Ten and Tracer is Jonathan Canupp. He was born in Boulder, Colorado a whil… Read Full Bio ↴Ten and Tracer is Jonathan Canupp. He was born in Boulder, Colorado a while ago. Some rappers say they were born with a microphone in their hand; Jonathan was born with a Macbook, Vaio, Roland JP-8000, Roland JX-10, Electrix FX units, Roland MKS-100, Yamaha FB-01, Violin, Flute, Cello, Minidisk recorder, several vintage reel-to-reels (Sony, Grundig), several cassette and micro-cassette recorders, Reaktor, Max/Msp, Ableton Live, FL Studio, and Adobe Audition in his hand(s). He has many hands.

Ten and Tracer has released on many labels, including U-Cover, Rope Swing Cities, Bitlab, Archipel, Zymogen, 8bitpeoples, and others. He has supported and headlined with such acts as Thomas Fehlman, Proem, Lusine, Kangding Ray, Sawako, Terminal 11 and CDatakill. Have you heard of these people? His most recent shows in 2007 have earned him a growing reputation in Colorado. He has also played in shows in Belgium, France, Germany and Holland.

Ten and Tracer once had a Wikipedia article about him, but he encouraged people to vandalize it and now it has been removed. Ten and Tracer has more than one-thousand friends.

Ten and Tracer lives in Denver, Colorado. Ten and Tracer says "Thanks to everyone for your support and interest. We are friends now."

Lions
Ten and Tracer Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Can I be unhappy?
Look at what I see: a beast in furs and crowned in luxury.
He's a wealthy man in the poorest land, a self-appointed king,
And there's no complaining while he's reigning.

The lambs are bare of fleece and cold; the lion has stolen that, I'm told.
There must be some creature mighty as you are.
The lambs go hungry (not fair), the biggest portion is the lion's share.

There must be some creature mighty as you are.

Can I be unhappy?
Listen and agree, no words can shame him or tame him.
The lambs are bare of fleece and cold; the lion has stolen that, I'm told.
There must be some creature mighty as you are.
The lambs go hungry (not fair), the biggest portion is the lion's share.
There must be some creature mighty as you are, as you are.

Razor claws in velvet paws, you dunce in your guarded home,
'Til a stronger beast will call on you and pounce upon your throne.

Do we pay? Dearly, for the lion takes so greedily
And he knows that what he's taken, it is ours.

That's how the wealth's divided among the lambs and king of the beasts, it is so one-sided.
Until the lamb is king of the beasts we live so one-sided.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Ten and Tracer's "Lions" present a critique of wealth inequality and power dynamics. The first stanza paints a picture of a wealthy beast who rules over a poor land as a self-appointed king. The suggestion is that this king is corrupt and unconcerned with the plight of his subjects, and that there is no recourse for those who might otherwise complain about his actions. The following stanzas elaborate on this idea by describing a situation in which a lion dominates the other creatures of the land, taking their resources without regard for their well-being. The repeated refrain, "there must be some creature mighty as you are," suggests that the singer is searching for a way to balance the power dynamic and bring justice to the land.

Line by Line Meaning

Can I be unhappy?
I feel unhappy and question whether or not I am allowed to feel this way.

Look at what I see: a beast in furs and crowned in luxury.
I see a creature that looks wealthy and powerful, bedecked in luxurious clothing.

He's a wealthy man in the poorest land, a self-appointed king,
This creature is rich despite living in a poor land and acts as a king despite not being appointed or elected to the position.

And there's no complaining while he's reigning.
No one can complain about his reign of power and control over their lives.

The lambs are bare of fleece and cold; the lion has stolen that, I'm told.
The weaker animals are left shivering and without protection after the lion takes their fur for his own use.

There must be some creature mighty as you are.
There has to be another creature as powerful as him who can protect the weaker animals.

The lambs go hungry (not fair), the biggest portion is the lion's share.
The weaker animals are left starving, while the lion takes the largest portion of any resources available.

Listen and agree, no words can shame him or tame him.
I hear and acknowledge that the lion cannot be persuaded or shamed into changing his ways.

Razor claws in velvet paws, you dunce in your guarded home,
Despite his soft-looking fur, his claws are sharp and dangerous. He is complacent in his protected dwelling.

'Til a stronger beast will call on you and pounce upon your throne.
Eventually, a creature stronger than him will challenge him and take the throne for themselves.

Do we pay? Dearly, for the lion takes so greedily
We pay a high price for the lion's greedy actions and behavior.

And he knows that what he's taken, it is ours.
The lion knows that what he has taken belongs to us, but he doesn't care.

That's how the wealth's divided among the lambs and king of the beasts, it is so one-sided.
The wealth is divided between the weak and the strong, and it favors the strong significantly.

Until the lamb is king of the beasts we live so one-sided.
Until the weaker animals can assert their power and take control of the situation, things will remain unfair and one-sided.

Lyrics © WORDS & MUSIC A DIV OF BIG DEAL MUSIC LLC
Written by: DENNIS DREW, NATALIE A MERCHANT

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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