The standard bio that et_ uses to describe this frenetic tinkering reads as… Read Full Bio ↴The standard bio that et_ uses to describe this frenetic tinkering reads as follows: “It all began a long time ago - in 1996 - when a young kid got his grandmother’s half-broken guitar down from the attic. He learned a couple of chords, and after that everything started coming together, all on its own…” “First of all I played around with some amateur software. I put together some laughable arrangements, just so I could show my friends. There was an electric guitar, a bass, some drums, and then I added a synth.” “My enthusiasm gathered speed - and then the whole thing snowballed. I started defining my own musical style, even though its origins were definitely in other people’s works - stuff by my favorite artists.” “I combined live instruments with fat-sounding loops, then the synths - all kinds of morphed styles. I’d use lots of upredictable transitions in the music, too: I’d shift from the sounds of some studio-bound electro group to the roar of SOR… all kinds of silliness! When all’s said and done, everything merges as a full-blooded orchestra. It comes together as a single project, called “et_”.

Black
et_ Lyrics

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Let's revisit death
It's implicit in the texts that were scribbled to digest
This mess that we're at best at the behest of some higher order
Tie the cord or fire forward
Explicit with a pistol whip-turns quickly to exquisite symbol
It's simple. This shit ain't simple
But to wither and whimper is not on this menu
Anti-chillin' when I'm soaked in black

Sulk so good when I bask in sad
Dark forecast of thought patterns cast a daunting shadow
But I won't creep with that ho
And I don't need a fucking thing
From Dr. Feedapill when what I really need is still-ness
Meditation, eating right, exercising, artistizing and fucking my bitch

Expose the chasm
Approach the phantoms
Oppose your patterns
Alone in bastions
Our coves of inaction
Our role is tragic
Why's it that we can't help but bask in it
Expose the chasm
Approach the phantoms
Oppose your patterns
Alone in bastions
Our coves of inaction
Our role is tragic
Why's it that we can't help but bask in it

Yeah I'm motherfucking asking it
Yeah I'm convinced that when I die that's that and shit
Had it with
Any motherfucker that claims
He's got an answer of one half of a fractal of it
Self battling, self medicating
Self mutilating, self adjudicating
Self illuminating
Self obsessive compulsive
Self repulsive, self is dissolving

Expose the chasm
Approach the phantoms
Indulge your passions or just go to ashes
Just go out to pasture
Don't fail to capture
That there may be something beneath the madness
Yeah I've seen on acid
A reason to think that there's unseen perspectives
Hopelessly absent
From all of our babbling
All of our constant impetuous rattling like
I don't wanna live anymore but I gotta
Break the cycles that entice my monkey brain
To crave for dying
Gotta stop acting like a bitch
Light my blunt and go outside
But under surface, I can posit
That the software isn't right

Embrace the black
I don't give a fuck about the days that passed
All I give a fuck about's the space I inhabit
The place I am currently at is what matters
And when I am nowhere
My homie I'm nowhere
Thou shalt not ask me not to go there
Exposed, bare
Implode, repair
Get stoned, turn to smoke in air, yeah
Float the soul
And if that shit don't exist, then just lay in a hole
Rot forever
Til the universe reverts to a previous era
Error in the framework
Terror in my brain hurt
Ballad of the wayward
Salad of some lame words
Death is the eraser
And if I had a point, I'd shove the pencil through my face
For shits and giggles

Then drop to floor while the old husk withers and wiggles
Like yeah

Overall Meaning

Ethel Waters's song "What Did I Do To Be So Black And Blue" is a heartbreaking expression of the pain and isolation felt by black Americans due to racial discrimination. The lyrics use a variety of physical and emotional images to convey the deep sense of despair and hopelessness that many black people experienced during the Jim Crow era.

The first verse describes the physical discomfort that is a constant presence in the singer's life, from a hard bed to persistent headaches. These physical pains serve as a metaphor for the emotional pain caused by discrimination and oppression. The second verse paints a bleak picture of social isolation, as the singer has no joys or company, and even mice want nothing to do with her. The repeated refrain of "What did I do to be so black and blue?" emphasizes the sense of confusion and injustice that the singer feels.

The third verse brings up the idea of internalized racism, as the singer notes that she is "white inside" but still faces discrimination due to her skin color. However, even this privilege is of little consolation in the face of systemic racism. The final lines of the song are a cry of desperation, as the singer wonders how her life will end and laments the fact that her only sin is the color of her skin.

Overall, "What Did I Do To Be So Black And Blue" is a powerful commentary on the devastating impact of racism on black Americans, and a reminder of the ongoing struggle for racial justice.

Line by Line Meaning

Cold empty bed, springs hard as lead
My bed reminds me of my loneliness and hardships, it's uncomfortable to sleep on.

Pains in my head, feel like old Ned
I'm constantly in pain and suffering, I feel like I'm aging faster than I should.

What did I do to be so black and blue?
Why am I constantly struggling and facing discrimination just because of the color of my skin?

No joys for me, no company
I don't have any happiness or companionship in my life, I'm always alone.

Even the mouse ran from my house
I'm so isolated and undesirable that even a mouse would rather leave than stay with me.

All my life through I've been so black and blue
I've faced discrimination and hardships my whole life, just because of the color of my skin.

I'm white inside, but that don't help my case
My personality and character are good, but it doesn't matter because people judge me based on how I look.

Cause I can't hide what is on my face
I can't change how I look, I'm always going to be judged based on my appearance.

I'm so forlorn. Life's just a thorn
I'm extremely sad and lonely, life is difficult and painful for me.

My heart is torn. Why was I born?
I'm questioning why I was even born if life is always going to be this hard for me.

How will it end? Ain't got a friend
I don't have anyone in my life to support me, and I'm uncertain about how my life will turn out.

My only sin is in my skin
The only thing I've done wrong is be born with dark skin, which has caused me a lifetime of discrimination and hardship.

What did I do to be so black and blue?
I'm still questioning why I'm always facing discrimination and hardships just because of my skin color.

Tell me, what did I do?
I'm pleading for an answer, trying to understand why I'm always facing discrimination and hardship.

What did I do? What did I do?
I'm still questioning why I'm always facing discrimination and hardship just because of my skin color.

What did I do? Tell me, what did I do to be so black and blue?
I'm still pleading for an answer, trying to understand why I'm always facing discrimination and hardship just because of my skin color.

Lyrics © DistroKid
Written by: Anthony Jusino

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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