The Gates
CUNNINLYNGUISTS (A Piece Of Strange) Lyrics

Tell the Reverend Harris to pray for me, Lord
A plea for prayers to the Lord from Reverend Harris as the singer does not expect to live much longer.

I ain't gonna live
The singer does not expect to live for much longer.

I don't believe I'm gonna live to get much older
The singer thinks that they will not live for much longer and will not live to be much older.

Lights out, so peaceful, stressless
The artist is experiencing a peaceful and stress-free state as if the lights have gone out.

Things used to seem so restless
The artist reflects on how things used to be restless in the past.

Forgive me please, see I need to address this
The singer apologizes and wants to address something important.

Just haven't been this breathless since I met this
The singer has not been this breathless since meeting someone special.

Woman who lept into my life when I was reckless
The artist met someone special and fell in love when they were reckless.

Mothered my blessed kid, but was destined to exit early
The person the artist fell in love with gave birth to their child, but passed away early in life.

Guess you can say I've been blessed with the best gifts
The artist feels blessed to have had the best gifts in life.

Reminiscing, holding her necklace in my clenched fist
The singer fondly remembers his loved one and holds her necklace tightly in his hand.

Ha, it's funny how we move in sudden directions
The artist finds it ironic how life can take sudden turns and change direction.

Dedicated my life to the public's protection
The singer has dedicated his life to protecting the public.

Never remarried cause love's an investment
The singer did not remarry because they believe love is an investment.

Besides, I had a baby girl to worry about
The singer had a baby girl to take care of so they did not remarry.

That would struggle to blend in
The artist's daughter would struggle to blend in or feel accepted.

Now as I think, a weightlessness is interrupting my senses
The artist is feeling a weightlessness that is interrupting their senses.

A pulsing tension carries my very frame
The singer feels a tension that is pulsating within their body.

I rise up in ascension - WAIT!
The singer feels like they are ascending, but then pause suddenly.

I try to escape, but I arrive at these gates
The artist tries to escape, but ends up at these gates.

I see a figure standing guard who invites me to pray
The artist sees a figure guarding the gates and is invited to pray.

I tried it all
The artist tried everything.

At the gates of Hell
The singer is at the gates of Hell.

I'm going to lay
The artist is going to lay (presumably to rest or to accept their fate).

Down, down
The singer repeats 'down' to emphasize that they are laying down.

I walk towards the figure that's extending it's hand
The singer walks towards the figure that is extending its hand.

I move to enter past the gates yet I'm met with it's grasp
The singer tries to enter past the gates, but the figure's grasp stops them.

Slow down son, there's things to discuss such as family
The figure tells the artist to slow down and says there are things to discuss like family.

But first, let us talk about vanity
The figure wants to talk about vanity as the first topic.

Vanity? Man, you're sadly mistaken
The singer thinks the figure is mistaken to bring up vanity.

Either that or your sanity's shaken
The singer suggests that the figure is not in the right state of mind.

If you'd examine me patiently
The artist requests that the figure examine them patiently.

You'd retract on your statement
If the figure examines the artist patiently, they will retract their statement on vanity.

I haven't sinned flagrantly, I've acted as faithfully
The artist has not sinned purposely and has acted faithfully.

As any other single father
The singer has acted as any other single father would.

Who raised a baby girl graciously
The artist raised their baby girl graciously.

Nakedly, she was at your door after her mother's death
The singer's daughter was left alone after her mother's death.

Ignorant to racial anger and other stress
The singer's daughter was ignorant of racial anger or other stressors.

Later had a mixed baby at her sweet sixteen
The singer's daughter had a mixed race baby at age sixteen.

How did that fit within your picnic scene?
The figure questions how the mixed baby fits into the artist's ideal family scene (which is presumably all one race).

Sometimes it's too late to fix these things
Sometimes things cannot be fixed or changed.

The pristine dream was over
The wonderful dream the singer had was over.

Had to face the fact she split these genes with his sick seed
The singer had to accept that their daughter had a mixed race baby with someone they did not approve of (sick seed).

With skin the darkest pigment seen
The baby had very dark skin color.

And so I kicked and screamed
The artist was upset and fought against the situation.

Until we found the peace that distance brings
Eventually, the artist found peace through distance (acceptance?).

A mixed raced queen, that was your thoughts about her mama
The daughter is a mixed race queen, and that was what the singer thought about her mother (the person the daughter is mixed with).

Up yonder went her soul, your hate growed from ponders
The mother has already passed away and the artist's hate grew from thinking about it all.

On life, being less trife with a white wife
The singer thought that life would be less troublesome with a white wife.

So any instance of y'alls differences it was slice-slice
Any time they had a disagreement, the singer would end the conversation and cut it off (slice-slice).

Oh my, it's not her race, my daughter's love flies blind
The singer realizes that it is not about race, but that his daughter's love is blind.

I couldn't take her making the same mistakes that crushed my life
The artist does not want their daughter to make the same mistakes they once did which ruined their life.

I'm dumbstruck by these baseless allegations
The artist is speechless and shocked by the accusations without any evidence or reason.

I've saved too many lives of all creeds
The singer has saved many lives of all different beliefs and races.

For you to paint me as a racist
The singer thinks it is unfair to call them a racist when they have saved so many people of different races.

I've endangered my own safety to save babies from blazes
The artist has risked their own safety to save babies from fires.

Black, white, latino, even asian on occasion
The artist has saved people of all different races, including Black, white, latino, and asian.

But why so?
The figure asks why the artist has saved so many people of different races.

How dare you question my motivation!
The singer is offended that their motivation is being questioned.

No need to second guess, your only aim was to be famous
The figure accuses the artist of only wanting to be famous and having no other motives.

Lord knows, you've left behind scorched souls
The figure reminds the singer that they have left many souls behind who are deeply affected or scarred by their actions.

Black children left chilling, later found burnt whole
The figure brings up an example of how the singer's actions have hurt Black children.

So sadly, your glory's to come urgently
Unfortunately, the singer's glorious moment of entering the afterlife is now urgent and near.

Sentenced to fight fires for eternity
The artist is sentenced to fight fires for eternity as punishment for their actions while they were alive.