1) An American Rapper… Read Full Bio ↴There are at least six artists with this name:
1) An American Rapper
2) A Post-Punk band from Leamington Spa. Alternative page: Saigon
3) A Swedish heavy metal band
4) A punk band from Orange County, California
5) A Finnish poprock group from the 80s
6) A Swedish group formed in Berlin in 2010 but, at the time of writing, based in Stockholm.
1) Saigon (born Brian Carenard, 1978) is an African-American rapper. Born in Newburgh, New York, He spent his upbringing moving between immediate and extended family members in Spring Valley, New York and Brooklyn as well as parts of New Jersey and Virginia. He cites his mother's inattention towards him due to the new arrival of numerous younger siblings as being the catalyst for his roughly 15-year rebellious period. At age 11 he began selling marijuana and at age 13 he had joined in a neighborhood gang. By the time Saigon reached 15 he had already been involved in at least two shootings for which he received jail time. This would be his home for the majority of the next several years of his life as he was "raised" in the New York Penal System. While incarcerated, he took the stage name Saigon from the influential Vietnam War book “Bloods” by Wallace Terry, which he read while he was serving time in prison.
He is currently signed to Just Blaze's Fort Knox Entertainment record label and is working on his major label debut entitled The Greatest Story Never Told for a November 2006 release, which has now been postponed to a later unannounced date.
He appeared on the second season of the HBO television series Entourage and this is credited as being a big boost to his career to the point where the mainstream U.S. population is beginning to recognize him as opposed to simply his previously small following. He also appears in the third season.
He also performed separate tracks with both Australian hip hop MC Phrase and singer Daniel Merriweather in 2005.
MTV News reported that on January 19th 2006, Saigon was stabbed in the temple with a beer bottle as he left a dinner in the Chelsea section of New York. A man approached Saigon and attempted to steal a chain of his, worth $18,000. When Saigon grabbed it back, a fight started. Saigon, bleeding from the head, tried to hail down a taxi (not wanting to get blood in his Mercedes Benz) but was unable to and drove himself to Bellevue Hospital where he received seventy stitches.
2) Saigon is also the name of an early 80s 3 piece Post-Punk band from Leamington Spa. Their music was released through First Floor Records.
3) Also the name of a Swedish heavy metal band.
4) Punk band from orange County California. Released a self-titled EP in 1981.
5) Finnish pop rock band founded 1980 and disbanded 1985. Made two unsuccessful albums and six singles during their career.
6) Saigon's "Ready For Romance?" was made available on Bandcamp in May 2013. The style is broadly lo-fi indie rock.
Friends
Saigon Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
If your too late you'll be trapped here, forever.
There's only two ways..out, of, here,
Ones through the door, the others through Me
Sometimes livin' in a word like this,
It's pretty hard not to go insane,
Not pretty if you don’t comply,
Stand there like you don’t feel pain,
No tears in the face of defeat,
Pretend to the end that you don’t feel change,
Don’t admit it that your faith is weak,
Don’t say that you feel like dying,
Life’s hard that it feels like diamonds,
Go home, shit's far too gone,
Much too late to even feel like trying,
Can't understand what I’m saying,
Can't figure out what I’m implying,
If you feel you don’t want to be alive,
You feel just how I am
I’m on the dark side,
And you can't come find me,
How? when its light all around you,
Yeah but it's dark on the inside,
No win when it's me against me,
One of us ain't gonna survive,
My heart been broke for a while,
Yours has been the one keeping me alive
[Chorus]
This world's such a fucked up place,
My mind's in such a fucked up shape
Everything down here sucks,
Maybe what's up there is great,
We all gotta go one day,
I just wanna cut to the chase,
I wanna stop these nightmares,
I just wanna touch your face,
All you see is all my feats,
All I see is all my flaws,
All I can hear is all my demons,
Even through your applause,
All you see is all my flights,
All I see is all my falls,
All you see is all my rights,
All I see is all my wrongs,
Go on keep telling me to fight,
?
Tellin me to put a bullet inside my head,
Damn put it up right next to my jaw,
Don't keep tellin me to find a reason,
Anything to keep me from squeezing...
[Chorus]
Saigon's song "Friends" portrays two ways of escaping a brutal and tormenting world: one through the door and the other through the singer himself. He expresses how hard it is to live in a world where complying is the only way to survive. It's a world where people are expected to pretend they're not in pain, and admitting weakness can't be an option. The singer tells the listeners that it's easy not to complain and pretend not to recognize the changes happening in their lives. He tells them not to admit their faith is weak or express their feeling of dying. Saigon explains how life is challenging that it feels like diamonds; however, it's much too late even to try. Most people can't understand what he's saying or implying but relates to the feeling of wanting to die.
