"We are seven" and "The Art of Peer Pressure"
by Kendrick Lamar
(Societal Pressures)
"We Are Seven"
———A simple Child, That lightly draws its breath, And feels its life in every limb, What should it know of death? I met a little cottage Girl: She was eight years old, she said; Her hair was thick with many a curl That clustered round her head. She had a rustic, woodland air, And she was wildly clad: Her eyes were fair, and very fair; —Her beauty made me glad. “Sisters and brothers, little Maid, How many may you be?” “How many? Seven in all,” she said, And wondering looked at me. “And where are they? I pray you tell.” She answered, “Seven are we; And two of us at Conway dwell, And two are gone to sea. “Two of us in the church-yard lie, My sister and my brother; And, in the church-yard cottage, I Dwell near them with my mother.” “You say that two at Conway dwell, And two are gone to sea, Yet ye are seven! I pray you tell, Sweet Maid, how this may be.” Then did the little Maid reply, “Seven boys and girls are we; Two of us in the church-yard lie, Beneath the church-yard tree.” “You run about, my little Maid, Your limbs they are alive; If two are in the church-yard laid, Then ye are only five.” “Their graves are green, they may be seen,” The little Maid replied, “Twelve steps or more from my mother’s door, And they are side by side. “My stockings there I often knit, My kerchief there I hem; And there upon the ground I sit, And sing a song to them. “And often after sun-set, Sir, When it is light and fair, I take my little porringer, And eat my supper there. “The first that died was sister Jane; In bed she moaning lay, Till God released her of her pain; And then she went away. “So in the church-yard she was laid; And, when the grass was dry, Together round her grave we played, My brother John and I. “And when the ground was white with snow, And I could run and slide, My brother John was forced to go, And he lies by her side.” “How many are you, then,” said I, “If they two are in heaven?” Quick was the little Maid’s reply, “O Master! we are seven.” “But they are dead; those two are dead! Their spirits are in heaven!” ’Twas throwing words away; for still The little Maid would have her will, And said, “Nay, we are seven!” |
"The Art Of Peer Pressure"
Everybody, everybody, everybody Everybody sit your bitch ass down and listen To this true mothafuckin' story told by Kendrick Lamar on Rosecrans Ya bish Smoking on the finest dope, aye aye aye aye Drank until I can't no more, aye aye aye aye Really I'm a sober soul but I'm with the homies right now And we ain't asking for no favors Rush a nigga quick then laugh about it later, aye aye aye aye Really I'm a peacemaker but I'm with the homies right now And momma used to say One day, it's gon' burn you out One day, it's gon' burn you out, out One day, it's gon' burn you out One day, it's gon' burn you But I'm with the homies right now Me and my niggas four deep in a white Toyota A quarter tank of gas, one pistol, and orange soda Janky stash box when the federales roll up Basketball shorts with the Gonzales Park odor We on the mission for bad bitches and trouble I hope the universe love you today ‘Cause the energy we bringing sure to carry away A flock of positive activists and fill the body with hate If it’s necessary Bumping Jeezy first album looking distracted Speaking language only we know, you think is an accent The windows roll down all I see is a hand pass it Hotboxing like George Foreman grilling the masses Of the working world, we pulled up on a bunch of working girls And asked them what they working with – look at me I got the blunt in my mouth Usually I’m drug-free, but shit I’m with the homies (Yea nigga, we off a pill and Remy Red Come through and bust ya head nigga) Me and the homies (Sag all the way to the liquor store Where my niggas pour up 4 and get twisted some more) Me and the homies (I ride for my mothafuckin’ niggas Hop out, do my stuff, then hop back in) Me and the homies (Matter fact, I hop out that mothafucka and be like “Doo! Doo! Doo! Doo!...Doo! Doo! Doo! Doo! Doo!”) It’s 2:30 and the sun is beaming Air conditioner broke and I hear my stomach screaming Hungry for anything unhealthy and if nutrition can help me I’ll tell you to suck my dick then I'll continue eating We speeding on the 405 passing Westchester You know the light skin girls in all the little dresses, good Lord They knew we weren’t from ‘round there ‘Cause every time we down there we pulling out the Boost Mobile SIM cards Bougie bitches with no extensions Hood