Lyrically, clipping.’s music attempts to reshuffle and repeat accepted rap scenarios, while eliminating a traditional single-point perspective. Diggs’s writing is heavily citational, like a rough-edged collage, gluing together half-glimpsed images and misremembered references, many of which might feel familiar, and some of which assuredly do not. But even while he consumes and regurgitates established styles, his self-erasure is incomplete; Diggs’s dense, often motormouthed flow remains wholly his own.
Individually, the members are known outside of the group for their extra-curricular artistic projects. Diggs is a stage actor, while Snipes composes music for film, and Hutson is an established noise music artist. Snipes and Hutson have collaborated on many projects, including the score to the documentary Room 237, which was released by IFC in 2013.
In February 2013, clipping. released their debut album, Midcity, on their website. The project was created entirely in-house, with the trio writing, producing, engineering, mixing and mastering all of the material themselves. There was no budget, no outside promotion, no hype-machine, no blog or label interest. In fact, clipping. had no expectation that anyone would bother listening to the album, let alone enjoy it. Nevertheless, reactions were largely positive— despite the uncompromising nature of the production, and its obfuscatory lyrical content— and within five month’s of Midcity’s release, clipping. signed a deal with Sub Pop Records.
CLPPNG, the band’s label debut, was written and recorded between February and October of 2013. Highly well-received, CLPPNG is an album that demonstrates the variety of sounds available when the ‘rules’ of a genre are willfully questioned.
http://www.itsclippingbitch.com
Long Way Away
clipping. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's a long way away
And I'm all alone
Along, along a long way
There's no use in crying
No reason to wait
(Long way away)
'Cause the distance is great
(Long way away)
But look to the stars
Where the sun is long gone
(Long way away)
And pray that your children
Do not sing this song
It's a long way away
It's a long way away
And I'm all alone
Along, along a long way
It's a long way away
It's a long way away
And I'm all alone
Along, along a long way (Echo, India, Quebec, India)
The lyrics in clipping.'s song Long Way Away communicate a deep sense of loneliness, loss, and longing. The repetition of the phrase "It's a long way away" underscores the vast emotional and physical distance between the singer and whoever or whatever they are missing. The singer's isolation is emphasized by the repetition of the phrase "And I'm all alone," which is particularly poignant against the eerie, spare instrumentation that creates a desolate sonic landscape.
The singer attempts to console themselves by acknowledging that lamenting and waiting for the return of the absent party "is no use." It seems that something has caused a permanent separation, as the singer concludes "We'll not again meet/ 'Cause the distance is great." The reference to praying that one's children "do not sing this song" brings a haunting, intergenerational aspect to the song's themes of loss and separation.
Overall, the lyrics in Long Way Away are powerful and universal, dealing with the pain and inevitability of disconnection through vivid imagery and a haunting melody.
Line by Line Meaning
It's a long way away
The destination is too far to reach anytime soon.
It's a long way away
The destination is too far to reach anytime soon.
And I'm all alone
The singer is on this journey without any company.
Along, along a long way
The distance is great and the journey will be tiresome.
There's no use in crying
Crying won't make the distance any shorter.
No reason to wait
Waiting won't bring the destination any closer.
(Long way away)
The distance between the singer and the destination is great.
We'll not again meet
The artist will not be able to meet someone again due to the great distance between them.
'Cause the distance is great
The distance between the artist and the destination is great.
(Long way away)
The distance between the artist and the destination is great.
But look to the stars
The singer advises the listener to look up at the stars.
Where the sun is long gone
The sun has set and it is night time.
(Long way away)
The distance between the singer and the destination is great.
And pray that your children
The singer advises the listener to hope that their children do not experience this journey.
Do not sing this song
The singer advises the listener to hope that their children do not have to experience the sadness in this song.
It's a long way away
The destination is too far to reach anytime soon.
It's a long way away
The destination is too far to reach anytime soon.
And I'm all alone
The singer is on this journey without any company.
Along, along a long way (Echo, India, Quebec, India)
The journey will be long and difficult.
Lyrics © Fintage House Publishing
Written by: DAVEED DIGGS, WILLIAM MORAN HUTSON, JONATHAN RALEIGH SNIPES, ALVIN CHEA, DORIAN HOLLEY, STEVEN KAPLAN, CLAUDE MCKNIGHT, JOHN WILLIAM SNYDER, DAVID THOMAS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
VinhXo2k6
It's a long way away
It's a long way away
And I'm all alone
Along, along a long way
There's no use in crying
No reason to wait (Long way away)
We'll not again meet
'Cause the distance is great (Long way away)
But look to the stars
Where the sun is long gone (Long way away)
And pray that your children
Do not sing this song
It's a long way away
It's a long way away
And I'm all alone
Along, along a long way
It's a long way away
It's a long way away
And I'm all alone
Along, along a long way
Echo, India, Quebec, India
jagger1407
It will most definitely be a while before I find another album (and by extension, artist) that has me so invested and feels so positively dystopian, clipping. is 100% one of the most underrated Hip-Hop groups currently out there holy shit
Crazy Luigi
Wish it was longer, because it's awesome!
Edward Bezzant
i was hoping it was based off another song but sadly this is all we get
Crazy Luigi
Edward Bezzant Technically, if you include the intro from it, that could actually work to make it better in terms of adding length for it.
DarkGoldBK
Crazy Luigi seems to be just a little bit of a song that the guy on the ship is picking up on his radio. I think it's better like this, it's just here to add to the story.
TheAphexTim
The theme is present throughout the entire album though.
Anthony Merle
DarkGoldBK I believe that it is the song that the slaves are singing before the riot..
VinhXo2k6
It's a long way away
It's a long way away
And I'm all alone
Along, along a long way
There's no use in crying
No reason to wait (Long way away)
We'll not again meet
'Cause the distance is great (Long way away)
But look to the stars
Where the sun is long gone (Long way away)
And pray that your children
Do not sing this song
It's a long way away
It's a long way away
And I'm all alone
Along, along a long way
It's a long way away
It's a long way away
And I'm all alone
Along, along a long way
Echo, India, Quebec, India
Em Franz
I wasn't expecting sea shanty vibes to be honest. I am pleasantly surprised. :)
El Mecatrónico KNY
Un largo y lejano camino
In spanish