Samiir Saunders – Twenty-Six

26 Years seems old now, 26 degrees seems cold now
Summer ’22, hotter than most, but not as hot as the 2s at the top of my throat, yo
26 Years seems old now, 26 degrees seems cold now
Summer ’22, hotter than most, but not as hot as the 2s at the top of my throat, yo

Verse 1

Two twos, it’s the true truth that I spew fumes like a choo-choo-choo when I chew tunes
Nine-six, I exhumed from the womb like a pharaoh, pale blue, mummy was afraid too
Obstetrician shrugged like, “Stay tuned, let’s see if this babe lives a day or two”
Twenty-six years on from my debut, I’m alive, and I’m loved, and I make do
And I’ve changed so much, been in pain so much, felt shame so much, overcame so much
And my body is a cloud, and it’s rained so much, but the storm in the soil feeds grain so much
Why am I still scared of the ocean’s mouth? That darkness yawns, and I feel devoured
I’m still young and I’m here right now, only thing that exists is now

Chorus

26 Years seems old now, 26 degrees seems cold now
Summer ’22, hotter than most, but not as hot as the 2s at the top of my throat, yo
26 Years seems old now, 26 degrees seems cold now
Summer ’22, hotter than most, but not as hot as the 2s at the top of my throat, yo

Bridge

Riding with me, are you riding with me?
Or are you vibing with me? Are you just vibing with me?
Are you lying to me? Don’t be lying to me
Aren’t you dying to see what I’ve been dying to be?
Riding with me, are you riding with me?
Or are you vibing with me? Are you just vibing with me?
Are you lying to me? Don’t be lying to me
Aren’t you dying to see what I’ve been dying to become? Um

Verse 2

Timeline chopped and screwed, I’ve been chopped and screwed
Wind’s been choppy and brutal, kicking up dust in devilish plumes, loosening heads on screws
I’ve parented my parents so much that I felt old in my childhood too
I was told I was wise for my age; I should have had space to be childish too
I’m grown now, my community weighs on my dome now
And I felt the pandemic in my bones, shit, big tone shift, hard to cope with, made me grow quick
That child in my soul’s never gone though, still feel that childlike wonder
I looked up and the sky was blue, I couldn’t help smiling too