Get all 29 A. Y. Lee releases available on Bandcamp and save 25%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of JUST LET IT GO, Refreshing, Options, EASE MY MIND, BROKEN PROMISES, FIRE FLYS, Murrychrimuh, CHRISTMAS GOLD, and 21 more.
1. |
Back to Business
02:44
|
|||
|
Wake up wake up wake up
this your boy A. Y. lee, and we gonna start this album out like
I got some things to get off my chest, and once I let it go, imma let it go
so here we go
Messed up relationships made me who I am,
got me in a state of mind where I don't really give a damn
I ask for help, but folk don't hear me tho (what's that all about)
And musically it feels like I’ve hit a plateau
But ain’t no escaping cus I’m in too deep
And I refuse to be another sheep no
I’ve got work to do, I ain’t finished
Disappointment’s behind me and I’m back to business
It’s back to business (4xs)
I refuse to let the pain drive me insane
I try to focus on the positives and don’t complain
I may have less likes, less views, less tales but more sales
You may have done as ton of free shows,
but I got more songs and I make more dough
perception ain’t reality, no I ain’t finished
I’m staying on my grind, and now it’s back to business
It’s back to business (4xs)
|
||||
2. |
Unda Presha
03:24
|
|||
|
My eyes open at the top of the morning
And the bs starts before I get to yawnin
I gotta make a grand before the end of the week
Otherwise all my shhhh will be out in the streets
I got 6 days to make it happen
I’m just a musician I don’t know nothing bout trappin
Now I gotta be on a debt collectin mission
There’s cats out here that owe for beats and mixin
I got put in this position by a n--- I known 20 years that wouldn’t mention
when I invested money he made some bad decisions
Now there’s nothing but tension
f--- that man, and f--- an intervention
seems whatever’s going on
it all goes wrong
sometimes I feel as if I don’t belong
I’m bout to go crazy strap me to a stretcher
Cuz I’m at my breaking point
I’m unda pressha (2x’s)
If a man don’t work then a man can’t eat
And if that man is broke then he need not speak
Bout what I got going on and my situations
Offering advice and explanations
While he does nothing I’m chasing expectations
And just lookin at your smug face is causing irritation
Doin alotta talkin but you ain’t about no action
You outta line so say one more word and I’m blastin off
seems whatever’s going on
it all goes wrong
sometimes I feel as if I don’t belong
I’m bout to go crazy strap me to a stretcher
Cuz I’m at my breaking point
I’m unda pressha (2x’s)
I don’t know what I’m doing says you and you and you only
Actin like you’re the holiest of holy
You’re a phony and everybody knows it but it’s on me
To put you in you place you should see your face
When I reality check ya looks like your life left your body specter
Now I can’t respect ya
Cuz you can’t admit that you was wrong in the first place
You just walk away and say whatever man, what a shame
|
||||
3. |
Torture
04:23
|
|||
|
It was on a street so evil
So bad that even hell disowned it
Every single step was trouble
For the fool who stumbled on it
Eyes within the dark were watchin'
I felt the sudden chill of danger
Something told me keep on walkin'
Told me I should not have gone there
Baby, 'cause you cut me like a knife
Without your love in my life
Alone I walk in the night
'Cause I just can't stop this feeling
It's torture
It's torture
It's torture
She was up a stair to nowhere
A room forever I'll remember
She stared as though I should have known her
Tell me what's your pain or pleasure
Every little thing you find here
Is simply for the thrill you're after
Loneliness or hearts on fire
I am here to serve all masters
She said, 'Reality is a knife
When there's no love in your life
Unmerciful is the night
When you just can't stop this feeling'
It's torture
It's torture
It's torture
And I still can't find the meaning, no
No, no, of the face I keep on seeing
Was she real or am I dreaming
Did the sound of your name
Turn a wheel
Start a flame in me
Baby, 'cause you cut me like a knife
Without your love in my life
Alone I walk in the night
And I just can't stop this feeling
It's torture
It's torture
It's torture
|
||||
4. |
Long Way from Home
05:20
|
|||
|
Tick Tock, the clock keeps tickin
Tick Tock, the clock keeps tickin
Tick Tock, the clock keeps tickin
Tick Tock, the clock keeps tickin
I took a short path to a long road
And was sure my destination was around the bend
But after a few miles and the darkness starts to set in
I realize there’s no path and I’m out here all alone
If I took 2 steps up and 2 steps back
I still won’t be where I started at,
I’m so lost oh I’m so lost
And if I walked a path bread crumbs in hand
I still won’t make it back to where I began
I’m so lost oh I’m so lost
How did I even get here, I’m such a long long long long way from home
How did I even get here, I’m such a long long long long way from home
I want my life back my old life back
(8x’s)
No one to blame, it’s just me
The silence rings, I’m listening
The thoughts that I had that once seemed so clear
But yet 1 wrong turn has brought me here.
