The Instrumental Interpretation

[¯\_S.(ツ).L.I.D._/¯]

Hi guys, SOLID here.

I was talking with someone about this, and I felt I should post it here.

Lupe Fiasco (dude in my avatar) is my favorite rapper, and one of his songs, The Instrumental, is one of my favorites of his.

Here are the lyrics:

Uh.. yeah
He just sits, and watches the people in the boxes
Everything he sees he absorbs and adopts it
He mimics and he mocks it
Really hates the box but he can't remember how to stop, it
Uh, so he continues to watch it
Hoping that it'll give him something that he can box with
Or how the locksmith, see the box is, locked in the box
Ain't got the combination to unlock, it
That's why he watch-es, scared to look away
Cause at that moment, it might show him
What to take off the locks with
So he chained himself to the box, took a lock and then he locked it
Swallowed the combination and then forgot, it
As the doctors jot it all down, with they pens and pencils
The same ones that took away his voice
And just left this instrumental, like that


And he never lies (he never lies, he never lies, uh)
And he never lies (uh, he never lies, he never lies, no)
And he never lies (he never lies)
Cause he never said anything at all


He just sits, and listens to the people in the boxes
Everything he hears he absorbs and adopts it
Anything not coming out the box he blocks it
See he loves to box and hope they never stop it
Anything the box tell him to do, he does it
Anything it tell him to get, he shops and he cops it
He protects the box, locks it in a box
when he goes to sleep, but he never sleeps
Cause he stays up to watch it, scared to look away
Cause at that moment, it might get stolen
And that's the last of the boxes
So he chained himself to the box, took a lock and then he locked it
Swallowed the combination and then forgot, it
As the doctors jot it all down, with they pens and pencils
The same ones that took away his voice
And just left this instrumental, like that


(Anything at all..) He never lies
Uh, and you can't tell me just who you are
You buy new clothes just to hide those scars
You built that roof just to hide those stars
Now you can't take it back to the start
And you can't tell me just who you are
You buy new clothes just to hide those scars
You built that roof just to hide those stars
Now you can't take it back to the start

[Chorus]


(Anything at all.. anything at all..)
Uh, and you can't tell me just who you are
You buy new clothes just to hide those scars
You built that roof just to hide those stars
Now you can't take it back to the start
And you can't tell me just who you are
You buy new clothes just to hide those scars
You built that roof just to hide those stars
Now you can't take it back to the start
[repeats and fades]

Now, my question for you guys, is to interpret this any way you want. Please don's just search for an interpretation and then post it, I want what YOU think.

This should be fun.

I understand that it may be a it challenging to have a conventional debate with this topic, but let's just see where this goes.


Go!

 

[Ryan Ludovic]

I feel this is an individual who believes that television is a serious problem when it comes to effecting society. I relate the 'box' to the 'television' when reading through this. I feel his opinions are based around the idea that the world has plenty of things wrong with it, so instead of looking for solutions, they'd rather accept lies from the media.

An artist I love once said, "Apathy! A Brand new standard, a brand new way to force the hands up!" [may be off a tad]

And that's a lot what I relate to the song's explaination of:
(Anything at all..) He never lies
Uh, and you can't tell me just who you are
You buy new clothes just to hide those scars
You built that roof just to hide those stars
Now you can't take it back to the start
And you can't tell me just who you are
You buy new clothes just to hide those scars
You built that roof just to hide those stars
Now you can't take it back to the start

Of-course, this song is open to interpritation, and would be difficult to debate what a song means to you
;]

either way, i will look into his music, he seems like an interesting fella

 

[¯\_S.(ツ).L.I.D._/¯]

I guess I'll post my interpretation.

I think that it's about some random guy who's identity has been stolen from him by the media. He no longer thinks for himself, and although he knows it's wrong inside, he is so used to being in this "shell" of himself that he never wants the media to stop telling him how to act/live.

He never lies and he "never said anything at all" because he's never really talking, it's really just the media talking through him.

