Lessons: Lyrics For a Hip-Hop Track

Lessons

Verse 1

I'm back up in these streets where I used to eat the sheets

A place I was untouchable from stress and them police

This place where a ride or die crew would follow me

But I fucked it all up and left with nothin' at my feet

They tell me now I'm different but at times I feel the same

Seein' visions of myself, flashback through all the pain

Those times when I felt fine but we swore that we were sane

Seemed the world was in our hands, we were Pinky and The Brain

Nineteen years old, we were addicted to the game

Tearin' up our lives while we were chasin' down our fame

A kid who wants the whole crowd to scream his fuckin' name

Simply just to dull the thought of this and what he just became

Years have passed, that kid came home, and he can finally see

The shit that he left in his wake, his friends and family

He lost the tour, lost the girl, not quite everything

Now he's got a past to show the world – who they should never be

Chorus/Hook

Somethin's always missin', tryna fill the void

A heart full of nightmares ever since he was a boy

Street lights flashin'

A life comes crashin'

Hit the pause

Rewind

Life is full of lessons...

Verse 2

They say that fame and fortune is every boy's dream

But what they never tell you is the shit that's in between

The hustle and the flow, the fucked up shit you see

When you're tryna make it to the top but rippin' at the seams

Life takes it's toll often quick but always slow

Seems the worlds a better place for everyone you know

You're caught in hell's grip while the rest they fly solo

But blind to your self hatred you keep walkin' the same road

It wasn't always like this, back then you had a soul

Some friends who kept your head in check, a future and a goal

You weren't afraid of anything, immune to growing old

And your life was still and empty canvas, greatness to unfold

Growin' up kept headin' down, iminent regression

Time to cut the newest track, back to back session

But now the world's too heavy, and he made his last confession

He's come back from the dead time to teach the world a lesson

Verse 3

It's 11 past the 20 and he's come full circle

Back up on his hustle, cuttin' tracks for rehearsal

Never thought his whole life could make the great reversal

Now nobody can stop him man, only the fuckin' hearse will

Sometimes ya just need a friend to get you through the night

Or maybe just humility, a little will to fight

If ya lucky and you found it, grab it while its right

Then you got a chance to set the record straight and hold it tight

Take my fuckin' word, I did this at a cost

It's what I signed up for, two years and four were lost

Engine failure happens, clear your head and the exhaust

But don't expect perfection, cuz not everyone's a rock

Everybody's capable of shit that they don't know

So here's your final lesson, shootin' straight no candy coat

I used to be a bum with that Natty light glow

Now I'm back up on the top got that 'Nati boy flow

Arizona Sunrise

Arizona Sunrise

by Joey Talmage

She came to visit only for a while.

I had not seen her face in quite some time.

And even though she traveled many miles,

Her time here died so fast, we said 'goodbye'.

We may not both be tied to one another,

Although at times its seems that we should be.

Time seems to stop when we are with each other,

And then the clock picks up when she must leave.

I do not know when I will see her next,

A month, a year, the date I am unsure.

The space between will serve me as a test,

To see if I can live life without her.

And how I wish that she would feel the same,

I have no chance, only myself to blame.

The Garden Is Always Open

The Garden Is Always Open
by Joseph H. Talmage

Nothing lacks life in this garden,
Hiding at the end of a narrow, earthy tunnel.
A fork in the road at the end of this passage,
Leads one way to a watering hole,
Opposite the garden.
Fiery, red branches flow over towering stone walls,

Like a waterfall blankets moss-toned rocks.
Life is maintained through music-rich air;

A mixture of oxygen and Moody Blues.
Ivy consumes the brick;
Climbing up a terrace,
Creeping towards a pond.
Coy fish mingle to the pitter-patter of an age-old fountain.
A central fire brings light to the night;
The smell of burnt cedar detectable, yet delicate.
Only the stars blanket this nook,
A vast ceiling of timeless chandeliers.

It Gets Better

It Gets Better

by Joseph H. Talmage

Some of them scoff at me,

Walking past with shoulders turned,

As if they fear they may be affected.

They see me as different,

But do I not love?

Do I not have fears?

It is as if I am a leper,

Stricken by the plague of society;

The plague that they have given me.

I am but a man,.

Living.

Breathing.

Thinking.

I am not always able to show who I am,

Or these feelings I possess;

Second guessing myself,

Like a squirrel trying to out-smart traffic.

If only they would ask,

If only I could tell...

My voice seems small,

Though it roars like thunder,

Inside and out.

The other ones say things will change,

They keep saying “It gets better.”

Neon Medusa

Neon Medusa

by Joseph H. Talmage

There was a lady we all know,

An ax she wielded, nickel clad.

Her hair shone bright with neon glow,

She faced one strife, a younger lad.

A battle fought from sea to sea,

A war between their every show;

Only one they knew could be

The heir who drew light from the stone.

Years have passed since Neon's buzz.

A soldier still travels his path.

Though he can not play past the fuzz,

The time old ax still breathes it's wrath.

The airwaves clouded green and fuchsia,

Her heart beats on, Neon Medusa.