9.9.14

Since poetry is great at defining and crossing/bridging boundaries, I wanted to bring up rap. I know a lot of traditionalists would not hesitate to say they are nothing alike, and for the most part I agree. However, since there is a strong presence of performance and slam poets, I would say they do share attributes. I would be hard-pressed to define poetry by what it is (or what it isn't), and since the ceiling between the formerly "high art" of poetry and folk expression is mostly destroyed, I want to name rap as a lect of poetry. Maybe a lower one, but that's okay. 

Some artists rap more in a sing-song manner, some are more spoken/"spit", and the lyrical content of the songs makes a difference in whether or not they can be read as poetry. Similarly to the read/spoken debate, I'm going to present this as something to be read first, then listened to. 

Tears for the Sheep*

by Atmosphere

A city of fools
I wanna bash whoever's responsible for this incomprehensible lack of passion
The sucker's been seduced down to the stick
And the peasants fill their bellies with the poisons you omit
I've come to separate the heads and shoulders
Of these tracing paper soldiers
That have been designated to take it over
I'ma roll a couple of boulders off the cliff
On the road below (look out below)
'Cause I don't know what I'ma hit (yo)

I live by the word until I die by your sword
Even when I'm dead my head will live inside your RCA cords
I wait for the right time, but it resembled now-a-days
Descended on the Earth to put an end to all your holidays
The assassin covered in plain clothes
Smothered the sunlight and set flame to your rainbows
And then came the storm (and then came the storm)
Bewildered those that didn't contemplate
Fake disguised as the norm (as the norm)
And when the smoke evaporated and the damage was assessed
The causalities were counted as they looked upon the mess
As they focused they eyes on the horizon, who'da guessed?
All that stood atop the hill was number seven silhouette

And with this head splitting tears, cement breaking
weeping for these people walking in their sleep
(these people walking in their sleep)
My talk is not as cheap
And my thoughts are not as deep
As the day I woke up to discover I lost my sheep
head splitting tears, cement breaking
Leaping for these people walking in their sleep
(these people walking in their sleep)
My talk is not as cheap
And my thoughts are not as deep
As the day I woke up to discover I lost my sheep

They say a picture's worth a thousand words
Well I beg a thousand pardons for each word I've used for personal gains
But the letters that float through my head, demote my sentences,
Could never be contained by your simple picture frames
For every intoxicated moment I hate life

I strive to balance my aura by dancing with the light
And sometimes it's difficult to stay quiet
I fight it, each time I find myself walking across your eyelids
Wishing the malnutrition, the imagination of yours
Could see the truth you breathe through each one of your pores
And now the days are drastic, the nights last forever
Wanna tear this motherfucker up and put it back together
I'd like to ask the cats that act like they my peers
If you spent the energy I've spit, trying to count the tears
One of these days you're gonna climb the tallest building of all
Give a warning to those below and let the tears fall

(And with the) all the head splitting tears, cement breaking
weeping for these people walking in their sleep
(these people walking in their sleep)
My talk is not as cheap
And my thoughts are not as deep
As the day I woke up to discover I lost my sheep
head splitting tears, cement breaking
Leaping for these people walking in their sleep
(these people walking in their sleep)
My talk is not as cheap
And my thoughts are not as deep
As the day I woke up to discover I lost my sheep

Nobodies here except my mirror on the wall

The damage...overseen by anyone that comprehends
The anguish...felt only by the ones that invest
The language...was primitive, the listener complex
And everybody was trying to define success
All the self-proclaimed prophets dressed up to look like poets
Pretending to be martyrs that they're not
You can learn all their names
And engrave them on your brains
Memories so you can spout them off the top (spout them off the top)
Yo kill 'em all, and let God give 'em handcuffs
The flood has begun, and no one has been paired up
So I'ma take a second to beckon the downfall
of your so called civilized nation
(Yo yo yo yo yo) stop the sound now!

Reading it like a poem has some downfalls, namely (in my opinion) the lack of punctuation. I also would have moved some line breaks around. The speaker is also more confined within the rhythm, so some syllables have been sacrificed and others elided to make it work. The sonic stresses are still very clear, and if this were solely a poem, critical reviewers may suggest a freer attitude towards such a strict rhyme. 

Here is the song courtesy of youtube. 

* I have taken the liberty of inserting stanza breaks between verses and chorus since they exist in the musical version.