By Any Means

"Running Late"

I'm always running late (But I'm always running…) Gotta pick up the pace (Tank ain't got nothing left to run on…) Am I really late? (Huh? Yeah, you ten past the hour—) Time loses measure When it's already been spent, When every hour you live, You're accruing debt…

(What? We don't care, just show up on time.)
Sorry… I'm trying, but I keep losing time, Missing from my mind… bleeding away, Leaking pieces of my life

(Naw, you just working, getting paid)
Paid just enough to stay working, But what am I really earning? What am I learning? What am I burning, just to maintain?

(Yeah, that's just how it is.Why do you have to complain?)

Complain? You mean to express my distress? To explain my pain? To question if this is really are best?
Where's our time for living? Where's our time to raise our children? Where's the rest we need to stay healthy And bear this weight?

(Should have done something else, or not had kids—this world isn't fair, but it's the world in which we live.)

You call this living?

Sleep? I could in a heartbeat, I dream between heartbeats— Fragments, five thousand parts an hour, It's the only way I stay awake When the weight of words Threaten to devour
I empower, I scour the spaces Where life still flows, In a world where heartbeats Keep thundering like war drums most people go deaf and numb
I keep listening. SoI  can't sleep at night, Filled with caffeine and fear body listless.

When being human means Going against the grain, Sleepless becomes a way To keep the nightmares at bay— This technological age

Hearts keep time Beyond your myopic design, Or maybe mine Just falling behind (Ding!)
You ask for a feast but won't let me cook The meal till it's tender, Till it's savory and satiating You don't cook your own meals, Don't build your own homes, Don't manage your corporations, Don't accept what you own
Print money on command, Never feel the weight Of unpredictable wages
Never really known what it takes—
That's our fate
 You got no concept how times age, How things grow, How life moves in stages
Words so hearty, feel like answered prayer, Truly been famished, Now truth fills the air

I'm not running late, I'm not keeping up With your broken time— It's an irreconcilable error, An inconceivable design
Or I'm obsolete, Only problem is: Without us, who would you be? I see no proof your time is More productive, valuable, Or necessary.

You disappear, We keep it moving— Your workforce? Let's see what you've done Alone for a week

If you don't ever stop, Is being tardy disrespectful Or just poor design? I've been struggling to put words To what so many feeling, But don't have time to describe
But it matters—it fucking matters What you compartmentalize and measure That's not just time, that's my actual life

I'm not trying to focus on blame, It's like playing dominoes When they're too close together— They lean but never fall, Never resolve, Either stop or go forever
Nobody ever really at fault, But just 'cause no one taking the fall Doesn't mean anything's resolved
There's little relief: You're late, you're early, or on time, Always arriving, always leaving, But I'm always living In this body— These experiences are mine

But living doesn't pay, Death is the only commodity They buy and measure They know it will decay, Know it's most valuable The day it's bought, Then declines
There's something to be said For success requiring An excess of death— Your empire built on Our final breath
But my heart still keeps time Beyond your design, And maybe that's the sign That some things You'll never own: The rhythm of a life That's fully grown

Running Late[Explicit]

Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/smoke-face-player/1748017564

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3DMYXpZfAGO12bJgDnTEND?si=yPM3FxewTVujJLR5A5uY6A

YouTube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCmjfqlbqSaXid3uqACMvG9w?si=JlmioW_wInhtMhD

Ballen now

Lil Ralph