Released: January 1, 2001

Producer: Blockhead

[Intro]
It would've been the most beautiful second-coming of Christ
That anyone had ever seen

[Verse 1]
The water ain't safe, the land's made of water
I hug a half-empty glass my dignity's tryin' to pawn her
I'm tryin' to see the future in a tea cup and a saucer
But I rather be drinkin' coffee with my cigarette foster
Can a run-away buckle the cloud-nine fantasy filter to force the brutal truth of daily marketplace wars through the roof?
I mean, I stood beneath the icicles that bleed under the awning
And magically mastered the great absorbing of spirit falling
But I'm sick, I've plowed these fields a thousand times over
Sold botanical research studies to farmers with whole quarters
And when science proposes to art besides that peaceful sea
I'll be that cat with a ring on a pillow, shouting: "Finally!"
Take a number, the apple seeds raineth upon your slumber
A hundred thousand freaks on parade for the village hunter
My every whim acted upon has gone loopy
But I play a game called
"Let's prepare barnacle city for the end-all noosings."
I split the radius of go-getter bellies, reconnaissance
Sleeping fossil genie bottle optimist freeze
Run for the fountain but the fountain is a desert optical tease
Tummy full of sand, running man, impossible, stop
There's a wing in my gut and I'm all dust
Surfin' the urban Iditarod, certainly flushed
Now one in the hand is worth two atop the tallest cedar
But what lies inside my heart is off the motherfuckin' meter

[Hook]
The water ain't safe no more
I'm just tryin' to build myself to act as a truly better man, damn
See, the water ain't safe no more
I'm just tryin' to be a solid oak tree
For every child to carve its name across
The water ain't safe no more
I'm just tryin' to be the dream
Of every peasant the hurricane can offer
See, the water ain't safe no more
I'm just tryin' to be somebody
I can talk to in the morning with a smile
The water ain't safe no more

[Verse 2]
And I've always been a 40-night chronologic hostage
Rusted hook in the lip of the monarch
Wingless anime idol
I don't play in the man race cycle, hope floater
Gloating inside carnal indifference
'Til doom cops a slot and potent quotas
I'm 20 something, pumping acrylic tomorrow sideways
Blazing passage with a map tattooed on the back of the classless
Now tip-toe across a lost cause
Because a lost cause found don't mean you found a cause
That means you found a lost cause
Okay, now I've been here for role-playing
Slaying my here and now
To benefit consumption for my peers steering the plow
And it's incredible
Handy jackets turn numerals to sentinels
But bad apples ain't sweet
And cretins' saddles ain't that memorable
I'm Mozart with a focus on the tide
Hiding the inconsistencies of man behind water and wine
I wear a tiger-striped ego and bivouac my progression
Where the kindlings formulated
Through the flesh of the oppressors
Now, God had a flask, I can prove it
You really think the thirteen loops that used honor
Spawned me a sober unit?
Check potion, addressed the ghost inside my TV with a ruler
Adhered to the back bone, stone pusher
Here ten thousand hackers deep in the movement
That's 20,000 crucial ruby heels clicking in unison
And it's beautiful, I keep a stick inside my hand
And carve my name inside every wall of the falling hologram

[Hook]
The water ain't safe no more
I'm just tryin' to build myself to act as a truly better man, damn
The water ain't safe no more
I'm just tryin' to be a solid oak tree
For every child to carve its name across
The water ain't safe no more
I'm just tryin' to be the dream
Of every peasant the hurricane can offer
See, the water ain't safe no more
I'm just tryin' to be somebody
I can talk to in the morning with a smile
See, the water ain't safe no more

Aesop Rock

Born Ian Matthias Bavitz, Aesop Rock was a pioneer in the new wave of underground hip-hop in New York City during the early 2000s. Regarding his name, he

I acquired the name Aesop from a movie I had acted in with some friends. It was my character’s name and it sort of stuck. The rock part came later just from throwing it in rhymes.

Aesop has a solid discography with 8 albums spanning over the course of 20+ years. He started in 1999 by selling his first album, Music for Earthworms, through his website while he was a student at Boston University. He has since gained a cult following and been named one of the best artists of the 2000s. His most successful albums are None Shall Pass, Skelethon, and The Impossible Kid which peaked on the Billboard 200 at #50, #21, and #30 respectively.