Hyperdistillation Songtext
von Kae Tempest

They all seek their own existence
And to assure their existence against that
Complete atomization into nothingness

My city don′t listen
People come here to go missing
People leave here but still miss it years later
Its children wear its kisses across them forever

When it screamed at me, I heard its music

When it drew its sword, I knelt
I spoke my first words in its mouth
And I took my first beats from its belt

Keep spinning, ugly as commerce
Merciless profit, endless ambition
Base-rate survival, current so strong it feels tidal
Transactional life of addiction
Where do you fall in the grand shrinking?
A fully formed person's a slim definition
Sitting in the waiting room, all I can see
Is a room full of fallen leaves dreaming


A room full of fallen leaves dreaming of the tree
A room full of fallen leaves dreaming of the tree
A room full of fallen leaves dreaming of the tree
A room full of fallen leaves dreaming of the tree

Little child, where did you go?
I know you want to know, is this city your home?

I watch it flow, the old river
Empty penthouses but still the lone figure
Slept out the whole winter and died before spring
Passers-by saw but felt sure they were not like him

Life by numbers
Looking for the punchlines, only getting punches
Crunches in the morning, lunches in the boardroom
Numbness in the courtroom, about to go under

What′s yours, the money you hoard, the applause
Or the dreams that you couldn't afford?
The photo in the frame, five months in, just showing
Or the marks on the wall from when they were still growing?
Is it in what's left? Is it in what′s gone?
Trying to keep time but the time keeps on
Sitting in the caf′ trying to work out what we want
A room full of drummers all looking for the one


A room full of drummers all looking for the one
A room full of drummers all looking for the one
A room full of drummers all looking for the one
A room full of drummers all looking for

Little girl, where did you go?
I know you want to know, is this city your home?

"I got my own mouths to feed" is the city's decree
Why should I care about you? You don′t care about me
Fiction, faction, reaction, shock tactics
Must increase my presence, get active
Must get some flowers for the grave, it's band practice at 8
And my turn to bring beers
Need to make a new claim, I′ve gone into arrears
Yeah, it feels like a lump
But they're not taking new appointments ′til the backlog clears
Nine million terrified people living nine million beautiful lives

Let's make ourselves pretty and go out in the city
'Cause the body decays but the spirit survives

The main thing my city taught me

Is every stranger′s holding up more than you could ever know
Pushing trolleys down the aisles in pieces
A room full of great lines looking for a show

A room full of great lines looking for a show
A room full of great lines looking for a show
A room full of fallen leaves dreaming of the tree
A room full of fallen leaves dreaming of the tree
A room full of drummers all looking for the one
A room full of drummers all looking for the one
A room full of great lines looking for a show
A room full of great lines looking for, looking for

Little boy, where did you go?
I know you want to know, is this city your home?

They all seek their own existence
And to assure their existence against that complete
Atomization into nothingness or into meaninglessness
Man cannot stand a meaningless life