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Tricky - Maxinquaye Album Lyrics



Tricky - Maxinquaye Lyrics






Overcome

Produced and mixed by Tricky Kid, Geoff Barrow
Engineered by Russ Kearney.
Publishing: Copyright (C) 1991. A.Thaws/G. Barrow
[All vocals by tricky, words in parentheses are unclear]
[Spoken]
How things are
Together we'll destroy
Then we can destroy what we are
Then we'll build what we are
When we dream the spirit free
We don't give praise we take praise
And why are we
[Rapped]
How things are
Together we'll destroy
Then we can destroy what we are
Then we'll build what we are
When we dream the spirit free
We don't give praise we take praise
And why are we
This isn't crystal though nothing is clear
I despise you
I damn you
Dream you
I love you
But still nothing's clear
I think of when i found you
(Deep deep) in salt water
Drag you down into life
See(m) some vision
Raised in this place
Concrete is my religion
The place where the sun(s makes mostly sense)
See how it ends
You feed me when I'm hungry
Drink me 'til I'm dry
You dream then and now
Isn't nothing but a lie
Human lies
Distortion
The English disaster
Though we're free
Black or White
One law for one master
I found a new place to live
We're taught to grow strong
Strongly sensitive
And life sets the scenery
Colors leave only beauty
Words and wine amongst the greenery
The only lessons the teach from the marigin
The ask my origin
Tomorrow's sin
But now you're being (choosajooed) to color
Ask
Where i'm from
Me? I'm from my mother
[scratched sample]
I take small step
[grumbled]
(Which relates)
The place where the sun(s makes mostly sense)
See how it ends...
** Thanks to Adam Roesch **
[ Correct these Lyrics ]

Writer: MARCELLA LEVY, SIOBHAN MAIRE DEIRDRE FAHEY, ADRIAN NICHOLAS MATTHEW THAWS
Copyright: Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing, MUSIC SALES CORPORATION




Ponderosa

The place where I stand gives way to liquid lino
Underneath the weeping willow lies a weeping whino
The place where I stand gives way to liquid lino
Underneath the weeping willow lies a weeping whino
The mind's a crowd -- search for the the spaces
And turn around time's gone, take ten paces.
Been up ahead - can't make head or tale of it
I drink till I'm drunk, and I smoke till I'm senseless.
You see in black and white, feel in slow motion,
I drown myself in sorrow, until I wake up tomorrow.
The illusion of confusion is not from where I am sat
(Tricky: recycle resemble me)
Different levels of the devil's company
[Primera.]

They lead us outside, take us out quietly
To the cage through the bars
You see scars: results of my rage
The place where I stand gives way to liquid lino
Underneath the weeping willow lies a weeping whino
The place where I stand gives way to liquid lino
Underneath the weeping willow lies a weeping whino
the mind's a crowd -- search for the the spaces
And turn around time's gone, I take ten paces.
Been up ahead - can't make head or tale of it
I drink till I'm drunk, and I smoke till I'm senseless.
You see in black and white, feel in slow motion,
I drown myself in sorrow, until I wake up tomorrow...
(Tricky: The illusion of...until I wake up....)
[ Correct these Lyrics ]

Writer: ADRIAN NICHOLAS MATTHEW THAWS, HOWARD SIMON BERNSTEIN, MARTINA TOPLEY-BIRD
Copyright: Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group




Black Steel

[Martina:]
I got a letter from the government
The other day
Opened it and read it
It said they were suckers
They wanted me for their army or whatever
Picture me givin' a damn, I said never
Here is a land that never gave a damn
About a brother like myself
Because I never did
I wasn't wit' it, but just that very minute...
It occurred to me
The suckers had authority
Cold sweatin' as I dwell in my cell
How long has it been?
They got me sittin' in the state pen
I gotta get out, but that thought was thought before
I contemplated a plan on the cell floor
I'm not a fugitive on the run
But a brother like me begun, to be another one
Public enemy servin' time, they drew the line y'all
They criticize me for some crime

