Step by Step Lyrics

(I got a little story I'm gonna tell y'all)
See it was September 1st, 1999, the day of my death
My back was on the cold concrete as I took my last breath
I saw my body laying on the ground as my soul hovered above me
Damn Eyedea, you was a good looking cat
But anyway, another day at eighteen years of age
Step into heaven's gate anxious to see what God got to say
Maybe he'll give me a gift for always saying my prayers
But he might send me downstairs for last year's love affair
Well, who cares
You know, right now it's all a mystery
I mean, I'll find out when I get there
Until then I can't let it get to me
I'm keeping my cool, besides, everybody dies
I'll just follow the white light like the do in the movies
It seems like hours went by and I'm still traveling right towards the brightness
Now this ain't heaven or hell, this realm is lifeless
And I hate to say it but this wild goose chase had me bored
No directions, no clues, and no *idea* what I was in for
But then forward I kept floating
And then a quick flash; the lights split directly in half
And created a forked path
Representing each side was an angel

"Now what's the task I have to untangle to meet the big man in charge?" I ask
And the one on the right of me says
"One of us always lies, and the other one always tells the truth
Ask the right one the right question, and he'll direct you to heaven
But if you ask the wrong one son, farewell you're going straight to"
Well, y'all get the picture
The one on my left told me not to listen to his fibs
He said, "it ain't that complicated to find out where God lives"
He told me to follow his path and tell God he said hi
Then the one on my right jumped in and told me not to believe his lies
And I'm like Jesus fucking Christ, I didn't care much for life
But I've tried to stay alive forever, if I knew this is what death was like
I was never good at problem solving, especially in emergencies
I get a tad bit nervous when concerned with burning for eternity
But anyways, I asked them which one lied, and they pointed at each other
And thinking I had it, I asked the name of my mother
One said he don't know, the other said he know but he can't tell me
Goddamn this is gonna be hard
So I asked like thirty questions and I still wasn't sure
But being me I got pissed and gave those pricks a few good words
Frustrated with it all
I turned my back to the angels and when I walked away
To my surprise
I found myself in heaven
Ya know I'm saying
Kinda just turned around from the whole situation
Rejecting everything that was going on
That's how I walked into heaven
I walked away, walked away, walked straight into heaven
I walked away, walked away, walked straight into heaven

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About

Genius Annotation

This song is the seventh track from Eyedea’s first solo album, released under the pen name “Oliver Hart” (All of her heart), on the album “The May Faces of Oliver Hart- How Eye One the Right to Think” (2001.) He produced and wrote the entire album himself, excluding verses by other rappers Slug and Carnage, who were featured on the album.

The song takes place mostly in the afterlife, after Eyedea dies. He is following the light expecting to find god, but instead ends up at a forked path with an angel on each side. They both tell him their path leads to god and the other angel is a liar. Eyedea is driven to the point of confusion and frustration trying to make the right choice that he turns away, and finds himself in heaven.

This song not only tells a neat and clever story, but also expresses metaphorically his views on religion. It can be argued that he meant for each angel to represent two religions (any fits in either spot, none specifically are named or implied) for how they fight with each other and tell Eyedea that their path leads to heaven, and the other leads them to hell. Eyedea becomes frustrated with both of them lacking answers and explanations, so he turns away from religion altogether, and finds himself “in heaven,” or at peace with himself, which he could never find with religion.

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Credits
Producer
Writer
Release Date
October 10, 2001
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