone, and I'll have a file on you Huh, what? Me worry? Nah buddy, I've lost before, so what? You don't get it, I'm dirt, motherfucker, I can't be crushed Fuckers open a bush up and stop bullshitting the kid My dick got a mission to storm on par with the best ever took the gig I'm a super cat, from don dada to dusk, don't bother to touch I got firm clutch on the grip and the pumps I might ghost ride the tank, take it out of the bank Got the son of Rick Ruben rushing full thrust Don't flash weak shit to the Shark Tank judge Talk real good 'cause I'm smart and stuff We a good crew to fuck with, better to love I told y'all suckers (I told you), I told y'all suckers (I told you) I told y'all on RTJ1, then I told ya again on RTJ2 And you still ain't believe me (mayday) So here we go, RTJ3 Talk to me RTJ Talk to me

Get a dose of dirty code to go, been cold since Co-Flow I got wire or two unlodgin', I'll set a fire down below I'll hang it up when you say, "sorry, I didn't know" Prolly got a year or ten to go, so let's go I don't really know how to go slow Just got done walkin' in the snow Goddamn, that motherfucker's cold (Ayy) You in the wrong mode, you open and closin' your hole, it's a no go This whole world's a shit moat, filled to the brim like GitMo When you think it don't get mo' low it limbo 'til the sticks on flo' All oppression's born of lies, I don't make the rules, I'm just one guy All due respect, if getting spit on's how respect is now defined Hungry for truth but you got screwed and drank the Kool-Aid, there's a line It end directly at the edge of a mass grave, that's their design Funny fact about a cage, they're never built for just one group So when that cage is done with them and you're still poor, it come for you The newest lowest on the totem, well golly gee, you have been used You helped to fuel the death machine that down the line will kill you too (oops) Pseudo-Christians, y'all indifferent Kids in prisons ain't a sin? shit If even one scrap a what Jesus taught connected, you'd feel different What a disingenuous way to piss away existence, I don't get it I'd say you lost your goddamn minds if y'all possessed one to begin with Just got done walkin' in the snow Goddamn, that motherfucker cold Just got done walkin' in the snow Goddamn, that motherfucker cold Just got done walkin' in the snow Goddamn, that motherfucker cold Just got done walkin' in the snow Goddamn, that motherfucker cold (Cold, cold) Yeah, ho, Gangsta Boo, Run the Jewels We back on our shit, and it's cold as fuck The way I see it, you're probably freest from the ages one to four Around the age of five you're shipped away for your body to be stored They promise education, but really they give you tests and scores And they predictin' prison population by who scoring the lowest And usually the lowest scores the poorest and they look like me And every day on evening news they feed you fear for free And you so numb you watch the cops choke out a man like me And 'til my voice goes from a shriek to whisper, "I can't breathe" And you sit there in the house on couch and watch it on TV The most you give's a Twitter rant and call it a tragedy But truly the travesty, you've been robbed of your empathy Replaced it with apathy, I wish I could magically Fast forward the future so then you can face it And see how fucked up it'll be I promise I'm honest, they coming for you The day after they comin' for me I'm readin' Chomsky, I read Bukowski I'm layin' low for a week I said somethin' on behalf of my people And I popped up in Wikileaks Thank God that I'm covered, the devil is smothered And you know the evil don't sleep Dick Gregory told me a couple of secrets before he laid down in his grave All of us serve the same masters, all of us nothin' but slaves Never forget in the story of Jesus, the hero was killed by the state Just got done walkin' in the snow Goddamn, that motherfucker cold Just got done walkin' in the snow Goddamn, that motherfucker cold Just got done walkin' in the snow Goddamn, that motherfucker cold Just got done walkin' in the snow Goddamn, that motherfucker cold (cold, cold) Who really wanna run it with the Jewel Runners? Go hellfire hot in a new sauna It's a cold winter, baby, and a cruel summer I suicide bomb in the blue Hummer And emerge out the side, not a bruise on 'em Bad news come in two, son, do somethin' Treat beats like a wet thigh, chew on 'em Got a stroke row crew on 'em, move on 'em We be the heroes, the breakers of chains and the busters of locks (locks, locks) You be them suckers supportin' them snitches that talk to the cops This the Illmatic of turning your face into fucker foie gras I'm not so sure opportunities knocking, it's prolly the law Word to the old school tape decks I get Radio Raheem respect My Nike pendant sacred, similar to the Ghostface bracelet Fire in the hole, oh, no joke Prolly go broke just off smoke Fuck are we gonna do, not smoke? Get a job, play the role, be adults? Nah, I'ma do me, arigato Instrumental First of all, they cheated (uh-huh) 'Cause if one of them black and the other one white (uh-huh) So if you don't like 'em, you automatically racist (ah, oh, well)