I got a letter, I got a letter, I got a letter
Picture me given' a damn, I said never
Mmm... mmm... mmm
It occurred to me
The suckers had authority
Cold sweatin' as I dwell in my cell
How long has it been?
They got me sittin' in the state pen
I gotta get out, but that thought was thought before

I got a letter from the government
The other day
Opened it and read it
It said they were suckers
They wanted me for their army or whatever
Picture me givin' a damn, I said never
Here is a land that never gave a damn
About a brother like me and myself
Because I never did
I wasn't wit' it, but just that very minute...
It occurred to me
The suckers had authority
Cold sweatin' as I dwell in my cell
How long has it been?
They got me sittin' in the state pen
I gotta get out, but that thought was thought before
I contemplated a plan on the cell floor
I'm not a fugitive on the run
I'm not a fugitive on the run

[Tricky:]
Many switch in, switch on, switch off [X5]

[Martina:]
Nevertheless they could not understand
That I'm a black man, and I could never be a veteran
On the strength of situations, I'm real
I got a raw deal, so I'm lookin' for the steel
Looking for the steel

I got a letter from the government
The other day
Opened and read it
It said they were suckers
They wanted me for their army or whatever
Picture me givin' a damn, I said never
Here is a land that never gave a damn
About a brother like me and myself
Because they never did
I wasn't wit' it, but just that very minute...
It occurred to me
The suckers had authority
Cold sweatin' as I dwell in my cell
How long has it been?
They got me sittin' in the state pen
I gotta get out, but that thought was thought before
I contemplated a plan on the cell floor
I'm not a fugitive on the run
I'm not, I'm not
I'm not a fugitive on the run
But a brother like me begun, to be another one
Public enemy servin' time, they drew the line y'all
To criticize me for some crime

I got a letter from the government
The other day
Opened it and read it
It said they were suckers
They wanted me for their army or whatever
Picture me givin' a damn, I said never
Here is a land that never gave a damn
About a brother like me and myself
Because I never did
I wasn't wit' it, but just that very minute...

Mmm... mmm... mmm... mmm
I got a letter from the government
The other day
Opened it and read it
It said they were suckers
They wanted me for their army or whatever
Picture me givin' a damn, I said never
Here is a land that never gave a damn
[ Correct these Lyrics ]

Writer: WILLIAM DRAYTON, CARLTON RIDENHOUR, ERIC SADLER, HANK SHOCKLEE
Copyright: Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, BMG Rights Management




Hell is Round the Corner

I stand firm for our soil
lick a rock on foil
Say reduce me, seduce me,
Dress me up as Tootsie [in Stussey].
Hell is round the corner where I shelter.
Ism's and schisms, we're living helter skelter [been livin' on a study]
If you believe and deceive common sense says shouldn't receive
Let me take you down the corridors of my life.
And when you walk, do you walk to your preference?
No need to answer till I take furthur evidence.
I seem to need a reference to get residence.
A reference to your preference to say,
I'm a good neighbor, I trudge,
So judge me for labour,
live version of the song. The bond on me ensures [lobotomy] my good
behavior
The constant strum insures my insanity.
Passing the ignorance ensures the struggle for my family
We're hungry beware of our appetite.
Distant drums bring the news of a kill tonight.
The kill which I share with my passengers.
We take our fill, take our fill, take our fill.

[repeat first four lines]

Confused by different memories,
Details of Asian remedies
Conversations, of what's become of enemies.
My brain thinks bomb-like,
So I listen he's a calm type.
And as I grow, I grow collective.
Before the move sit on the perspective.
Mr. Quaye [Mr. Kray] lay in the crevice. [Distant cradle in the crevice]
And watches from the precipice.
Empirial passage.
Heat from the sun somedays slowly passes,
Until then, you have to live with yourself (x2).
[ Correct these Lyrics ]

Writer: ADRIAN NICHOLAS MATTHEW THAWS, ISAAC HAYES
Copyright: Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group




Pumpkin

pumpkin
you're hollow kid
more how i'm to do
let the heart give us some
set the word seeds
like flowers they
shine out when
i find what will make you
love me
life is our find
hollow is he
(Tricky section)
So hollow
don't back
over someone who
(?)
follow thee
how, how i feel
(Tricky section)
So hollow
how i
go on
(Tricky section)

I can't breathe and I can't see
MTV moves too fast, I refuse to understand
You go your way and I'll see mine
Feels like wasted time
And it feels like I must be blind
How'd you like yourself, you don't know yourself

I smell of she and I fail to be
Well, anyway.. Well, anyway.. Well, anyway..

