I Heard You Had a Voice Like an Angel/Psalm 137

I heard you had a voice like an angel
I heard a strange tale about a saint that fell, music became jail
These bars I hear you wrapped in 'em
Wove in the beats like the clothing of sheep, wolves tracks, spin 'em
DJ's, CD's, C-notes, G's thrown on
D's, we'll be kings like T.I., hope
I heard you even sang when you spoke
And the emotion you evoked got you choked
When your beauty struck a vocal chord broke, boat less dove overboard
Looked upon the ocean, caught your reflection before the Lord's
I heard you had a voice like an angel
Strange though, you were blinded by the light
Shining from your own halo, fell off
Sort of like a rainbow when heaven watched your faint glow fade slow
I heard you had a voice like an angel

I heard that fame's a killer that can murder great princes
Like Kurt Cobain singing Purple Rain from a distance
Hope home ain't a virtual game
Nor this cursed place
Earth where the dollars and the karma don't circulate
The world's a stage and you know this play well
Gee I bet you even know how it ends, pray tell
Had a voice like an angel, now you score the drama scenes
The comedy's the fact we enact what you want to be
Had some old songs still stuck in your memory
Distorted though, so you sort of re-assembled melodies
And fine-tune and turned 'em into single after single
In this industry you built so sinfully simple for
You to write cause a song is what your life was
The destiny of stars is their light must fight dusk
With sparks of brilliance to ignite us
And of all the billions of stars you were by far the brightest
I heard you had a voice like an angel
Now it's just a light hush

And now you keep everybody's eyes on charts and schedules
And the trends, trying to stack gold bars and medals
They want vessels void and dark as space
Fools wanna make stars instead of music that's smart or special
Because art at a level that's real can be harder to peddle
Business prefers a market that settles
For second rate, kill the true artists martyr the rebels
That's the system and it's straight from the heart of the devil
See, merchants of dreams sold to souls eyes-wide shut
Passing the buck to purchase a pass to buy stuff
Working in this circus get hired up
To walk over have-nots on a tight rope tied up in my gut
It's a delicate balance, developing talent
Into persons that we worship, yo it's a hell of a challenge
I heard you had a voice like an angel
And don't really sing no more but you still running the game so
If we don't behave like them, they call us crazy
And if we won't slave for them, they call us lazy
Lately, I've started to see why you hate me
Hearing this voice, it must be painful
To the ears when for years you had a voice like an angel

If you don't behave, it's them they call you crazy
And if you won't slave for them, they call you lazy
Well I say
They wanna take your mind, turn it into a prison
And lock you inside then they'll call that living
Well I say
And if you don't behave, it's them they call you crazy
And if you won't slave for them, they call you lazy
Well I say
They wanna take your mind, turn it into a prison
Knock you inside then they'll call that living
Well I say

I heard you had a voice like an angel

Say smile for the camera
They say smile for the camera
Smile for the camera
While they take your children
Smile for the camera
While we rape your women
Smile for the camera
While we make our millions
Smile for the camera
While we make our buildings
Smile for the camera
Smile for the camera
They say smile for the camera