It’s no mystery that Aesop Rock is mysterious. Enigmatic, one might say. I’ve heard from many people that they “can’t understand” him. Though I understand where they are coming from, what they don’t seem to realize is that even us fans don’t understand… on the first listen!
Actually, this is the appeal. Every time you listen, you catch something that you didn’t catch before. Believe it or not, he is saying things that make sense. It just takes more attention and focus to bring that meaning to light than most MCs out there.
So to demonstrate that Aesop Rock is not just speaking gibberish, I am going to walk you through the dark forest of, “Crystal Sword” the seventh track on his album, “Field Guide to the Spirit World.”
I will be selecting sections that I think each hold an image or idea and explaining what it looks like in my own mind. I will give you my personal interpretations, which will utilize my own experiences and biases to create meaning from his words, but I’m not the man himself. I’ve never met him and I certainly don’t know what his life is like.
All we have are his words.
So let’s look at them and see what we can find here!
“Carry his own water
as nary a known other”
In the realm of occult symbology, “Water” is often used to represent the substance of consciousness. To me, “carry” seems to imply some level of difficulty. “Nary” means “not.”
So here, Aesop may be saying that he holds the rather heavy substance of his mind apart from the substance of the collective consciousness which surrounds him.
The “other” is a term often used by Terrance McKenna to describe intelligence that exists outside of the human mind, such as extraterrestrials, spirits, and plants. “Other” is also a term used to describe the unknown in general.
So to me, he is at once saying, “No one knows who I am,” as well as, “I am one with an intelligence beyond human comprehension.”
“Man slash island,
casually hammers iron.
Falcons that come to daddy,
fabulous cash and prizes.”
He seems to be painting an image with these words that comes across plainly when you imagine what he’s saying. An enormous person, half human half island, alone in a vast sea. He is hammering out metal for a sword or armor at his giant forge and sending out loyal falcons to retrieve treasure for him.
“Man slash island” means that he is both huge [in the literal and metaphorical sense] as well as profoundly alone.
“Hammering iron” could be his craft as a poet and rapper. It could also mean working out, performing rituals, chopping wood for a fire, or anything else that requires daily action and discipline.
“Falcons that come to daddy” could be the magic he performs to bring his desires to his doorstep. It could also be people he hires to do things for him reporting back that the job is done.
“Out of sight is both his fancy
and a random act of kindness for ya”
Plain speech translations:
-“Staying away from you brings me joy, and if you knew me it would bring you joy too.”
-“Being amazing is my preferred state of existence, and I consider it community service because when you listen to me, I improve your life.”
Both of these meanings and possibly more co-exist in these words simultaneously.
“I been shaking off a death rattle
As a window-bound bat
from a collapsed red flannel at night”
In the case that “as” means “like”:
If you’ve ever lived in a non-traditional environment, such as a barn or abandoned building of some sort, you may have had a run in with a bat in the middle of the night, their prime time of activity. Their flight patterns can be extremely concerning, with rapid circling and swooping. The natural instinct is to take off your coat (or in this case, a red flannel) and trap it by collapsing the garment over it. This method has a high likelihood of killing the creature, with its small bones and delicate body.
He could also be talking about a bat that flew into a window and hurt itself, so he might be moving it somewhere else with his red flannel.
In either interpretation, he is saying that he feels as terrible as a dying bat.
In the case that “as” means “is”
He could be saying that he is trying to move past his terrible feelings after having transformed into a bat. He didn’t take off his flannel first, so it collapsed upon him. Once he escapes from it, he is bound for the open window, to fly into the night by moonlight.
All of these meanings and possibly more coexist simultaneously in the text.
Additional note:
He is “Shaking” a “Rattle” which is a shamanic technique for trance.
Shamans pioneered the field of human to animal transformation.
“Six foot a million,
nothing off the rack fit him”
Again, he is saying that he is a giant, too big for this world. So big, that nothing at the clothing stores will fit him without augmentation.
“Ruined last Christmas,
probably ruin this Christmas”
Possible translations:
“I am not good company, don’t invite me to your gatherings.”
“I disrupt religious ideology.”
“Burn sage in the alley with various ghostbusters
Sea of disembodied bones knocking on your rods and cones
Some resort to scuba gear, some return to hobbit holes
Me, I done a lot of both, riding out and running scared
I’m everything from, “He’s a pest,” to, “He’s been dead for twenty years”
Possible translation:
“I perform spiritual cleansings in the dark corners of the world along with other folks that are just as strange and enigmatic as myself, concerned with capturing, destroying, or otherwise interacting with spirits. When it comes to the world beyond the veil, the land of the dead, or the valley of the shadow of death, people have different reactions.