I can't breathe and I can't see
I can't see and I can't breathe
[ Correct these Lyrics ]

Writer: ADRIAN NICHOLAS MATTHEW THAWS, ALISON ELIZABETH GOLDFRAPP
Copyright: Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group




Aftermath

"Let me tell you about my mother..."

[Martina:]
For one, (more poor boy), there's someone
For he for she
For one (more poor boy), there's someone
For him, for me

[Tricky & Martina:]
Your eyes resemble mine, you see as no others can
Here inherit my kingdom, speak of our people's plan
I'll be here for my baby, for my baby I'll be near
So many things I need to tell you, things you need to hear

[Tricky:]
It was a day like no other
Clocks (hanging off)
It was said they dropped the bomb
And I walked out the door
Feeling lonely, (I see rain/as a ray)
Thinking of what was once
So I go in search of people
(Song of) the inhabitants
The air is filled with chemicals
So this is the aftermath
Walking over rubble
Which was once (cause's calf)
Down to the center
Which used to be central

[Martina:]
So this is the aftermath

For one, (more poor boy), there's someone
For he for she
For one (more poor boy), there's someone
For him, for me

[Tricky & Martina:]
Your eyes resemble mine, you see as no others can
Here inherit my kingdom, speak of our people's plan
I'll be here for my baby, for my baby I'll be near
So many things I need to tell you, things you need to hear

[Martina:]
For one, (more poor boy), there's someone
For he for she
For one (more poor boy), there's someone
For him, for me

How can I
How can I
How can I be sure
In a world that's constantly changing
How can I be sure

Just when I thought I was winning
Just when I thought I could not be stopped
Just when I thought I was winning
Just when I thought I could not be stopped
how can I be sure
[ Correct these Lyrics ]

Writer: ADRIAN NICHOLAS MATTHEW THAWS
Copyright: Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group




Abbaon Fat Tracks

Abbaon Fat Tracks


F*ck you in, tuck you in, suck you in

"Can you fly? You fly as fast as you can to baby Jesus!" (from the film The
Rapture)

I am she
Mistakes of men
Gritty teeth, fists are clutching,
breast stroke, thoughts of touching
see you in the sun
there'll be big fun, ah, at my
hotel, motel, hotel, motel

I'll f*ck you in the ass, just for a laugh
with the quickspeed I'll make your nose-bleed
I ride the premenstral cycle
Forget about our michael
Now here's the big blast, I like the big cash
i sing on bass loops
I scream ?vauge truths?

Ensure myself, within myself, encouraging pain
TV smile for TV is god ... (TRICKY:ugly noise this is) strange ways by the tube
rays

I roll up the blue bills
I snort the cheap thrills
[ Correct these Lyrics ]

Writer: MARK SAUNDERS, ADRIAN NICHOLAS MATTHEW THAWS
Copyright: Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group




Brand New Youre Retro

We know, yes we know
I set my ego on fantastic.
Still, you're f*ckin' with my plastic
Take a second and medicate it
Dedicated, medicated,
They bend and break me
Overrate me
I take a small piece and make it breathe
It takes a second to wreck
Takes a second for a hit sucka niggas won't believe
They stress me, test me, vex me
So what, you got a gun?
That shit don't impress me
You, you, you always walks with a crew
You're a motherf*cker 'cause' you're not alone
(you back da f*ck up cause you're not alone)
(and) you don't think I'm a brother, then check my chromosome
Brand new, you're retro
I already passed you on a 1-2
I've been cued to this already
Bullet to the head.
Bullet to the head, do you think I's joking?
What the f*ck are you doin'?
You want to represent my attention?
You need more than a mike and a mention.
Through the scars you see bars
Through the bars you see scars results of my rage.
Brand new, you're retro.
Brand new, you're retro.
Brand new, you're retro.