Gun in the holster be Right in the upholstery Somewhere right close to me Just in case the rollers be Rolling on the G My woman keep it in the hosiery I'm known in my town In those strips where high-rollers be I'm up early, where the money folders sippin' Folgers be A country boy chilling in Brooklyn like Lefty spoke for me Fuck with us You fuck with the truth, we speak openly Never a rat, like Donnie Brasco, though 'Cause there ain't no hoe in me "Notice me, senpai!" they cry when I choke their speak I'll set this crooked city on fire to light the smokery Old timers speak of us hushed and clutch their rosaries I lust after greatness, I'm aiming right at its ovaries Better run from the future palooka (haul off) You acting like it's safe and the revolution's been (called off) There's liars on the loose, if we listen to you we're (all lost) The takers of the jewels never singing a tune at (all soft) My mama said that I'm not living right She said, "I'm crying on you" She said, "I waited up for you all night" I said, "I'm trying mama" (trying mama) My mama said that I'm not living right She said, "I'm crying on you" She said, "I waited up for you all night" I said, "I'm trying mama" I smoke the holy herb, get high as hell and meditate Swear to God, shit's so good, fat boy'll levitate God gift to man, how the fuck they try to legislate Mom's, she recovering, tell me I over-medicate I tell her, "Holy fuck, Jesus Christ, give me a fucking break" She said, "Don't curse your mama, goddammit" And threw a dinner plate (damn) I heard it in Brooklyn where all the sinners stay You running out of ways to go fuck yourself, I will innovate The skinniest, shitty grin will disintegrate Every sickening sentence'll cheapen them tricks you venerate Set the phaser to face-plate-incinerate Run the Jewels, run with the Borg, baby, assimilate My mama said that I'm not living right She said, "I'm crying on you" She said, "I waited up for you all night" I said, "I'm trying mama" (trying mama) My mama said that I'm not living right She said, "I'm crying on you" She said, "I waited up for you all night" I said, "I'm trying mama" My mama said that I'm not living right They want us dying, mama My mama said that I'm not living right But I ain't crying, mama My mama said that I'm not living right You raised a lion, mama I ain't lying, mama My mama said that I'm not living right I said, "I'm trying mama" I'm crying on you, I'm crying on you I said, "I'm trying mama"

