[Recorded Voice]
You are listening to the heartbeat of the Sage
Sage posses the newest and most revolutionary advance in split-second presentation
As well as split-second calculation
To protect the future of America
The defense techniques of tomorrow had to be discovered now
But Sage needed more than this
New concepts, new tools, new weapons
By an*lyzing the past, Sage can project into the future
[Sage Francis: Verse I]
I used to think that rappers had it figured out
Bra** Monkey, St. Ides, Olde English, and Guinness Stout
Once a man, twice a boy with a choice of vice, a voice of spite
Not enough poisons to pick to enjoy this life
Man, I thought suicide was a suburban myth
I couldn't see my own hands being the ones I'm murdered with
That is until I traveled this world a bit
I understand now if I lose my nerve I'll get the girl to do it!
She heard the music but preferred the person--she's worth it
The only one I let behind the curtain to work with
Pushin' bu*tons and playin' with levers
We'll stay together as long as I'm modest in my songs
Radio - s**ers never play this
Scared sh**less of dismissing Clear Channel playlists
Poorly developed, yet highly advanced
The black music intertwined with a white man's line dance
[Recorded Voice]
Supersonic, super destructive, seemingly unresistable
On the job around the clock, with 24-hour-a-day reliability
Constantly monitoring, pulse-taking, controlling
Into a continuous flow of interpretations, which could be understood at a glance
[Sage Francis: Verse II]
It's not lonely on top
I'm kept busy with shivers and cold shakes
Sitting on snowbanks
Waving to be delivered some soulmates
So I wait/weight
Lift and test my faith on several levels
Build my body till they send me an empty face with the head of devils
My breath resembles the smell of flowers
Yanked from life and placed in a vase
Sits and wilts and rots and dies in the name of grave mistakes
That we all make
Believe we're getting by treating ourselves wrong
Throw me a reindeer John letter party
And I'll be there with bells on
Hell spawned some iffy calls in City Hall
They still got the gall
To blame the vitriol on Biggie Smalls
From strip malls
To strip clubs
They slip d**
Into the drinks that kids love
Tell us to drink up and get buzzed
This is the buzz k**, jump into the saddle
Emerge from the dust kicked up in the uphill battle
With my guns drawn and sword out
Pointed towards the courthouse
I sort out words from my war-torn mouth
I disa**ociate the actions with their meanings
On some "ends justify the means" mentality
Plus I'm bleeding
Give me a Band-Aid, a band that can't play
A fanbase with hearing aids and a voice like a hand grenade
I pull the wool over their vision
Pull the pin and push it in 'em
I'm using women as a pin cushion
A supervillain
With some warpaint and jokes done in poor taste
We'll see who laughs last, all the way to foreign banks
[Recorded Voice]
Ready to take over in a matter of seconds
To protect the future of America
Sage also has protection too
(Come on, come on, feel it, feel it)
The protection which comes with the possesion of weapons of retaliation
But is this protection enough?
[Sage Francis: Verse III]
(I was) I was B-boyin' in my former body
Singing all the songs at parties
Now I'm like, "Don't let nobody
Through the door in the hotel lobby!"
I'd wear Armani if they endorsed me
So people who are poor can rob me
Then forcefully s** me up
Color me confused when they paint issues black and white
Resuscitate their gray matter right back to life
It's my destiny, she wants me, she beckons
She left me for dead but d**h didn't want no sloppy seconds
I'm certified fresh
I freedom-kiss the French for their political dissent
Like mwah/moi
I do it with tongue this time
And take that bovine blood out your wine
And take that statue back to the lab it was created at
Your huddled ma**es yearning to breath free
Take 'em back!
Your homeless, tempest-tost to me
Take 'em back!
The U-S-A has cracked
[Recorded Voice]
And as long as we're on guard
As long as we're ready to look ahead
To move ahead
The future of America is secure