niggas with bad intentions, the perfect combination Before we sparked a conversation We seen three niggas in colors we didn’t like then started interrogating I never was a gangbanger, I mean I was never stranger to the folk neither I really doubt it Rush a nigga quick and then we laugh about it That’s ironic ‘cause I’ve never been violent, until I’m with the homies (Just ridin’, just ridin’) Me and the homies (Bullshittin’, actin’ a fool) Me and the homies (Trippin’, really trippin’) Me and the homies (Just ridin’, just ridin’, just ridin’...) Bragging ‘bout the episode we just had A shot of Hennessey didn’t make me feel that bad I’m usually a true firm believer of bad karma Consequences from evil will make your past haunt you We tryna conquer the city with disobedience Quick to turn it up, even if we ain’t got the CD in But Jeezy still playing and our attitude is still “nigga, what is you saying” Pull in front of the house that we been camping out for like two months The sun is going down as we take whatever we want (Ay, ay, nigga jackpot nigga, pop the safe Ay nigga, I think it's somebody in this room Wait, what? Nigga, it's somebody in this room!) I hit the back window in search of any Nintendo DVDs, plasma screen TVs in the trunk We made a right, then made a left, then made a right Then made a left, we was just circling life My mama called – "Hello? What you doin'?" “Kicking it” I should’ve told her I’m probably ‘bout to catch my first offense with the homies But they made a right, they made a left then made a right Then another right One lucky night with the homies K. Dot, you faded, hood? Yea we finally got that nigga faded. I think he hit the wrong blunt though Ooh, which one? Well which one he talking 'bout? I was finna hit the one with the shenanigans in it I pray he ain't hit that Nah, that nigga straight. He ain't hit that one Got the shenanigans? Give that nigga the shenanigans Nigga I think we should push back to the city, fo real doe Nigga, for what? What that nigga, what's that Jeezy song say nigga? "Last time I checked I was the man on these streets!" Yea, yea, that shit right there. I'm tryna be the nigga in the street There he go. Man you don't even know how the shit go Look, here's the plan luv. We gon' use the kickback as a alibi. Wait 'til the sun go down, roll out, complete the mission, drop K. Dot off at his mama van, at the park, cause I know he trying to fuck on Sherane tonight That's what he’s not gon' do. Then we all gon' meet back at the block at about 10:30 That's straight but we should meet up around 12, I'm tryna fuck on something too Nigga sit yo dumb ass back down, nigga you ain't doing shit tonight Matter fact, nigga get in the mothafuckin' car. We finna get active |
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The Parallels:
For this poem the same song is applied due to how similar the themes between "Anecdote for Fathers" and "We Are Seven" are. They both present us with a conflict between understandings and realities. Specifically in this poem we see the split between the reality of adults and children. The adult in this poem attempts to impose logic on the understanding of the child. Representative of our desire as people to try and impose our logic on nature to find reason and understanding. So again, we see this represented in "The Art of Peer Pressure," by Kendrick Lamar. To Kendrick, like the child, reality is one way, and society would try to impose it's logic on this situation in order to understand it in another way. Society would deem Kendrick as a bad kid, or a thug, but in his reality he is a good kid. His behavior is the product of the pressures from his environment.
For this poem the same song is applied due to how similar the themes between "Anecdote for Fathers" and "We Are Seven" are. They both present us with a conflict between understandings and realities. Specifically in this poem we see the split between the reality of adults and children. The adult in this poem attempts to impose logic on the understanding of the child. Representative of our desire as people to try and impose our logic on nature to find reason and understanding. So again, we see this represented in "The Art of Peer Pressure," by Kendrick Lamar. To Kendrick, like the child, reality is one way, and society would try to impose it's logic on this situation in order to understand it in another way. Society would deem Kendrick as a bad kid, or a thug, but in his reality he is a good kid. His behavior is the product of the pressures from his environment.