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THREE KINGS 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
(crown chime + rain on concrete texture + lone 808 pulse) Three kings in the city... Thrones built on what they could take... I watched 'em rise... I watched 'em break...
Verse 1
He turned the corner into a corner office with the block as the board and the product as the stock The safe clicked like a clock but the clock kept ticking on the nights he couldn't stop Bought the foreign with the foreign, the watch with the face that don't show the time he lost The circle got smaller when the bag got bigger, the ones who stayed wanted a piece of the cost He had the numbers in the ledger but the ledger couldn't balance the weight of the soul he tossed
Chorus
Three kings on the throne but the throne don't hold the man who built it Wealth got the paper but the paper got a grip that don't let go when the lights go dim Power got the gavel but the gavel got a echo that judge the judge when the room get quiet Fame got the camera but the camera got a lens that only see the version that the crowd wanna buy it Three kings... but the real crown don't come with a throne that require you to sell what the block gave you to begin with
Verse 2
He moved the pieces on the board without touching the board, the names on the list knew to fall in line The respect was loud but the trust was quiet, the handshake hid the knife in the other hand's design He had the port, the court, the force, the source that made the city move when he gave the sign But the house got big while the heart got small, the family photos started gathering dust on the shrine The crown on his head was made of the fear he created, and fear don't make a king, it make a landmine
Chorus
Three kings on the throne but the throne don't hold the man who built it Wealth got the paper but the paper got a grip that don't let go when the lights go dim Power got the gavel but the gavel got a echo that judge the judge when the room get quiet Fame got the camera but the camera got a lens that only see the version that the crowd wanna buy it Three kings... but the real crown don't come with a throne that require you to sell what the block gave you to begin with
Verse 3
The stage lights hit like the sun after rain but the heat burned the skin that the crowd couldn't see He gave them the story they wanted, the pain in the hook but the real pain stayed off the screen The features came easy, the checks cleared faster, but the real ones faded when the brand got clean He had the name on the marquee but the name on the lease was the one he used to be before the dream The crown got bright but the eyes got used to the flash, couldn't see the exit when the exit was the thing
Bridge
I stood in the shadow of all three... Wealth had the key but locked himself out of the house he was trying to protect Power had the grip but the grip turned his hand into the thing he used to fight against Fame had the light but the light made him blind to the ones who loved him before the lens And I almost grabbed for the split crown, thought the pieces could make me whole... But the concrete don't lie when the rain hit it at 3AM and the throne is just a chair with a story The real king don't need the three to sit tall... he stands with the ones who never asked for the crown at all...
Chorus
Three kings on the throne but I learned the throne is a cage with a view Wealth, power, fame, keep the split if it means I don't lose the me that the block still knew I seen the falls, seen the cracks in the foundation when the pressure turned the kings into the thing they pursued So I build in the quiet with the real ones who stayed, no need for the lights when the truth is the fuel Three kings... but the fourth one chose the path where the crown don't require you to bury the part that made you you...
Inside the recording
Three kings in the city... Thrones built on what they could take...
Three kings on the throne but the throne don't hold the man who built it Wealth got the paper but the paper got a grip that don't let go when the lights go dim
Three kings on the throne but I learned the throne is a cage with a view Wealth, power, fame, keep the split if it means I don't lose the me that the block still knew
Excerpts from artist-supplied lyric files matched by title. Lyric sheets may differ from the released performance.