Voc… Read Full Bio ↴Orange 9mm was a post-hardcore band from New York, United States
Vocalist Chaka Malik and guitarist Chris Traynor met in the New York hardcore band Burn, and began playing together as early as 1992. With an early version of Orange 9mm, the duo released a live EP in 1993. The recording earned the band a contract with East West, and after picking up bassist David Gentile and drummer Matthew Cross, Orange 9mm began recording. Driver Not Included was released in 1994, and the band spent time touring with Helmet before signing with Atlantic the following year. Gentile left later in 1995, and was replaced by Taylor McLam just after recording ended for Tragic, with production by Barkmarket's David Sardy. Tragic was released in 1996; it would be three years before Orange 9mm issued a follow-up, which bore the title of Pretend I'm Human.
taken from http://myspace.com/orange9mmband
Tightrope
Orange 9mm Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You can feel it bound up like a city
Stomach and your lungs fight to come up above,
But how much of it's your fault?
You couldn't have known
It could have come this far unforgiven
Your choice to stand up
Your choice to lay down
And that makes you who you are
And let me tell you that's fine with me
I wish I could see the future
I stand in one spot,
Frozen by luck
Pinnacle of feeling,
I wish I was fucked up
Bent from the weight
And my heads at hells gate,
Bend to kill wake thoughts
Dive into my altered states
Where nothing exists,
That I think I'll miss
Where nothing exists,
That I think I'll miss
Vision can kill
Just as simple as living in fear
Some of us hear bells,
Some of us don't
Beyond explanation
Nothing in this world,
Should tip you off your scales
Nothing in this world, ever seems fair
Nothing in this world is worth seeing you fail
Nothing in this world is worth seeing you fail
And let me tell you that's fine with me
I wish I could see the future
The lyrics of Orange 9mm's song TightRope speak of walking on a knife's edge and feeling the weight of responsibility for the current situation. The imagery of the stomach and lungs fighting to come up above emphasizes the emotional toll that such a balancing act takes on a person. The singer questions how much of the situation is their fault, and acknowledges that they could not have known it would come this far. Despite this, they take ownership of their choices, whether to stand up or lay down. The lyrics suggest that our actions make us who we are, and that the singer is willing to accept the consequences of their choices.
The second verse adds a more introspective element to the song's theme. The singer is frozen by luck, standing in one spot and wishing for a stronger feeling of something, anything. They feel weighted down by their thoughts and want to dive into an altered state where they are free from the consequences of their actions. The idea of altering one's reality to avoid feeling weighed down is a recurring theme in the song. The lines "Vision can kill, just as simple as living in fear," suggest that focusing too much on the future or what could go wrong can be just as harmful as living in fear of it.
Line by Line Meaning
You're walking on a knife,
You're in a risky situation,
You can feel it bound up like a city
You feel confined and trapped,
Stomach and your lungs fight to come up above,
You're feeling anxious and worried,
But how much of it's your fault?
You're questioning your own responsibility,
You couldn't have known
You didn't have enough information at the time,
It could have come this far unforgiven
The situation is now at a point where it can't be easily resolved,
Your choice to stand up
You took a stand,
Your choice to lay down
You chose not to fight,
But you did what you did,
You made a decision and acted on it,
And that makes you who you are
Your choices define you,
And let me tell you that's fine with me
I accept you for who you are,
I wish I could see the future
I wish I had more certainty,
I stand in one spot,
I feel stuck,
Frozen by luck
Overwhelmed by chance,
Pinnacle of feeling,
Feeling at the peak of my emotions,
I wish I was fucked up
I wish I was numb to the pain,
Bent from the weight
Crushed by the burden,
And my heads at hells gate,
Feeling like I'm teetering on the edge of despair,
Bend to kill wake thoughts
Trying to distract myself from negative thoughts,
Dive into my altered states
Using alcohol or drugs to escape reality,
Where nothing exists,
A place of emptiness,
That I think I'll miss
A place of comfort that I know is wrong,
Vision can kill
Having too high of expectations can lead to disappointment,
Just as simple as living in fear
Living in fear is a simple thing that can have a big impact,
Some of us hear bells,
Some people have intuition about what's coming,
Some of us don't
While others are oblivious to what's happening,
Beyond explanation
Some things can't be rationalized,
Nothing in this world,
There's nothing in the world,
Should tip you off your scales
That's worth losing your balance over,
Nothing in this world, ever seems fair
Life isn't fair,
Nothing in this world is worth seeing you fail
I don't want you to fail for anything,
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Peter Kasen
Chaka is one of the most underrated lyricists. This song holds serious punches for one of the best lockdown songs of 2020. Not easy or common to write with such depth in any genre of music. Most writers are scared to dig inside, Chaka is one of the best at it.
TheRob138
this vocalist is an amazing writer I dig his lyrics on this album dragons is my fav.
Sam Nichols
why weren't they bigger than they were? they are awesome
Ryan Newland
This song means so much to me on a level that will never be discovered!
Max Level
i miss this band so much.
Will
Orange 9mm. Friends always hated, but shit was worth it.
Sam Nichols
agreed
Shoe3003
is this a funeraL song?