Remarks:
Recommended by commenter Soul: “Listen, when Mos Def writes lyrics like this, how can anyone tell me it’s crap?” (More).
Lyrics:
[Jill Scott]
Love rain down on me, on me, down on me
Love rain down on me, on me, down on me
Love rain down on me, on me, down on me
Love rain down on me, on me, down on me
Met him on a Thursday, sunny afternoon
Cumulus clouds, 84 degrees
He was brown, deep
Said he wanted to talk about my mission
Listen to my past lives (Word?)
Took me on long walks to places where butterflies rest easy
Talked about Moses and Mumia
Reparations, blue colors, memories of shell-topped Adidas
He was fresh, like summer peaches
Sweet on my mind like block parties and penny candy
Us was nice and warm, no jacket, no umbrella, just warm
At night we would watch the stars
And he would physically give me each and every one
I felt like cayenne pepper, red, hot, spicy
I felt Dizzy and Sonya and heaven and Miles between my thighs
Better than love, we made delicious
He me had, had me he
He made me tongue-tied
I could hear his rhythm in my thoughts
I was his sharp, his horn section
His boom and his bip
And he was my love
Love rain down on me, on me, down on me
The rain was falling and, and slowly and sweetly and stinging my eyes
And I could not see that he became my voodoo priest
And I was his faithful concubine
Wide open, wide, loose like bowels after collard greens
The mistake was made
Love slipped from my lips
Dripped down my chin and landed in his lap
And us became new
Now me non-clairvoyant and in love
Made the coochie easy and the obvious invisible
The rain was falling
And I couldn’t see the season changing
And the vibe slipping off it’s axis
Our beautiful melody became wildly staccato
The rain was falling and I could not see
That I was to be plowed and sowed and fertilized
And left to drown in his sunny afternoon
Cumulus clouds, 84 degrees, melody
Love rain down on me, on me, down on me
Love rain down on me, on me, down on me
[Mos Def]
I stretched my arms towards the sky like blades of tall grass
The sun beat in between my shoulders like carnival drums
I sat still in hopes that it would help my wings grow
So then I would really be fly
And then she arrived
Like day break inside a railway tunnel
Like the new moon, like a diamond in the mines
Like high noon to a drunkard, sudden
She made my heart beat in a now-now time signature
Her skinny canvas for ultraviolet brushstrokes
She was the sun’s painting
She was a deep cognac color
Her eyes sparkled like lights along the new city
She lips pursed as if her breath was too sweet
And full for her mouth to hold
I said, “You are the beautiful, distress of mathematics.”
I said, “For you, I would peel open the clouds like new fruit.”
And give you lightning and thunder as dowry
I would make the sky shed all of its stars like rain
And I would clasp the constellations across your waist
And I would make the heavens your cape
And they would be please to cover you
They would be pleased to cover you
May I please cover you, please.
Damn!. These is one of the most beautiful arrangement of words I have ever come across.
Can you imagine being told that:
‘you are the beautiful distress of mathematics’.
‘For you,I would peel open the clouds like new fruit’.
or having someone describe the moment you pause to speak as..
‘her lips pursed as if her breath was too sweet, for her mouth to hold’.
Damn… damn. damn. This is lyrical f*^king in it’s purest form.
Damn. I swear
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I agree. It is very beautiful.
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I also agree. That’s the kind I like as well. But it gets ZERO play so it’s not what most people are referring to.
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The version, posted above, is a remix. It was the hidden bonus track on J.S.’ debut CD.
I agree. The arrangement of words is so beautiful. Jill is brillant when it comes to that.
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Fantastic soulful combination between Jill Scott and Mos Def!
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I love this song, if any man were to sincerely come to me with something like Mos def’s poem i would melt
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