Shad Follow

I heard you had a voice like an angel
I heard a strange tale
About a saint that fell; music became jail
These bars, I hear you rapped in 'em
Wove in the beats like the clothing of sheep
Wolves' tracks, spin 'em
DJ's, CD's, C-notes,
G's thrown on D's with B King like T, I hope
I heard you even sang when you spoke
And the emotion you evoked got you choked
When your beauty struck a vocal chord broke
Throw the stove overboard
Looked upon the ocean, caught your reflection before the Lord's
I heard you had a voice like an angel
Strange though, you were blinded by the light
Shining from your own halo
Fell off, sorta like a rainbow
When heaven watched your faint glow fade slow
I heard you had a voice like an angel

I heard that fame's a killer that can murder great princes
Like Kurt Cobain, singin' "Purple Rain" from a distance
Hope home ain't a virtual game, nor this cursed place
Earth, where the dollars and the karma don't circulate
The world's a stage and you know this play well
Gee, I bet you even know how it ends, pray tell
Had a voice like an angel, now you score the drama scenes
The comedy's the fact, re-enact what you wanna be
Had some old song still stuck in your memory
Distorted, though, so you sort of reassembled melodies
And fine-tuned and turned 'em into single after single
Then this industry you built, so sinfully simple for
You to write, 'cause a song is what your life was
The destiny of stars is their light must fight dusk
For sparks of brilliance to ignite us
And of all the billions of stars, you were by far the brightest
I heard you had a voice like an angel
Now it's just a light hush

And now you keep everybody's eyes on charts and schedules
And the trends, tryna stack gold bars and medals,
They want vessels, void and dark
The space fools wanna make stars
Instead of music that's smart or special
Because art at a level that's real can be harder to peddle
Business prefers a market that settles
For second rate, kill the true artist, martyr the rebels
That's the system and it's straight from the heart of the devil
See, merchants of dreams sewed the soul's eyes wide shut
Passing the buck to purchase a pass to buy stuff
Workin' in the circus, get hired up
To walk over half-knots on a tightrope, tied up
And my god, it's a delicate balance, developing talent
Into persons that we worship, yo, it's a hell of a challenge
I heard you had a voice like an angel
Don't really sing no more, but you still runnin' the game, so
If we don't behave like them, they call us crazy
And if we won't slave for them, they call us lazy
Lately, I've started to see why you hate me
Hearing this voice, it must be painful
To the ears, when, for years, you had a voice like an angel

And if you don't behave as them, they call you crazy
And if you won't slave for them they call you lazy
Well, I say
They wanna take your mind, turn it into a prison
Then lock you inside, then they'll call that livin'
Well, I say
And if you don't behave as them, they call you crazy
And if you won't slave for them they call you lazy
Well, I say
They wanna take your mind, turn it into a prison
Then lock you inside, then they'll call that livin'
Well, I say
I heard you had a voice like an angel

They say, "smile for the camera"
They say, "smile for the camera
Smile for the camera
While we take your children
Smile for the camera
While we rape your women
Smile for the camera
While we make our millions
Smile for the camera
While we make our buildings
Smile for the camera, smile for the camera"
They say, "smile for the camera"