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
Saul WilliamsRead
I dance for no reason, for reasons you can't dance, Call me an activist of intellectualized circumstance You can't learn my steps until you unlearn your thoughts Spirit, soul, can't be store-bought.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the importance of genuine expression over societal expectations and preconceived notions.
Saul Williams challenges the listener to recognize that true expression and creativity come from within, unencumbered by societal constraints and dogmas. The act of dancing represents a form of liberation, suggesting that intellect and understanding must be reexamined to truly appreciate and embody one's unique dance of life.
Themes
DanceExpressionCreativityLiberationIntellect
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about self-expression, one could quote this to inspire people to embrace their true selves.
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.
Saul WilliamsRead
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.
Saul WilliamsRead
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.
Saul WilliamsRead
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.
Saul WilliamsRead
A lie preserved in stained glass doesn't make it more true.
Saul WilliamsRead
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