Kae Tempest - Undercurrent lyrics

I feel the pull, the undercurrent, the drag
They try to pull me under
And the tides that might rip you asunder
But you’ve got to stay cool and
Keep your eyes full of wonder
Only foolish ones are scared of thunder

I feel the pull of the things I reject
They’re all familiar to him
We had a sorrow with stings my heart sinks
But the hollow it brings
Is so fast when you have a night
It’s so fast
Roll past, feeling better than most
It’s all false, yo it’s arrogance and ego
Like closed-eyes zombies
We go through the motions
And I don’t feel comfortable
Saying "I don’t"
‘Cause it’s like you ain’t a real
Young person if you won’t take drugs
Fake hugs fill your heart with fake love
Chemical dependencies
And friends become enemies
It’s like you ain’t cool
And you get looked down on
Your coke head fiend taps all
The taps you frown on
And I remember how it feels to get buzzy
No, it feels fucking amazing
I ain’t saying that it doesn’t
What I’m saying is that I’m scared
Of the way it makes you turn
And I feel I got too much
That I learned to go back
But it’s hard to hold back
Because everywhere around
People are becoming up or coming down
And they ground the shit
Quick to talk about it
Quick to dangle it in front of your nose
Well this is just the way it goes i suppose
But the storm cloud blows a cold breeze
And my mates turn around and say:
‘Katy, hold these’
And I’m tempted to throw it all away
And be immersed in the ecstasy
The cocaine the ketamine
There’s better things
I’m screaming at myself that
There are better things yo
But better things fade
And that record’s been played
And I wanna break away and be truthful
When drugs ain’t true but they make me feel
Closer to you

I feel the pull, the undercurrent, the drag
I have to fight hard
Swim with all my strength
Until the stormy nights pass
If you want to be your own you
And let nothing own you
Then experience’s shown you:
After struggle: struggle
Through an unrewarding muddle with days
Murkier than puddles but do what you gotta
See through all the fog
A sea view is your property too
To yourself, be true don’t surrender
Stay clever under pressure

To be the honest i’m weary
Clearly not honest fake shit
I can’t take this baitness
It’s apparent that most are transparent and
Most really haven’t a clue
Well, I pursue a new avenue
I’ve become lost in the: ‘Have you?’
‘What haven’t’ you?’ the: ‘Do you?’
‘Or don’t you?’ the: ‘is it?’
Or: ‘is it not cool?’ all the haircuts
The trainers the outfit's
The accents
And I don’t mean to be cruel It’s not
My place to judge
This is all just the stuff of my faults
People fall
I’ve been trapped as they walk to the shop
Because
Their faults get trapped as they walk
And because
I can’t prove it don’t mean it ain’t real
I’m a paranoid kid
From the CE, just like you trying to
Make something real and I might do
If I just could to get me
To sleep the whole night through then I’d be
Getting somewhere like I’m meant to be
Child of the 21st century mentally
Unstable from dependencies
Too much drugs made my belly freeze up
Feeling very queezed
Drink down the big bottle
Eyes on the cherry trees blossom as it chips
Let my mind glaze
Fragged up kids is the usual these days
If we even knew the amounts we blaze
We’d be sayin’ how kids these
Days are real brave
But we can’t see straight
And we can’t, we bother the most
Don’t give a fuck about politics
Well, that’s the reality
And everything’s grim
So we wear out misery like scars over skin

I feel the pull, the undercurrent, the drag
I have to fight hard
Swim with all my strength
Until the stormy nights pass
If you want to be your own you
And let nothing own you
Then experience’s shown you:
After struggle: struggle
Through an unrewarding muddle with days
Murkier than puddles but do what you gotta
See through all the fog
A sea view is your property too
To yourself, be true don’t surrender
Stay clever under pressure

The pull, the undercurrent, the drag
I have to fight hard
Swim with all my strength
Until the stormy nights pass
If you want to be your own you
And let nothing own you
Then experience’s shown you:
After struggle: struggle
Through an unrewarding muddle with days
Murkier than puddles but do what you gotta
See through all the fog
A sea view is your property too
To yourself, be true don’t surrender
Stay clever under pressure

To yourself, be true don’t surrender
Stay clever under pressure
That’s the way to make this shit get better