Gol'Dust
Common Market Lyrics

Y'all know the prophecy, it's biblical; "from hill to hill"
Everyone knows the prophetic message, it's biblical, and it will spread throughout the land.

In between Beacon and Capitol I travel at will
I am free to travel between Beacon and Capitol as I please.

Atop the mount of Crown, send down the edict for the Sea to achieve peace
From the Crown mountaintop, let there be a decree to bring peace to the Sea region.

The townspeople read it and weep
The citizens read the decree with sadness.

We meet in the streets, a foray of glory and hype
We gather in the streets, ready for greatness and excitement.

Recitin' stories and arias of warrior types
We tell tales and sing songs of brave heroes.

An army of light – recreate the Normandy site
We are a powerful force, reminiscent of the Normandy invasion.

Deploy, you appreciate the enormity, right?
It's time to act, do you understand the gravity of the situation?

This battle hymn of the republic will knock for all my soldiers
Our anthem will inspire all of our troops.

The block, that's where we focus and plot to overthrow this
Our attention is on the block, where we plan to take down our oppressors.

Echelon, send a message to stop takin' our vote
The Echelon must receive our message to stop taking away our voting rights.

This has got to be a joke, 'cause it's not what we were told
This must be a prank because it's not what we were promised.

Is in the promissory note of the draft the forefathers had crafted
The promise made in the draft written by our forefathers.

Your fathers aint mine, boy – I'm a bastard
I am not related to your fathers, I am an illegitimate child.

I grasp a four-fifth in my palm, I got the right to bear arms
I hold a gun in my hand, exercising my right to bear arms.

Y'all keep pushin' me back, I'm 'bout to blast it
If you keep pushing me, I will shoot.

The creed is captured in the prose, my flow's ominous
I express my values in my writing, my words reflect a sense of impending doom.

And obviously the reason we rose to prominence
Clearly, the reason for our success is evident.

We're documenting history here, the end's near
We are making history, and the end of the struggle is in sight.

The pen, bomb and grenade; the promenade of sincere
We use our tools of writing, explosives, and weapons to fight with sincerity.

My folks rush to grab it and mash at full thrust
My people quickly grab and use it to full effect.

The first to have status and pull and hold a flush
We are the first to have status and political power.

For control they go nuts, yo – we're rollin' back to Cali
Those in power go crazy for control, so we fight back and head to California.

Revivin' the rush for the gold dust
We are bringing back the excitement of gold mining.

Yo we crush the precious metal to dust for distribution
We crush gold into dust to distribute it.

All you gotta do is breathe to receive the restitution
You just need to breathe to receive your share of gold dust.

Under pressure we become both gems and grown men
Under pressure, we become valuable and mature.

It's like a jungle sometimes – wonder why I was thrown in
Life can be chaotic and confusing, and sometimes I question why I was born into it.

When my instincts seem to do more harm than good
Sometimes my natural tendencies cause more harm than good.

It's difficult to defend against steel armed with wood
It's hard to fight back against enemies with superior weapons.

Maybe I was never meant to be a champion
Perhaps I was not destined to succeed.

I'm standin' downstream pannin' for ambition to hand in
I am searching for motivation and purpose to pursue.

Necessity was the mother of the invention of my character
The need to survive led me to develop my strong character.

The neighborhood good Samaritan holdin' a Derringer
The kind neighborhood helper also carries a gun for protection.

And darin' you to thwart my path or try stoppin'
I dare you to try to stop me or get in my way.

The establishment of armistice, this is the dichotomy
Creating peace is a paradox when faced with hostility.

I gotta see the reconciliation take place
We must find a way for resolution and peace.

My offering for the intercession is burnt sage and a Smith & Wesson
As an offering for resolution, I burn sage and carry a gun.

I'm guessin' God really needs neither
I doubt God needs either the sage or the gun.

But I must if I'm entrusted as my brother's keeper
Regardless, as a protector of my community, I must carry both.

The challenge is discerning fam from adversaries
The challenge is to distinguish between friends and enemies.

They move in similar fashion – a real man carries a
Friend or foe, a true leader always carries a weapon.

Heavier load; shoulders and back bowed
A leader carries a heavy burden.

The observation is in the simple conversation you hold
You can tell a lot about someone by the way they talk.

Now look me in the eye and tell me I'm not worthy of favor
Don't try to deny that I deserve recognition and respect.

The crop would never pay you if not for all our labor
You would not have anything if it weren't for our hard work.

We're the spine, twisted to sign dots along the waiver
We are the backbone of society, signing away our rights on contracts.

It's hot where you gon' stay, I pray God will be your savior
It's going to be tough where you are going, I hope God will protect you.

When the fires of propitiation reach the plantation
When justice is served and the plantation is destroyed by fire.

Thirty lashes in the dirty ashes layin' the abatement
After being punished and humiliated, there will be relief.

I'm afraid of laughing, 'cause shortly after I'll be facin' the wrath
I am afraid to experience joy because it will be followed by punishment.

I ask for mercy though I'm purposely impassioned
Even though I am passionate about my cause, I still plead for mercy.

And I'm certain the infraction's a forgivable offense
I am confident that my wrongdoing is forgivable.

When the true lord of this land would never quibble over rent
The real owner of this land would not argue about trivial matters like rent.

Wealth proffiteth no man in his last days
At the end of life, wealth does not bring true happiness.

These flames will show you what you're made of… dust
The fires will reveal your true nature.

Yo the dust I was born from is this type, this insight is
I was born from this type of dust, and this realization is enlightening.

Helping me to get right, and I need assistance at times
This new understanding helps me be a better person. Sometimes I need help.

Be the admission disguised behind a pseudonym
Maybe the solution is hiding behind a different name or disguise.

I hope to find truth in him before these guys do him in
I hope to learn from him before his enemies kill him.

And what's a legacy worth next to mined metal, yo
What is more important, a legacy or the gold we seek?

Measure me first – depression, it's better we work
Before assessing my worth, consider that it's better to work than to be depressed.

For change, not for pennies, if anything the commodity traded is us
We are fighting for change, not just for money. Our lives are the true commodity.

For flakes of gold dust.
All this fighting is for mere flakes of gold dust.