If I took 2 steps up and 2 steps back
I still won’t be where I started at,
I’m so lost oh I’m so lost
And if I walked a path bread crumbs in hand
I still won’t make it back to where I began
I’m so lost oh I’m so lost
How did I even get here, I’m such a long long long long way from home
How did I even get here, I’m such a long long long long way from home
I want my life back my old life back
(8x’s)
How did I even get here, I’m such a long long long long way from home
How did I even get here, I’m such a long long long long way from home
The clock keeps tickin
The clock keeps tickin
|
||||
5. |
||||
|
I’m full of frustration but I can’t shed a tear
Why am I here
When everything I say falls on deaf ears
I gotta ask Why am I here
Sometimes I say a prayer at night
Lord please don’t wake me up
I’m tired of barely getting by
I’m tired of fightin but to stubborn to give up
Some say it’s time for me to make a change
But everyone I make it seems the results are still the same
Running round in circles and it’s making me a square
But it’s getting to the point where I don’t’ care
I’m full of frustration but I can’t shed a tear
Why am I here
When everything I say falls on deaf ears
I gotta ask Why am I here
Another day, another dolla, another cry, another holla
My back’s up against the wall, I just sit it on down so I don’t fall
Not enough juice to make it thru the day
My water’s cut off so I stay thirsty
Cupboards empty so I’m still hungry
And a week left till I get paid.
I ask myself is this where I belong
Am I cursed, what did I do wrong
Folk tellin me I need to stay strong
The race is almost over, but I don’t’ see where the line is drawn.
I’m full of frustration but I can’t shed a tear
Why am I here
When everything I say falls on deaf ears
I gotta ask Why am I here
|
||||
6. |
||||
|
What if I wasn’t meant to succeed
What if my heart was meant to bleed
Maybe I was meant to be a lapdog, a servant if that’s the case
Is all this dreaming really worth it?
Seems like others are passing me in the blink of an eye
They say the first shall be last but I’m falling further behind
There’s no one else in sight, maybe cuz there’s no light
Am I losing the battle my head is bloody from the fight
I look to the sky and see dark clouds pass over
My knees start to buckle from the weight that’s on my shoulders
Walkin hot coals, while I’m toting boulders
I’m ready for this to all be over
And just as I’m ready to give in to death, I receive a fresh breath
A renewed mind and a stronger back bone I lift my head to look around
And see I’m no longer along cus…
God send his angels to surround me and protect me (2x’s)
They say the sun comes out tomorrow seems tomorrow never comes
Remember you’re not the only one and you shall overcome
Adversity’s a great teacher if you heed its instruction
Ignore it and pay dearly and suffer repercussions
The easy button nah never heard of that
Friends in high places well you can say I’ve got the ultimate
And friends in low they can put you back on track
don’t look down on em or burn bridges, keep it all intact.
You can’t let pain postpone your plan
patience plus equals a prize in the palm of your hand
you got to understand there’s strength in experience
that’s why our elders had so much confidence
so now I’m happy thru all the strife, can’t get rid of my smile
under the trappings of life my head is bloody but unbowed
I know no other way, my spirit is so joyous
I’m filled with God’s love you can hear it in the chorus
God send his angels to surround me and protect me (2x’s)
Everyone falls from time to time but that don’t mean you fall behind
Just keep on pressing on (2x’s)
God send his angels to surround me and protect me (2x’s)
|
||||
7. |
Message
04:05
|
|||
|
this is my message
for you that's listening
I wanna thank you
thank you for tuning in
I also wanna thank those
that went told a friend
to grab one of my albums
so I can add another fan.
what more can I say
that you don't already know
you've heard all this issues
I’ve had to undergo
nah nothing tragic
but I still feel weighed down
and when you’re going thru
seems like those you helped ain't around
not trying to be sound profound
but I get up off the ground
and scrap and pound
trying to rebound.
so what you're hearing now
is my sincere appreciation
and if you're still confused
here's my explanation
this is my message
for you that's listening
I wanna thank you
thank you for tuning in
I also wanna thank those
that went told a friend
to grab one of my albums
so I can add another fan.
|
||||
A. Y. Lee Morrisville, North Carolina
Sandy A. Wiley was born and raised by his parents who were both enlisted in the Air
Force. As an only child, he could never
keep still due to having an early appreciation for music at the tender age of 4. This would later become one of
many seeds to launch a hobby into an evolving career paired with studying music at North
Carolina Central University.
... more
If you like A. Y. Lee, you may also like:
THE FOUR WINDS: EAST
by Clara Kent
Breezy, lush R&B perfect for warm weather, inspired by Afro-Indigenous artist Clara Kent's heritage, culture, and personal journey.
go to album
featured on Bandcamp Radio Jun 4, 2019
go to album
The singer's debut is a love letter to New Orleans full of odes to resiliency and empowerment.
go to album
Stella Talpo’s latest EP travels from burbling synth balladry to moody, rippling pop and back again.
go to album
The Montréal-based R&B artist marries the complexity of her experiences to the groove of the beat on her third EP.
go to album
first burn (EP)
by Stella Talpo
featured on Bandcamp Radio Jul 14, 2020
go to album
The Finnish producer's aptly titled second LP delivers an extended serotonin boost by way of dazzling synth grooves and crisp drum loops.
go to album
