About the song
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Words from the artist’s archive
Flaming Sword Season lyrics
Artist-supplied lyric sheet, matched by title. The sheet may differ from this released performance. Production notes and alternate promotional cuts are omitted.
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Intro
Toll tag chirp on the Palmetto, rain on the awning Stove igniter click, another night of warnings
Verse 1
Pink slip on the door again, rain running down the glass Publix line too long, card declined, swallowed pride for the cash Corner store on 79th got the wings and the same lies Family house too full, couch surfing with the same eyes The garden look green from the outside, roots deep in the mud Knowledge hit different when the rent due and the lights ’bout to cut They want us numb to the numbers, blind to the design But once you see the pattern you can’t unsee the line
Chorus
One bite and the garden don’t close Flaming sword at the Turnpike toll They told us stay sleep but the fruit was too close Now we carry the weight and the code
Verse 2
Fines stack like the clouds before the storm hit the Bean Court date on the calendar, lawyer fees in between They want us comfortable in the cage they call the dream But the dream got a price and the price is your team The serpent sound smooth when it whisper in the heat “One bite won’t hurt you, just sign on the sheet” Now the sword at the gate and the rain don’t let up Knowledge cost more than the deposit on the truck
Chorus
One bite and the garden don’t close Flaming sword at the Turnpike toll They told us stay sleep but the fruit was too close Now the jit watching how we hold
Verse 3
Look in the rearview, see the version that took the bite Same face, different eyes, carrying the weight of the night Was it worth it? The question hit different in the dark When the lights off and the silence got teeth and it bark I see the me that stayed sleep, comfortable in the lie And the me that woke up, paying for it till I die Both versions in the mirror, both got the same chain One chose the garden, one chose the rain
Verse 4
Now it’s war with the system that want us back in the cage Not with guns, with the clarity that cut through the haze They built the garden with gates and they call it the dream But the dream got a price and the price is your team I pass the fruit to the jit with the instructions attached “Don’t bite blind, but if you do, don’t look back” The sword at the gate, but the knowledge in the blood We don’t run from the rain, we learn how to flood
Chorus
One bite and the garden don’t close Flaming sword at the Turnpike toll They told us stay sleep but the fruit was too close Now the whole block singing the code
Verse 5
To the little cousin on the porch with the questions in his eyes The garden was a lie wrapped in beautiful skies The serpent ain’t the villain, the villain is the sleep The bite was the key, now the sword is the keep Carry it light but don’t ever put it down The rain gon’ fall, but the knowledge don’t drown One day you’ll stand at your own Turnpike gate And the choice you make then gon’ decide your fate
Outro
Toll tag chirp… rain on the awning… Stove igniter click…
Inside the recording
Toll tag chirp on the Palmetto, rain on the awning Stove igniter click, another night of warnings
One bite and the garden don’t close Flaming sword at the Turnpike toll
Toll tag chirp… rain on the awning… Stove igniter click…
Excerpts from artist-supplied lyric files matched by title. Lyric sheets may differ from the released performance.