Father Figure Skating
Odd Thomas Lyrics


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Who can paint a picture of my outcome?
Still won't make a difference where I come from.
You can walk away from me
There's nothing more to say to me
I'm father figure skating.
Try to tell me something cause it's different now,
But let me count the ways that I can show you how.
You got a lot to say to me
But really you just playing me.

Born 11-19-76 in the midst of conflicts,
Me the quick fix.

From the potential tomb, to the womb, to the emergency room,
Escaped doom, soon to bloom.

Even though my pops plan could never defeat us,
Cause between us, when I was a fetus, was greeted by Jesus.

He introduced me to a world that turns, and burns,
Where hate is the worm that spreads the germ.

Never concerned, cause I made through the pregnancy term.
Learned at an early age that you must stand firm.

So I breathed, stretched, blessed the Lord.
They used a double-edged sword to clip the cord.

It was my first taste of pain with much more to come,
Screaming while they extract the mucus from my lungs.

With me the new addition makes the family complete.
We made it home in stolen car seat.

And it's all sweet and calm until your mom gets beat.
Call it common occurrences doomed to repeat

Cause home was a prison and a nursery combined
We learned how to deal because we never could malign.

Cause daddy was a misfit chasing crime
My mom had to be a father at the same time.

But when you live by the gun, you end up getting shot
So you can rest in unrest Pop.

Who can paint a picture of my outcome?
Still won't make a difference where I come from.
You can walk away from me
There's nothing more to say to me
I'm father figure skating.
Try to tell me something cause it's different now,
But let me count the ways that I can show you how.
You got a lot to say to me
But really you just playing me.

Skate to California state at the age eight.
Now with a step-dad everything's great.

I start to get attention for the first time,
And in the public he fronts and tells everyone he's mine.

We develop a kinship, a father-son relationship,
But good things often come to an end, you get stripped.

We got a new addition to the family,
And since he's the seed of my step-dad's tree, he found no obligation to invest in me.

The best of me considers that he's testing me
With lessons of letting me

Feel withdrawn. As time grew on
We found it very difficult to get along.

So it was better to jet instead of letting him get me upset
Cause running away begets trying to forget.

I met the beat and felt complete. The unique sense of concrete
Deletes all these feelings of being weak.

The past pain was forgot
Cause hip hop was everything my pops was not.

It was life, love, a place to build,
A place to get acknowledged when I flexed my skill.

It was platform, a stage, a place to shine,
A spot of acceptance to say "He's mine."

See, hip hop was the place where it all began
And helped me father figure skate around a step-dad's hand.

Who can paint a picture of my outcome?
Still won't make a difference where I come from.
You can walk away from me
There's nothing more to say to me
I'm father figure skating.
Try to tell me something cause it's different now,
But let me count the ways that I can show you how.




You got a lot to say to me
But really you just playing me.

Overall Meaning

The key theme of the lyrics of Odd Thomas's song 'Father Figure Skating' is the struggle of an individual in dealing with the hardships of life and finding a way to overcome them. The first paragraph presents the idea that no matter how much one may try to change the inevitable outcome of their life, where they come from and what they have been through will always be a part of them. The second paragraph delves into the artist's childhood, emphasizing his struggle right from the moment he was born into a world full of chaos and conflicts. Though his situation seems bleak, he finds solace in the belief that he was not alone, and Jesus was present with him.


The third paragraph throws light on the situation at his home, where his mother had to take up the role of a father, and his father was a misfit who chased crime. The fourth paragraph talks about the artist's move to California and how his step-father came into his life, providing a temporary sense of family and belonging. However, as time passed, their relationship became strained, and the artist decides to leave, finding comfort in the world of hip-hop music. He uses hip-hop as a platform to express himself and find acceptance for who he is.


Overall, the song 'Father Figure Skating' portrays the struggles of an individual dealing with a difficult childhood, a distant father figure, and finally finding his way through music. It emphasizes the importance of finding one's voice and using it as a means of self-expression to overcome life's hurdles.


Line by Line Meaning

Who can paint a picture of my outcome?
Who can accurately predict what my future holds?


Still won't make a difference where I come from.
Regardless of my background, my future is unpredictable.


You can walk away from me
You have the power to leave me behind.


There's nothing more to say to me
Our conversation has ended.


I'm father figure skating.
I'm trying to navigate the role of a father figure.


Try to tell me something cause it's different now,
You're trying to inform me of something because things have changed.


But let me count the ways that I can show you how.
Let me demonstrate to you the various ways I can handle this situation.


You got a lot to say to me
You have a lot to communicate to me.


But really you just playing me.
But in reality, you're just using me.




Contributed by Elijah Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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