Scared to skip and step in case you trip and fall
Thunder picks you up, slaps you on the wall
That's maniacal, I cuff (the mimetical) through my manicle
Mechanical and super-natty
Love is not talk, I walk on by
Exotic spices
If your mouth can't tame the meaning
Careful of the faces you're seeing
A dread of the past [In threat of the past] and fear of the future
That's manacle, I cuff through my monocle
Mechanical and super-natty
Brand new, you're retro.
[ Correct these Lyrics ]

Writer: ADRIAN NICHOLAS MATTHEW THAWS
Copyright: Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group




Suffocated Love

Tricky :
In hell i'll be lost in the layers of weakness
All around the surface brainwashed with the cheapest
Strugglin...strugglin...strugglin
Brainwashed with the
Hallucinagenics in my system
I cock the trigger
Many switch in
Switch on, switch off
Martina :
Here I'm lost
Tricky :
I'm lost
Martina :
In the name of weakness
Tricky :
Brainwashed
Martina :
All around the surface brainwashed with the cheapest
Exhausted by the mundane
Simplicity no longer plain
Tricky :
Strugglin, strugglin
Martina :
Strugglin, strugglin with the insane
Tricky :
I'm strugglin
Strugglin with the insane
..
Hallucinagenics in my system
..
They say i'm insane
I'm strugglin...strugglin
Martina :
Darkness and warmth
Obvious and mysterious
Magical colors
Tricky :
Mystical shadows
Martina :
Mystical shadows
Thought with no meaning
Tricky :
They say i'm insane
Martina :
Label me insane
Tricky :
But i'm more normal than most
Martina :
But i'm more normal than most
Strugglin so hard
Tricky :
I just need to remain
'Cause I'm strugglin
Martina :
To remain
Tricky :
I know i'm the truth
Martina :
'Cause we are the truth
See what we want to see
Tricky :
Please, please tell me what i want to hear
Martina :
Hear what we want to hear
Strugglin so hard
Tricky :
I'm strugglin
Martina :
I took a ride, yeah
Tricky :
Roll with the bullets to survive...to survive...to survive
Self preservation
Martina :
Roll with the bullets
Just to survive
Tricky :
Self preservation
Martina :
Self preservation
Tricky :
Keeps the crowd alive
Martina :
Keeps the crowd alive
Tricky :
Strugglin...strugglin
They...they say i'm insane
I'm strugglin...strugglin
They say i'm insane
Martina :
Strugglin
Tricky :
I'm more normal than most
Martina :
Strugglin
Tricky :
I'm just strugglin
Martina :
Strugglin
Tricky :
Mythical shadows
Martina :
Strugglin
Tricky :
Mysterious...the obvious
Martina :
Strugglin
Tricky :
They say im insane...I'm strugglin
Martina :
Strugglin
Tricky :
Switch in, switch on, switch off
I'm lost in contradiction
Feed me my visuals
A flashback...a flashback from way back
I'm strugglin...strugglin
Do you know what its like to struggle?
Do you...do you...have you...have you ever had to struggle?
Strugglin...strugglin
Roll with the bullets to survive
Strugglin...strugglin...strugglin to remain
They label me insane
But i'm...i'm...i think i'm more normal than most
Strugglin with the remains
Brainwashed with the cheapest
And if pain makes me stronger
Then how am i stronger?
There's a fate for the late
But the late must wait longer
Strugglin...strugglin
Roll with the bullets to survive
Self preservation keeps the crowd alive
Strugglin
In hell i'll be lost in the layers of weakness
All around the surface brainwashed with the cheapest
In hell i'll be lost in the layers of weakness
All around the surface brainwashed with the cheapest
Exhausted with the mundane
Simplicity means no longer plain
Strugglin with the insane
Darkness and warmth
The obvious and mysterious
Magical colors, mythical shadows
Half thought with no meaning
They label me insane X3
[ Correct these Lyrics ]

Writer: ADRIAN NICHOLAS MATTHEW THAWS, RICHARD BARRETT
Copyright: Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group




You Dont

Ragga: i fight evil with evil
i fight evil with evil
believe me how you found me
take away my self-esteem
anytime youre ready

Tricky: you dont, you dont
you dont, you dont
you dont, you dont wanna even try

Ragga: I sleep, but get no rest.
You scheme, but gods know best.
Sick of trying! [Second try!] I was actually dying, oh!
When you [?] in your devil's music
I did every need to use it.

