Cover art for Wise Up by Aesop Rock

Wise Up

Produced by

Feb. 28, 20011 viewer

Wise Up Lyrics

[Intro]
(Now hear this)
It's big Aesop Rock
(Now hear this)

[Verse 1]
Metropolitan, grab bag apocalypse
Maggot patch is swallowing the traps baddest columnist
Big vision, tiger soul, anonymous alacrity, and pulse
Held together by a beached bucket of bolts

I’m here to bleach masker lust and touch false allegations
Where the born-agains and pagans claim the same corner store pavement (pavement)

Silence and the needle pin hybrid
Bought you this reflecting pool to school you on my underlying bias
Now if
I polish off the poison with a sip
I know my orphanage massive will help you lift my casket

With the drip of this B-positive and ominous last cackle
Bury me beneath the cherry tree bough and run for the castle
(I'm one propaganda)
I'm one propaganda speech ahead of televised

Recognize-life-cycler, too deep to stop and decipher
We cross-section a vision every genus dreams
Something obscene with
Syncopated, simultaneous land speed achievement

(drench)
Drench! River-dance your way through bed and breakfast
Blemished predetermined destiny checklist (but first check this)
Well I was born upon a swiftly tilting galleon
Circling sloppy pseudo stigmatic pity-me sound system servers (oh god)
We the dicky-dawn left handed scribbles of god
Approached gruesome by drunk buddy system twosomes
One attacked sternum turned to vaporized minor (c'mon)
The second in turn circled to confirm the fertilizer
And I'm one of a small tribe camped in a rubber stamp facility
With best friends like utility who needs these instabilities of mine
You wanna hold that grudge that's fine
In fact let's both hold grudges just to see who's stubborn and who budges
Well I'm the stubbornest bastard this side of four dimensions
And I'm here to build this picket fence around your frigid lenses
I ain't ever known a potion as potent as zen to mend a broken friendship
I'm saying don't get defensive
(Now hear this)

[Hook]
Wise up, rise up, size 'em up
Line 'em up against the wall
It goes run, walk, crawl, wise up
Wise up, rise up, size 'em up
Line 'em up against the wall
It goes run, walk, crawl, wise up
Wise up, rise up, size 'em up
Line 'em up against the wall
It goes run, walk, crawl, wise up
Wise up, rise up, size 'em up
Line 'em up against the wall
It goes run, walk, crawl, wise up

I barely know myself, man
And you barely know yourself
But I don't claim to know yourself
See you claim to know myself
I barely know myself, man
You barely know yourself
But I don't claim to know yourself
See you claim to know myself
I barely know myself, man
You barely know yourself
But I don't claim to know yourself
See you claim to know myself
I barely know myself, man
And you barely know yourself, man
But I don't claim to know yourself
See you claim to know what I am
[Verse 2]
And I hear you recognize the jeopardy
Finally
Shepherd me
Honoring the touch of pure peasantry I've been harboring presently
Tough as nails, tough enough to sail through broken ballads
With a pinch of foul demeanor inching forward through your outlets (fuck that)
Fuck that, I grease burden incredible NOW!
Couldn't even offer concept minimum wage let alone benefit grace
Wait wait wait, let's make all paper dolls line up in size order
Just to gaze in amazement upon a short fuse getting shorter
(getting shorter)
Basic upheaval laced with logical absurdities (c'mon)
Stolen promise lacking witness to the burglary
I'm sharp
See yesterday I seen upon the target face your bargain basement dream attached with thumbtacks, so I arched
Boogie bullseye upon that dim excuse for group effort triple thin oxidized box cutter lost lamb ecosystem, dribblin' on my person
You see my version of ruler don't include underlings thumbing through yellow pages for a future
Today I strike a match adapt tragedy
Tomorrow humankind's logic pistons crash and burn
The next day procreation becomes annual formality
I guess it's once a kid, always a kid
It's just some kids'll never learn
I pack my bags and steadily trudged out the door
Off to secure my legacy in bread and water blizzards
I couldn't feed the masses with more fishes
Yeah but I can force-feed 'em wishes
And I'd rather be hungry with desires than bloated and tired (bloated and tired)
It goes keen cohorts condense at high noon
To force every rattlesnake to beat the dead horse (horse)
Aesop Rock, premiere dysfunctional grief citizen
Of course, I'm headstrong, but even stronger in support
Man I've been there done did this and that (Aight?!)
I've been the engine all the way down to the railroad spike
It isn't pretty, walked in sober, staggered out dizzy
Take this lesson as a key to that life mystery
(Now hear this)

[Hook]
Wise up, rise up, size em up
Line em up against the wall
It goes run, walk, crawl, wise up
Wise up, rise up, size em up
Line em up against the wall
It goes run, walk, crawl, wise up
Wise up, rise up, size em up
Line em up against the wall
It goes run, walk, crawl, wise up
Wise up, rise up, size em up
Line em up against the wall
It goes run walk crawl

[Outro]
We're runnin' and
We're walkin' and
We're crawlin' and
We're wising up
We're runnin' and
We're walkin' and
We're crawlin' and
We're wising up
We're runnin' and
We're walkin' and
We're crawlin' and
We're wising up
We're runnin' and
We're walkin' and
We're crawlin' and
We're wising up
We're runnin' and
We're walkin' and
We're crawlin' and
We're wising up
We're runnin' and
We're walkin' and
We're crawlin' and
We're wising up
We're runnin' and
We're walkin' and
We're crawlin' and
We're wising up
We're runnin' and
We're walkin' and
We're crawlin' and
We're dead

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Credits
Produced By
Written By
Release Date
February 28, 2001
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