I hope (I hope) I hope with the highest of hopes That I never have to go back to the trap And my days of dealing with dope So I, I always spit fire and dope So later on you can go quote My lines to your people and folk And they say damn (damn) That boy be spitting that pressure (pressure) And he be smoking that pressure (pressure) And he smart as a professor (yessir) 25 lighters on dresser, pound of that pressure Sittin right next to (next to) Next to a book and a gun Ballot or bullet, you better use one One time for the freedom of speeches (speech) Two time for the right to hold heaters (heaters) Just give to the fifth and the cops in the house Close your mouth and pray to your Jesus Ask why cause the Devil a lie (lie) So I stay holy and high (high) May never get rich, but I never bitch 'Cause I made it here by and by My, my, y'all I coulda died, y'all A couple times, I took my eyes off the prize, y'all I know a few people pray for my demise, y'all But like cream, I had to rise, I had to rise, y'all Oh my, y'all I coulda died, y'all A couple times, I took my eyes off the prize, y'all I know a couple people pray for my demise, y'all But even birds with broken wings want to fly, y'all RTJ! Ya gonna need a bigger boat, boys, you're in trouble (Eh) Gonna need a little hope, boys, on the double (Eh) You muckin' with a G here, here see talk to me Or maybe listen to the man that barely dodged his own lobotomy Pop the tape in baby, we got shit we wrote for you Came from feeling what a pure absence of hope can do Only to leap through flaming rings and break the nose of crews Still in their wings'll be them darling's of hope they've broken you (Yeah, they better hope that) I'm a full force full and a cold fact See the cold floor, where I licked dirt when the dough dried and pride died Had a bud max, had to shop right Gimme two meals and the lights on Imma do right, get a new crew Make a new life, never boo hoo Never lose sight, I'm true dude With a burst heart from a old soul Better stop drop when the squad's hot, we don't stop a lot We don't talk a lot about it, we just pop it off a lot I'm high, man, I'm a cosmonaut Scream, "Fuck 'em," 'til they lop our bloody noggins off I promise y'all My, my, y'all I coulda died, y'all A couple times, I took my eyes off the prize, y'all I know a few people pray for my demise, y'all But like cream, I had to rise, I had to rise, y'all Oh my, y'all I coulda died, y'all A couple times, I took my eyes off the prize, y'all I know a couple people pray for my demise, y'all But even birds with broken wings want to fly, y'all RTJ RTJ RTJ RTJ

Oh my, we don't stay inside (We never stay inside) We don't like to hide (We 'bout to go outside) We just gone outside We came out to play (Ouu) You got me feelin' type of way Usually I hate the club but now I wanna stay Usually I keep some distance, now I wanna play If I see my ex I might just hold your hand and wave away We came out to play (yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah) We came out to play (Play, play, we came out to play, yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah We came out to play) Stripped off all your clothes, laid off in the bed Travel with my tongue, licking down your neck Creeping in your thoughts, now I'm all up in your head Ride it real slow, when I'm in between your legs Better talk to me (ouu), how nice A lot of mu'fuckas trynna' kill my vibe Why, see me with a chick I'm doing fine Why you trynna kill my vibe? Butterflies they storm my stomach, few shots in I'll feel okay Take a hit of Marry Jane, I pass that shit, (ye) we rotate Sippin' on Perignon finna' get laid, empty cup, I relocate 4 in the mornin', never too late Light up the dark, we came out to play (We came out to play) I pull up on a guest list I clear the line like it's Tetris Girl got a body like Texas She spreadin' on me, she's Infectious Do a set or two, hit the break-point Smashin' back and fourth like it's tennis (Ouu) you got me feelin' typa way Usually I hate the club but now I wanna stay Usually I keep some distance now I wanna play If I see my ex I might just hold your hand and wave away We came out to play (yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah) We came out to play (Play, Play, Play, Play, Play...)

Arizona moon keep shining From the desert sky above You know pretty soon That big yellow moon Will light the way back to the one you love. Blue shadows on the trail Little cowboy, close your eyes and dream All of the doggies are in the corral All of your work is done Just close your eyes and dream little pal Dream of someone (Boom boom boom boom, etc.) Blue shadows on the trail Soft wind blowing through the trees above All the other little cowboys Back in the bunkhouse now, so Close your eyes and dream

I've had enough Can't make sense of this world we livin' in It keeps speeding up I'm playing sides in this game nobody wins 'Cause at the end of every day and every night I need my favorite high To ease my state of mind My Madelyn Hold you tight just to find some shelter, oh-oh My Madelyn Spend my life dying just to tell you And I'm a stubborn man I made up mind, but you made me think again Oh, and it got outta hand Can't make sense of myself, but you understand You understand And at the end of every day and every night I need my favorite high To ease my state of mind My, my Madelyn Hold you tight just to find some shelter, oh-oh My Madelyn Spend my life dying just to tell you, oh You make the best of my situation, no compromise No second guessing, I can't deny My, my Madelyn Hold you tight just to find some shelter, oh-oh My, my Madelyn Spend my life dying just to tell you My... (Hold you tight just to find some shelter) Oh-oh (Spend my life dying just to tell you) My Madelyn (Hold you tight just to find some shelter) My Madelyn (Spend my life dying just to tell you) My Madelyn