Tricky: you dont, you dont
you dont, you dont
you dont, you dont wanna even try

Ragga: trust you if youre trustful
use you if youre useful
really smooth, really evil
and if youre here, and that is the reason...
giant strides, twelve tribes
it takes a second to wreck it
sixty seconds--forget it
i guess you dont hear me though
i guess you dont hear me though

Tricky: you dont, you dont
you dont, you dont
you dont, you dont wanna even try

Ragga: I'm not looking yours, im looking mine
looking so quiet but discreet
echoes to see
on an unsuggested stream, unsuggested mean
take it to the top, unstable the times
unstable the walk
and stable the walk
unbearable, searable, popular demand
from cradle to grave is [Abel?] even a man
with my moneys and my felons, we conquer a clearance
building extensions of potential

but i guess you dont hear me though

Tricky: you dont, you dont
you dont, you dont
you dont, you dont wanna even try
Ragga: you dont, you dont
you dont, you dont
you dont, you dont wanna even try

Tricky: you dont, you dont
you dont, you dont
you dont, you dont wanna even try

Ragga: you dont, you dont
you dont, you dont
you dont, you dont wanna even try
[ Correct these Lyrics ]

Writer: ADRIAN NICHOLAS MATTHEW THAWS
Copyright: Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group




Strugglin

(T=Tricky, M=Martine)

T: in hell i'll be lost in the layers of weakness
all around the surface brainwashed with the cheapest
strugglin...strugglin...strugglin
brainwashed with the
hallucinagenics in my system
i cock the trigger
make me switch in
switch on, switch off
M: Here I'm lost
T: i'm lost
M: in the name of weakness
T: brainwashed
M: all around the surface brainwashed with the cheapest
exhausted by the mundane
simplicity no longer plain
T: strugglin...strugglin
M: strugglin...strugglin with the insane
T: i'm strugglin
strugglin with the insane
(?)
hallucinagenics in my system
(?)
they say i'm insane
i'm strugglin...strugglin
M: darkness and warmth
obvious and mysterious
magical colors
T: mystical shadows
M: mystical shadows
thought with no meaning
T: they say i'm insane
M: label me insane
T: but i'm more normal than most
M: but i'm more normal than most
strugglin so hard
T: i just need to remain
(?)
cos i'm strugglin
M: to remain
T: i know i'm the truth
M: cos we are the truth
see what we want to see
T: please, please tell me what i want to hear
M: hear what we want to hear
strugglin so hard
T: i'm strugglin
M: i took a ride, yeah
T: roll with the bullets to survive...to survive...to survive
self preservation
M: roll with the bullets
just to survive
T: self preservation
M: self preservation
T: keeps the crowd alive
M: keeps the crowd alive
T: strugglin...strugglin
they...they say i'm insane
i'm strugglin...strugglin
they say i'm insane
M: strugglin
T: i'm more normal than most
M: strugglin
T: i'm just strugglin
M: strugglin
T: mythical shadows
M: strugglin
T: mysterious...the obvious
M: strugglin
T: they say im insane...i'm strugglin
M: strugglin
T: switch in, switch on, switch off
i'm lost in contradiction
feed me my visuals
a flashback...a flashback from way back
i'm strugglin...strugglin
do you know what its like to struggle?
do you...do you...have you...have you ever had to struggle?
strugglin...strugglin
roll with the bullets to survive
strugglin...strugglin...strugglin to remain
they label me insane
but i'm...i'm...i think i'm more normal than most
strugglin with the remains
brainwashed with the cheapest
and if pain makes me stronger
then how am i stronger?
theres a fate for the late
but the late must wait longer
strugglin...strugglin
roll with the bullets to survive
self preservation keeps the crowd alive
strugglin
in hell i'll be lost in the layers of weakness
all around the surface brainwashed with the cheapest
in hell i'll be lost in the layers of weakness
all around the surface brainwashed with the cheapest
exhausted with the mundane
simplicity means no longer plain
strugglin with the insane
darkness and warmth
the obvious and mysterious
magical colors, mythical shadows
half thought with no meaning
they label me insane
they label me insane
they label me insane
[ Correct these Lyrics ]