Some people dive in head first with the proper preparation, and some run away. Me, I’ve done plenty of charging in as well as retreating. I have been very persistent in my field and made myself a difficult problem for many, but at the same time, a lot of people probably think I’ve been dead for twenty years.”
“He’s been shredding perfect curbs
and golden light with total scum”
Here, he clarifies where he’s been. “Shredding curbs,” is skateboarding. Shredding “Golden light” could be astral projection, as well as any number of things. “Total scum” would be self-deprecation of himself and his friends.
“Pigeons bring him donuts,
I’m the motherfucking chosen one”
Rappers will often refer to themselves in the second or third person. With that in mind, I think this line speaks for itself. Aesop is saying that nature feeds him like a scene out of Disney’s 1959, “Sleeping Beauty,” because he has been chosen by the author of the universe as the protagonist.
“And every time you liars talk,
fish and birds start dying off
Roses turn to solid ice,
quiet eyes to fireballs”
In contrast to the image he painted about himself, of birds feeding him breakfast pastries, he draws an image of his opposition. Antagonists. Aesop tells the truth, so nature loves him. Others lie, so when they speak nature begins to whither and die. Warm, soft, and supple roses become cold, rigid, and brittle. Calm and peaceful gazes transform into hateful glares.
“I started spilling all my problems
to the final boss
He shed a tear and let me by him like,
“What’s mine is yours”
Broke him off a little weed
Bid him well,
off to see a system into smithereens”
The beast with many backs goes by many names. Demon, Derelict, Devil, Deadbeat, Diablo himself, or G.O.A.T. No matter the title, Aesop has already established that he hangs out with, “total scum.” The people who you fear and hate are all his friends. Here, he describes a meeting with the biggest baddie of them all, where he shares his own pain.
In response, the “final boss” sympathizes to the point of crying, as well as opening his own heart and home, saying, “What’s mine is yours.”
Aesop then shares marijuana with the beast and wishes him well as he heads off to, “see a system into smithereens.”
“A system,” could be a biological organism such as yourself. It could also be a society, a company, an ecosystem, or any other harmonious interweaving of separate parts. “Smithereens,” is a term referring to the state of being destroyed, or separated.
So Aesop wishes him well in his mission. Namely, the annihilation of some integrated interlinking of life.
“Not a towel boy
or cow to the slaughter
I leave an awkward conversation
like a cow to the saucer”
He is not a servant or sacrifice of any kind.
“Cow to the saucer,” could mean two things. Either a cow being abducted by an alien ship or a cow wandering to a food dish. In either case, it conjures an image of Aes slowly drifting or lazily moseying away from an awkward conversation.
“Hey bro, we should collab!”
“Aes, yo, check out my new single!”
“Oh my god, are you Aesop Rock? My girlfriend loves you. Are you any good?”
“AESOP ROCK YOU CHANGED MY LIFE!”
Cow to the saucer.
“Inspire a thousand Our Fathers,
people start calling their priests
“We’ve never seen a man
so vehemently drawn to the beast”
“I heard he plays a pipe organ
and changes form when he feeds”
I’ve never played a pipe organ,
the rest my lawyer concedes, okay”
Translation:
“Many feel the need to pray for me and consult their religious leadership because they’ve never seen anyone as attracted to the beast, or the “final boss,” as myself. I have been accused of villainous activities such as playing the pipe organ, an instrument commonly associated with villainy. (See “Maestro Forte” from Disney’s 1997 Beauty and the Beast.) I have also been accused of shapeshifting when I feast.
Although I’ve never played a pipe organ before, my lawyer was unable to refute the evidence that I’ve transformed before feeding at least once.
“Pull up at the Spirit World,
zero man pit crew”
When you approach the unknown, you must do so alone.
“I’m working on my hell and forth
It’s bound to be a bumpy ride
Deeper through the death and gore
Coming out the other side”
Translation:
“In the decision between “riding out and running scared,” for now I have chosen “scuba gear” over “hobbit holes.” It’s going to be a difficult journey. The only solution is to dive deeper into everything that scares me, and I’m determined to emerge alive and victorious at the end of the path.”
Well that’s that! I hope you had as much fun reading this article as I had writing it. Until next time, may your life be filled with a million blessings!
Sincerely,
