i laced my shoes with sorrow and walked a weary road dead end streets don't come undone with double knots wing tipped shoes that walk on air through vacant lots
For all the ghosts and corpses that shall never know the breath of our children so long for the sacrifice and endurance of our mothers and the sustained breath of our fathers we live
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects on the sacrifices made by previous generations in order for us to live and thrive today.
Saul Williams' quote speaks to the profound influence of our ancestors and the legacy they leave behind. It emphasizes the sacrifices and endurance of mothers and fathers, acknowledging that our very existence is a result of their struggles and resilience. The reference to 'ghosts and corpses' serves as a metaphor for those who have passed away, reminding us of the importance of honoring their memory and the sacrifices that came before us. Ultimately, it is a tribute to the familial ties that bind us across generations.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
This quote is perfect for a memorial event honoring ancestors.
More from Saul Williams
All quotes →There is no music more powerful than hip-hop. No other music so purely demands an instant affirmative on such a global scale. When the beat drops, people nod their heads, “yes,” in the same way that they would in conversation with a loved one, a parent, professor, or minister.
Have you ever lost yourself in a kiss? I mean pure psychedelic inebriation. Not just lustful petting but transcendental metamorphosis when you became aware that the greatness of this being was breathing into you. Licking the sides and corners of your mouth, like sealing a thousand fleshy envelopes filled with the essence of your passionate being and then opened by the same mouth and delivered back to you, over and over again - the first kiss of the rest of your life.
We are unraveling our navels so that we may ingest the sun. We are not afraid of the darkness. We trust that the moon shall guide us. We are determining the future at this very moment. We know that the heart is the philosopher's stone. Our music is our alchemy.
Why shouldn't rap be esoteric, able to take in current events, history and criticism? I guess it's this old idea of containment - that rappers, because they're black, can't and shouldn't aspire to look outside the ghetto for influence.
A lie preserved in stained glass doesn't make it more true.
Similar quotes
A house is built of logs and stone, of tiles and posts and piers; a home is built of loving deeds that stand a thousand years.
No one is going to try to fill my mother's shoes, what she did was fantastic. It's about making your own future and your own destiny and Kate will do a very good job of that.
Your success as a family... our success as a nation... depends not on what happens inside the White House, but on what happens inside your house.
My mother was a Sunday school teacher. So I am a byproduct of prayer. My mom just kept on praying for her son.
You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them.
Affirming words from moms and dads are like light switches. Speak a word of affirmation at the right moment in a child's life and it's like lighting up a whole roomful of possibilities.