Writer: ADRIAN NICHOLAS MATTHEW THAWS
Copyright: Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group




Feed Me

[Tricky raps in the background throughout:
hey you, so whatcha gonna do
terrible, searable, popular demand
from cradle to grave, the simple diary of man]

Martine:
how things are together we'll destroy
and then we can destroy what we are
together we can build what we are when we dream the spirit free
we dont give praise, we take praise
so why are we?

how things are together we'll destroy
and then we can destroy what we are
together we can build what we are when we dream the spirit free
we dont give praise, we take praise
so why are we?

feed me when im hungry
drink me till im dry
the dream of yesterday becomes another lie
you feed me lies--distortion--the english disaster
no ones free from love for one master

we found a new place to live where we're taught to grow strong
and strongly sensitive, it always sets the scenery
colors leave only beauty, words and wine amongst the greenery
see how it is
see how it is
we only let you teach us wrong and right
give us priority
seniority
seniority
seniority
we only let you teach us wrong and right
give us priority
seniority
seniority
seniority

extract from crystal though nothing is clear
i despise you, damn you, dream you
i love you
but still nothings clear
i think of when i found you
keep on singin while im drowning
down into that two-tone vision
ive been raised [maze] in this place
and now concrete is my religion

see how it is
see how it is
see how it is
see how it is

we only let you teach us wrong and right
give us priority
seniority
seniority
seniority

we only let you teach us wrong and right
give us priority
seniority
seniority
seniority

we only let you teach us wrong and right
give us priority
seniority
seniority
seniority
[ Correct these Lyrics ]

Writer: ADRIAN NICHOLAS MATTHEW THAWS
Copyright: Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group




Back to: Tricky


Maxinquaye is the debut album by English rapper and producer Tricky, released on 20 February 1995 by 4th & B'way Records, a subsidiary of Island Records. In the years leading up to the album, Tricky had grown frustrated with his limited role in the musical group Massive Attack and wanted to pursue an independent project. Shortly after, he met with vocalist Martina Topley-Bird, who he felt would offer a wider vision to his music, and signed a solo contract with 4th & B'way in 1993. Tricky recorded Maxinquaye the following year primarily at his home studio in London, with Topley-Bird serving as the album's main vocalist, while Alison Goldfrapp, Ragga and Mark Stewart performed additional vocals.

With assistance from fellow producer Mark Saunders, Tricky used dub music techniques and heavily altered samples taken from a variety of sources to produce Maxinquaye. Its resulting groove-oriented downbeat, hazy and fragmented sound incorporates elements from hip hop, soul, rock, ambient techno, reggae and experimental music. Tricky's lyrics throughout the album explore themes of cultural decline, dysfunctional sexual relationships, fear of intimacy and recreational drug use, as he drew on his experiences in British drug culture and the influence of his late mother Maxine Quaye, after whom the album is titled.

Maxinquaye reached the number three position on the United Kingdom's albums chart and sold over 100,000 copies in its first few months of release. 4th & B'way marketed the album by relying on independent record promoters and Tricky's appearances in media, including publicity photographs and music videos that portrayed him and Topley-Bird in gender-bending fashion. Maxinquaye was cited by many journalists as the year's best record and the key release of the burgeoning trip hop genre.

Since then, it has sold more than 500,000 copies worldwide and ranks frequently on lists of the greatest albums, while regarded as a significant influence on electronica, underground hip hop and British hip hop.
Performed By: Tricky
Genre(s): Trip hop, experimental, electronic, R&B, post-rock, British hip hop
Producer(s): Tricky, Mark Saunders, Howie B, Kevin Petrie
Length: 57:13
Released: February 20th, 1995
Year: 1995

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