Uh, and you can't tell me just who you are

I think this part is coming from someone else's perspective, saying that this "guy" can't really say who he truly is, because he's cloaked himself so much in what he sees around him that he doesn't know who he is inside.

You buy new clothes just to hide those scars
You built that roof just to hide those stars

This is talking about how he's hiding hiding himself, and this is like an analogy as to how he's hiding himself, how he's building an image around himself to hide his true self.

Now you can't take it back to the start

This is saying that he can't go back to what he used to be because he doesn't know himself anymore, and he cannot go back and change this now.


Jumping back to the first verse:

Or how the locksmith, see the box is, locked in the box
Ain't got the combination to unlock, it
That's why he watch-es, scared to look away
Cause at that moment, it might show him
What to take off the locks with

This is saying that he wants find a way to erase this media image and "unlock" his true self, but he doesn't know how, so he keeps watching to see, but the TV and other forms of media nowadays don't show enough people in their "true forms" so he has no role models or anything to show him what's right.

So he chained himself to the box, took a lock and then he locked it
Swallowed the combination and then forgot, it

This is saying that now, even though he wants to get rid of this image, he's trying to tell himself that he'll find a way to do so if he keeps watching, and in the process he just ends up succumbing even more to the media.

As the doctors jot it all down, with they pens and pencils
The same ones that took away his voice

This is saying that the media as a whole are watching this happen all over, and that the pens and pencils symbolize the media's power to corrupt lives.

This is pretty much my interpretation, I might go more deeply into some of the other parts later.

 

[BOB SAGET!]

I think it means how media can affect people.

 

[¯\_S.(ツ).L.I.D._/¯]

I think it means how media can affect people.

Care to expand on that?

 

[BOB SAGET!]

He just sits, and watches the people in the boxes
Everything he sees he absorbs and adopts it
He mimics and he mocks it
Really hates the box but he can't remember how to stop, it
Uh, so he continues to watch it

The guys is watching the box (TV) and tries to be like how a guys is valued as on TV. He hates watching it but he thinks others will like him better if he "mimics and mocks it." This shows how peer pressure can effect people.


Or how the locksmith, see the box is, locked in the box
Ain't got the combination to unlock, it
That's why he watch-es, scared to look away
Cause at that moment, it might show him
What to take off the locks with
So he chained himself to the box, took a lock and then he locked it
Swallowed the combination and then forgot, it
As the doctors jot it all down, with they pens and pencils
The same ones that took away his voice

He continues the life that TV believes guy's should live. He believes that even though he doesnt like how different is, others will which is why he's afraid to "look away" to change.






Uh, and you can't tell me just who you are
You buy new clothes just to hide those scars
You built that roof just to hide those stars
Now you can't take it back to the start
And you can't tell me just who you are
You buy new clothes just to hide those scars
You built that roof just to hide those stars
Now you can't take it back to the start

He's not himself anymore, however he messed his life up for giving in to the media and peer pressure. Now he can't change all the stuff he did (Now you can't take it back to the start)

 

[Miggz]

I love this song!!! The beat is so wicked! Although, I like Intruder Alert and Kick Push II better. =P

Anyway, here is what I think of the song. The box Lupe keeps mentioning is actually the television, hence why he sits and watches the people in the box. What ever these people are doing on the TV (i.e. whatever channel is currently watching) he is simply mimicking it. This can suggest two things. One, this individual has yet to figure out who he is, or he is putting up a front to hide his own insecurities.

That's why he watch-es, scared to look away
Cause at that moment, it might show him
What to take off the locks with.

These lines I find really interesting. If watching this box/TV helps him run from what he truly is, then looking away will force him to face his true self. The idea of this clearly produces anxiety in him. The idea of having no voice and simply just the instrumental can symbolize a body with no soul, or simply an empty shell. So again, Lupe, to me, is addressing the whole "who am I" theme.

P.S. I take it you like Gemini/Gemstones too yeah? He is like Lupe's right hand man.