Saigon notes that he is on the dark side and can't be found, although there is light all around. He believes that one of them will not survive, and his heart is broken. However, he is alive because his friend kept him going. He tells them that the world is an awful place, and his mind is in horrible distress. He wishes to cut to the chase and stop the nightmares, and he desires to touch his friend's face. The singer's flaws and demons are all he can hear, even through the audience applause. They see his flights while he sees his falls, they see his rights while all he sees is his wrong. Finally, he asks them to stop encouraging him to fight or find a reason not to commit suicide.
Line by Line Meaning
There's only two ways, out, of, here,
Leaving this place, you can either choose one of the ways or be forever locked in here.
If your too late you'll be trapped here, forever.
If you procrastinate and wait too long, you will be stuck here for eternity.
Ones through the door, the others through Me
The first option is leaving through the door, while the second option is leaving through me, which may be a destructive way out.
Sometimes livin' in a word like this,
Living in this world can be difficult and confusing.
It's pretty hard not to go insane,
It is challenging to remain sane in this world.
Not pretty if you don’t comply,
If you don't obey, it could get ugly.
Pretty easy if you don’t complain,
It's not so hard if you don't make any complaints.
Stand there like you don’t feel pain,
You have to keep a stiff upper lip and not show any weakness.
No tears in the face of defeat,
Even if you lose, you should not cry or show emotion.
Pretend to the end that you don’t feel change,
Act like everything is okay and you are unaffected by any changes.
Don’t admit it that your faith is weak,
Don't reveal that your faith or beliefs are shaken.
Don’t say that you feel like dying,
Don't admit that you are contemplating suicide.
Life’s hard that it feels like diamonds,
Life is so difficult that it feels like a hard precious stone.
Go home, shit's far too gone,
It's too late to change things, so you might as well go home.
Much too late to even feel like trying,
It's too late to even attempt to make things right.
Can't understand what I’m saying,
You may not comprehend the message I'm conveying.
Can't figure out what I’m implying,
You may not decipher my implications or hidden meanings.
If you feel you don’t want to be alive,
If you ever feel like you don't want to live anymore,
You feel just how I am
I know precisely how you feel.
I’m on the dark side,
I am in the darkest place in my heart and mind.
And you can't come find me,
You are unable to locate me and reach out to me.
How? when its light all around you,
How is that possible when everything around you seems alright?
Yeah but it's dark on the inside,
It's gloomy inside even though everything seems perfect outside.
No win when it's me against me,
I am my own worst adversary, and I lose every time.
One of us ain't gonna survive,
Either the good or the bad part of me will perish.
My heart been broke for a while,
My heart has been broken for a long time.
Yours has been the one keeping me alive
The only thing that has kept me going thus far is your heart and your love.
This world's such a fucked up place,
This world is a terrible and dreadful place.
My mind's in such a fucked up shape
My mind is in a terrible and confused state.
Everything down here sucks,
Everything on this earth is bad and unenjoyable.
Maybe what's up there is great,
Perhaps heaven is much better than the current place we are living in.
We all gotta go one day,
We are all going to die eventually.
I just wanna cut to the chase,
I just want to get straight to the point.
I wanna stop these nightmares,
I want to put an end to these terrible dreams.
I just wanna touch your face,
I just want to hold you close and feel your touch.
All you see is all my feats,
You only see my achievements and accomplishments.
All I see is all my flaws,
I see all the things that are wrong with me.
All I can hear is all my demons,
All I can hear are my inner voices and negative thoughts.
Even through your applause,
Even amidst your admiration and praise.
All you see is all my flights,
All you perceive are my successes and triumphs.
All I see is all my falls,
All I see are my failures and defeats.
All you see is all my rights,
All you see are the things that I do correctly.
All I see is all my wrongs,
All I see are the things that I do incorrectly.
Go on keep telling me to fight,
Keep telling me to persist and battle through my struggles.
?
This line is illegible or unidentifiable.
Tellin me to put a bullet inside my head,
Advising me to end my life by shooting myself.
Damn put it up right next to my jaw,
I should place the gun beside my jaw.
Don't keep tellin me to find a reason,
Stop telling me to search for a reason to keep going.
Anything to keep me from squeezing...
Any option to prevent me from pulling the trigger and taking my own life.
This world's such a fucked up place,
Once more, this world is an awful place.
My mind's in such a fucked up shape
Again, my mind is in a terrible and confused state.
Everything down here sucks,
Reiterating that everything on this earth is dreadful.
Maybe what's up there is great,
Repeating the idea that heaven is much better than our current place.
We all gotta go one day,
Emphasizing that everyone will die eventually.
I just wanna cut to the chase,
Repeating that I prefer to get straight to the point.
I wanna stop these nightmares,
Reiterating that I want to put an end to these terrible dreams.
I just wanna touch your face,
Repeating that I long to hold you close and feel your touch.
All you see is all my feats,
Repeating that all you notice are my achievements and accomplishments.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group, CAPITOL CHRISTIAN MUSIC GROUP
Written by: BRIAN CARENARD, CHARLES WRIGHT, JUSTIN SMITH, RAHMAN YUSAF
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind