Vincent Tyler
Nick Hakim Lyrics
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Gunshots in the morning
We had been at home
Snow covered the city
Later on that day
Katie came in screaming
She said there's somebody
Laying in the alley
Five of us gathered around
Mary Helen's front porch
We walked over slowly
And found a man in all black laying face down
I walked over slowly (Slowly)
And I prayed that he was sleeping
Tapped his foot three times
But nobody answered
Nobody answered
Vincent
Vincent
Vincent
Vincent (Ooh)
Vincent (Ooh)
Vincent (Ooh)
Vincent (Ooh)
The lyrics of Nick Hakim's song 'Vincent Tyler' are cryptic in nature, as they describe a scene of mysterious violence witnessed by multiple people, and a sense of helplessness and confusion that follows. The first two lines introduce the theme of violence, as Matthew claims to have heard gunshots in the morning, setting a somber tone for the rest of the song. As the day goes on, the group of friends encounter Katie, who informs them of a man lying in an alley. They slowly approach the man, dressed in black, only to find him unresponsive, as Hakim sings "I prayed that he was sleeping, tapped his foot three times, but nobody answered".
The repetition of the name "Vincent" throughout the song adds to the eerie quality of the encounter, as it is unclear who Vincent is or what happened to him. It is possible that Vincent is the man lying in the alley, but there is no concrete evidence to support this claim. Overall, the lyrics of 'Vincent Tyler' leave the listener with a sense of ambiguity and confusion, begging the question: what happened to Vincent?
Line by Line Meaning
Matthew claimed he heard
Matthew reported hearing something
Gunshots in the morning
Matthew heard gunshot sounds in the morning
We had been at home
The singer and others were at home before hearing about the gunshots
Snow covered the city
The city was covered in snow at the time of the incident
Later on that day
After the morning incident, something else happened later that day
Katie came in screaming
Katie came into a place, screaming loudly
She said there's somebody
Katie said there was a person present
Laying in the alley
The person was lying down in the alley
Five of us gathered around
The artist and four other people approached the scene
Mary Helen's front porch
They walked towards the front porch of a place called Mary Helen's
We walked over slowly
The group approached the scene slowly
And found a man in all black laying face down
They discovered a man dressed in all black lying face down
I walked over slowly (Slowly)
The singer approached the man slowly
And I prayed that he was sleeping
The singer expressed hope that the man was only taking a nap
Tapped his foot three times
The singer touched the man's foot three times
But nobody answered
The man did not respond
Vincent
The man's name is Vincent
Vincent
Repeated refrain of the man's name
Vincent
Repeated refrain of the man's name
Vincent
Repeated refrain of the man's name
Vincent (Ooh)
Repeated refrain of the man's name, followed by a vocalization
Vincent (Ooh)
Repeated refrain of the man's name, followed by a vocalization
Vincent (Ooh)
Repeated refrain of the man's name, followed by a vocalization
Vincent (Ooh)
Repeated refrain of the man's name, followed by a vocalization
Contributed by Isabelle Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@LiLoBoi28
I am motivated to write poetry again, after listening to this..
"Reflecting on my innermost innocence on dusty blue nights,
Sunsets creeping around the corners of my restless mind,
My soul nocturnal - replaying familiar notes all of them so intertwined.
Reminding myself just why, why I love you.
I love you.
Here I am, reminiscent of old times, nostalgic.. fire flies swarming on by and these tides of life keep on drifting by....
Bye. Goodbye.
Looking back on what we had. and now the pain, which soon would subside...
Dusty blue nights, Orange fire flies ... these wonderful things in life that never had a shelf life.
For you I knew this time would come,
But some how, I only run... "
~ Christopher Araiza
Just a piece of my mind... Nick, you inspire. You're calm. This is what the actual 'calm in the storm' sounds like. That is how I'd describe your music.
@Silverfan24
Nick posted the lyrics on a post on his instagram story. I didn’t screen shot but this is the best I could remember. Apparently the song is a narrative about finding the dead body of a man named Vincent Tyler who was killed in 2007 in Nick’s hometown of Washington D.C. He posted a screenshot of the homicide report along with the lyrics mpdc.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/mpdc/publication/attachments/tyler_vincent.pdf
Matthew claimed he heard
Gunshots in the morning
We had been at home
Snow covered the city
Later on that day
Katie came in screaming
There was somebody laying in the alleyway
Five of us gathered around
Mary Helen’s front porch
We approached slowly
Found a man in all black laying face down
I walked over slowly and I hoped that he was sleeping
I tapped his foot three times but nobody answered
@Rosalyn3211
Love you nick! Listened to you my whole pregnancy and now my daughter sleeps to your music. We love and support you 💞
@Fresharies
Rosalyn navarro this is so beautiful
@ShyanTheLegend
Your daughter will grow up to be a crazy good musician. Put a guitar in her hands lol
@j_lynsation
This song feels like "warm winds on a space ride." 🕊️🖤
@Bellavista26
The new version is great within the context of the album for sure, this version is just damn near perfect though :( still kinda wish this version made the album
@daviandewayne
I was thinking the same thing!! Low key hurt.
@richardblaze99
Magnificent. This bassline is out of this world !!! Sooo goood
@joshwilliams6517
Sound keeps evolving further. This dude is insane
@VyPrezWolfpackMusic
I love the album version, but this arrangement just hits differently in all the best ways.
@Sirdonrattray
This is such a beautiful piece of music. The changes and the accents are all breathtaking. I had no idea what was being said until I read this just now but I’ve been singing along. The melodies, the baseline. Waow.