water
DE.VILLE Lyrics

Okay, contestant number two Do you have the answers?
A question posed to someone who is expected to have the answers, to which they respond with a negative.

I was walking on the water when I saw a crocodile He had daisies in his hat, so I stopped him for a while He delivered me a message, a massage to soothe my stage What it was was more then plug-up dosage More than DAISY age Conversation drew a rule Which the crowd will roar by millions Mr. Crocodile said, "Dove, you must look For now, the villains try to hold you underwater But one thing we all must heed Sony Walkmans keep us walking De La Soul can help you breathe when you tread water"
Imaginary scenario where the singer encounters a crocodile who imparts knowledge about how to keep going when life is hard to move forward. Use of metaphors like the crocodile with a message, the Daisy cut is also notable, and the rule it draws is to positive.

As I walked along my journey I thought, "What have I just learned?" In a flash, I saw commotion There was movement in these ferns Silently, the silence came, was it the end of my world? I shouted out in fear, "Who's there?" "It's me," said Mr. Squirrel "I've searched for you all over, now you're found No time to waste We must find the Preacher Man We must find the P.A. Mase (P.A. Mase) All my population's dying And we're all in tune to doom Like the Daisy, I need water I need chestnuts to consume "Mr. Squirrel," I said, "I'm sorry But the problem can't be solved If there's no one here to help, and no one to get involved Always look to the positive and never drop your head For the water will engulf us if we do not dare to tread So let's tread water"
Continuation of the narrative, where the singer meets a squirrel who imparts knowledge about how to overcome fear and look at the positive angle in losing situations. The importance of taking action and staying afloat in difficult times is highlighted.

Now one weary day, I woke, my alarm said, "Plug time's up" Filled my bath up with the water, gargled with my gargle cup As I bathed, I felt a presence, and I'm sort of ticklish I looked down and then around and I heard Hi, I'm Mr. Fish, how do you do? As for me I'm in tip-top shape today, 'cause my water's clean And no one's mean, says Fresh Fish Filet See I look past all my worries, which is something you must do Though you're fed up, throw your head up With this advice from me to you And that's to tread water'
The artist wakes up to a new day and meets a fish who advises him to not worry about insignificant things and instead focus on keeping his environment clean and moving forward by treading water. Use of metaphors like the fish itself, the clean water it resides in, and the fresh fish filet is notable.

As my day went unexplained, time was finding nothing fun As I walked along the sidewalk, I heard "Psst, excuse me, Plug One" From my Soul, De La that is, I hollered "Yes, are you talking to me?" "No alarm meant," he said, "Let me introduce myself I'm Mr. Monkey" "Mr. Monkey, I pledge you slap of five Now how does your problem meet?" He said, "My bananas are at their ripest But they all stand at three feet My swinging hand is bandaged up Could you help me with this chore?" I brought him down to the Native shop And bought him copies of the De La score Which assisted well in his elevation Now all bananas is at his grasp He decided with this accomplished He would put me on to the path He to my to live by the Inner Sound, y'all Which would bring me health in showbiz Then to use them, not abuse them And then in the words that got me to 'em And that is to tread water
The artist meets Mr. Monkey, who seeks help with his problem. The artist helps him out, and he, in turn, provides guidance to the artist about living by the Inner Sound and not abusing the knowledge he gained. The importance of constantly moving forward and staying afloat is reiterated.