Talk To Strangers Lyrics - Saul Williams - Saul Williams

Nah, I wasn't raised at gunpoint 

And I've read too many books 

To distract me from the mirror 

When unhappy with my looks 

And I ain't got proper diction 

For the makings of a thug 

Though I grew up in the ghetto 

And my niggas all sold drugs 

And though that may validate me 

For a spot on MTV 

And get me all the airplay 

That my bank account would need 

I was hoping to invest in 

A lesson that I learned 

When I thought this fool would jump me 

Just because it was my turn 

I went to an open space 

'Cause I knew he wouldn't do it 

If somebody there should see him 

Or somebody else might prove it 

And maybe in your mind 

It may seem I got punched out 

'Cause I walked a narrow path 

And then went and changed my route 

But that openness exposed me 

To a truth I couldn't find 

In the clenched fist of my ego 

Or the confines of my mind 

Or the hipness of swagger 

Or the swagger in my step 

Or the scowl of my grimace 

Or the meanness of my rep 

'Cause we represent a truth, son 

That changes by the hour 

And when you open to it 

Vulnerability is power 

And in that shifting form 

You'll find a truth that doesn't change 

And that truth's living proof 

Of the fact that God is strange 

Talk to strangers when family fails 

And friends lead you astray 

When Buddha laughs and Jesus weeps 

And it turns out God is gay 

'Cause angels and messiahs 

Love can come in many forms 

In the hallways of your projects 

Or the fat girl in your dorm 

And when you finally take the time 

To see what they're about 

And perhaps you find them lonely 

Or their wisdom trips you out 

Maybe you'll find the cycle's end 

You're back where you began 

But come this time around 

You'll have someone to hold your hand 

Who prays for you, who's there for you 

Who sends you love and light 

Exposes you to parts of you 

That you once tried to fight 

And come this time around 

You'll choose to walk a different path 

You'll embrace what you turned away 

And cry at what you laughed 

'Cause that's the only way 

We're gonna make it through this storm 

Where ignorance is common sense 

And senselessness the norm 

And flags wave high above the truth 

And the two never touch 

And stolen goods are overpriced 

And freedom costs too much 

And no one seems to recognize 

The symbols come to life 

The bitten apple on the screen 

And Jesus had a wife 

And she was his messiah 

Like that stranger may be yours 

Who holds the subtle knife 

That carves through worlds like magic doors 

And that's what I've been looking for 

The bridge from then to now 

Was watching BET like 

What the fuck, son? This is foul 

But that square box don't represent 

The sphere that we live in 

The Earth is not a flat screen 

I ain't trying to fit in 

But this ain't for the underground 

This here is for the sun 

A seed a stranger gave to me 

And planted on my tongue 

And when I look at you 

I know I'm not the only one 

As a great man once said 

There is nothing more powerful 

Than an idea, whose time has come