Released: September 18, 2001

Songwriter: Aesop Rock

Producer: Blockhead

[Sample: KRS-One]
"Chill with that ill behavior!"
"Chill with that ill, ill behavior!"

[Verse 1]
Pull the pin out, sheep creep in wolf garb
Fronted by the Hail Mary parry lunge mix
Kill the populace for stability, jeopardy's a stickler
It's bob and weave amalgam played the falcon to your fixture
I branch out, arms flailing backwards
Whaling upon a tidy sound circuit, slightly foul Gershwin
With a bed of nails and drum lust, plus disgusting service
Working in shifts opposite the asbestos brain furnace
I be the now observatory: eye, ear, antenna feeler
Spitting like a dragon with a similar demeanor
Stood innocent bystand, witness the die-hard fans turn Rip Van
In the poppy fields of N.Y.'s orchestrated brick gauntlet
Now I'm thinking, "Who am I?" Jabberwocky Superfly, bent left
Pushing war without the ten step cushion, and what? (What?)
I plan to hold this B-positive sacred in these golden veins
Until the day I die from grimace overload
It's shock (It's shock)
Treatment offered by the weekend
Dystopia getaway, let's display the sequence, it goes:
One for the heartless thievery turning my guardian angel harpless
And the rest to sweep the mess under the carpet (Under the carpet)
I drag a yellow taxi meter
Behind every measure and charge cats for labeling me shepherd
"That'll be 6.50 plus tip, darling
I take cash, credit, check, money-order, gold and cigarette cartons"
Got caught up in the universe trying to zoom in on stardom
Forgot the passion plus the hatred, both were based in Carbon
Next time you wanna be a hero, try saving something other than hip-hop
And maybe hip-hop'll save you from the pit-stop
Kill 'em all, yield
(Naw, man, it wasn't me it was Holden Caulfield, brother
I just read and pulled the trigger)
Oh God, well leave me to tiptoe past the pearly gates
Capture the halo, jet back to base, step
Fast to chase the bad taste of jet lag and waste slackers
There ain't nothing broken, where you at?
The pistons pump perfect, where you at?
The bass tone is Merlin, where you at?
The services of urgent working surgeons
Purging formulas looking for an improper cause is whack

[Hook] (x2)
What are you saving, honestly? (Honestly, honestly)
What are you saving, honestly? (Honestly, no honestly)
What are you saving, honestly? (Damn)
Promise me you gon' shut the fuck up and recognize
What you holdin ain't really broken

[Interlude]
I don't flick needles like my sick friend
I don't march like Beetle Bailey through a quick trend
I don't frequent church's steeples on my weekend
And I don't comment if you formulate a weak Zen
All I ever really wanted was a getaway
I'mma take a chance by letting a rook slide forward out of my hands
I cannot agree to follow a leader along a borderline
Of war without a reason for the "ready, aim, score."
Bring out your dead, we can put 'em in a pile
And burn 'em with the novels for the kiddies to admire
Kill the ones that speak from a different life brew?
I'd rather kill the noisemaker that separated the two

[Verse 2]
Okay, welcome to the Kamikaze bottle rocket cockpit
Live by the icy cold hand of bad intention youth blender
Oh, yeah, I'll let God warm the bench for now
But I'll ascend to spin y'all dizzy
(And for the record I'm bringing my TV with me)
It goes: let the commoners speak publicly
Then disperse eye jammies for cats that swear by third pupil
But can't see past the loophole
Motherfucker, my word is born like Siamese triplets
With doctor, lawyer, rocket scientist promise
(Let 'em grow leisurely)
Hey Mom, I'mma fix whatever I broke along this path
Once my spiel's perfected, I'mma save you a seat in the front row
Of Aesop Rock's twelve steps to shut the fuck up seminar
And when all these bickering crowds turn silent you gon' be proud
I tack hacks to the (backboard)
Honesty's a (patchcord)
Fury's far from (obsolete)
Serenity's a (crack whore)
Raw caricature of mayhem standard, branded by the labor
With a thousand reasons to end this for every one of you saviors
Saw the brightest burst ironically wandering the vacant stage
Gave it a pound for burning where bunk ratio's engaged
Keep me posted as to when you grasp something mature to
Sit and sulk about mister, and I'll consider picking up your record

[Hook] (x2)

[Outro]
The Orphanage, they ain't got nothin' to save
The Overground, man they ain't got nothin' to save
Def Jux, they ain't got nothin' to save
The Atoms Family, they ain't got nothin' to save
Weightless, they ain't got nothin' to save
Stronghold, man, they ain't got nothin' to save
Rhymesayers, baby, they ain't got nothin' to save
Aesop Rock, I ain't got nothin' to save
It's like that...

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.