Talk to Strangers Songtext
von Saul Williams

Now 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 niggers all sold drugs

And though that may validate me
For a spot on MTV
Or get me all the airplay
That my bank account would need

I was hoping to invest in
A lesson that I learned
I thought this fool had jumped me
Just because it was my turn


I went to an open space
Because I knew he wouldn't do it
If somebody there could see him
Or somebody else might prove it

And maybe in your eyes
It may seem I got punked out
Because 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 fists of my ego
Or the confines of my mind

In the hip-ness of my swagger
Or the swagger in my step
Or the scowl of my grimace
Or the mean-ness of my rep

Because 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
And Buddha laughs and Jesus weeps and turns out god is gay

As 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 when cycles 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 choose to walk a different path
You'll embrace what you turned away
And cry at what you laughed

Because that's the only way
We′re going to make it through this storm
Where ignorance is common sense
And senselessness, the norm

And flags waive 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 a subtle knife
That carves through worlds like magic doors

And that′s what I've been looking for
The bridge from then to now
Just watching B.E.T like what the fuck son
This is foul

But that square box can′t represent
This 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′s nothing more powerful
Than an idea.
Whose time.
Has come.