A Tale of 2 Citiez by J. Cole Lyrics Meaning – The Stark Portrait of Urban Dreams and Nightmares

You can view the lyrics, alternate interprations and sheet music for J. Cole's A Tale of 2 Citiez at Lyrics.org.

Lyrics

Since a youngin’ always dreamed of gettin’ rich
Look at me my nigga
Fantasize about a white picket fence
With some trees my nigga
Used to want a pathfinder with some tints
Thats all I need my nigga
Throw some 20’s on that bitch and get it wrenched
But now I see my nigga
That the worlds a lot bigger ever since
Picked up the paper and they say my nigga Eddie caught a body, I’m convinced
Anybody is a killer, all you gotta do is push ’em to the limps
Fuck being timid in the Civic
Politicin’ with the pushers and the pimps
I’m tryna write a story, can I get a glimpse?
Yeah can I get a glimpse?

Last night I had a bad dream
That I was trapped in this city
Then I asked is that really such a bad thing?
They robbin’ niggas on the daily
Keep on blamin’ nigga that ain’t never had things
Guess not, last night they pulled up on my nigga at the light like
Uh, nice watch, run it
Hands in the air now, hands in the air, run it

Small town nigga Hollywood dreams
I know that everything that glitters ain’t gold
I know the shits not always good as it seems
But tell me till you get it how could you know
How could you know? How could you know?
Listen up I’m about to go and get rich
Fuck with me my nigga
We gonna slug around the Ville and hit a lick
Cop some tree my nigga
And some powder, bag it up and make it flip
You gon’ see my nigga
One day we gon’ graduate and cop a brick
And that’s the key my nigga
And listen up I’m bout to go and get rich
Stand back and watch if you want to nigga
Me I want my pockets fat about a bitch
Tired of seein’ niggas flaunt, I wanna flaunt too nigga
Watch some rollers in the fuckin’ Crown Vic
Tryna lock a nigga up, that’s what they won’t do nigga
Wanna know a funny thing about this shit?
Even if you let em’ kill your dream it’ll haunt you nigga

Last night I had a bad dream
That I was trapped in this city
Then I asked is that really such a bad thing?I
I look around like do you want to be another nigga
That ain’t never had things
Guess not, last night we pulled up on my nigga at the light like
Uh, nice watch, run it
Hands in the air now, hands in the air, run it

Father forgive me for me, childish ways
I look outside and all the clouds are gray
I need your hands to take me, miles away
Your wish is my command, my command, my command, but
Before you go I’ve got to, want you now
Whatever goes up surely, must come down
And you get your piece but no peace, won’t be found
So why just take me man, take me man, take me man
Your wish is my command, my command, my command

J. Cole’s ‘A Tale of 2 Citiez’ isn’t just a track—it’s a vivid narrative that delves deep into the psyche of the American urban youth. With each verse serving as a stark brushstroke, Cole paints a dual-city landscape where dreams are both born and plundered, where desires clash with reality, and where the pursuit of wealth is a perilous journey. This prophetic hymn from the 2014 Forest Hills Drive album does more than simply echo the collective consciousness of a generation—it questions it, prods it, and lays it bare for all its complexities.

The song’s title is an unmistakable nod to the classic Charles Dickens novel, ‘A Tale of Two Cities’, yet Cole’s take is a modern reimagining that swaps 18th-century Paris and London for the contemporary, split experience of growing up in urban America. Through a powerful rhetoric interlaced with grim imagery and a deeply personal narrative, Cole reflects on the fears, desires, and the inevitable coming-of-age.

The Dichotomy of the Urban Struggle: Dreams vs. Reality

While J. Cole dreams of white picket fences and tricked-out Pathfinders, the juxtaposition of this idyllic aspiration with the gritty reality of his surroundings speaks volumes. The aspirational 20-inch rims are not just a symbol of success but an armor against the pervasive sense of lack that consumes the city. A young Cole’s perspective transforms as the veil of naivety lifts, revealing the sprawling magnitude of a world where even those closest to him, like ‘Eddie’, are not immune to the violent forces that push them ‘to the limps’.

His reference to ‘pushers and the pimps’ isn’t cliché—it’s a lifeline to understanding the politicization of survival in these urban sprawls. J. Cole isn’t glorifying this existence; he’s chronicling a universe where the liminal space between legal and illicit means of gaining wealth is an everyday tightrope for many.

The Haunting Premonition: A Bad Dream or Reality?

‘Last night I had a bad dream’ is more than an opening line to a recounting of nocturnal imagination; it’s a prophetic insight into Cole’s internal world. The city becomes the villain, the trap, a physical manifestation of an entangled system that breeds oppression as well as opportunities. Cole questions if it’s just a dream or a brutal reality, underscoring the often-nightmarish existence faced by those trying to escape their socioeconomic constraints.

The recurrent motif of ‘hands in the air’ reads like a double entendre—a robbery in progress and a surrender to the powers that be, resonating with themes of criminality and police brutality. The vivid ‘Uh, nice watch, run it’ line is not just a detail of a crime but a critical exposé of the cyclical poverty that drives such encounters.

The Glittering Illusion of Hollywood and the Reality of Street Dreams

Cole contrasts ‘Small town nigga Hollywood dreams’ with the stark acknowledgment that ‘everything that glitters ain’t gold’. It’s a sobering reminder of the intoxicating allure of fame and fortune that pulls aggressively on the strings of the naive and hopeful. The Hollywood reference encapsulates a larger metaphor for the promised ‘American Dream’—the seemingly attainable, shiny life that is far from the reach of many.

But J. Cole doesn’t leave his listeners in despair. The pre-chorus ‘but tell me till you get it how could you know’ doubles as a philosophical pondering and encouragement to chase after that elusive dream regardless of the potential disappointment. It captures the relentless spirit despite the knowledge of the cold reality that awaits.

The Heartbreaking Cycle: When Society’s Claws Dictate Your Future

The lyric ‘Wanna know a funny thing about this shit? Even if you let them kill your dream it’ll haunt you nigga’ encapsulates the paradoxical chokehold that society has on individual ambition. J. Cole reveals a stark truth: the death of one’s dream does not bestow peace but a haunting—a ghost that serves as a constant reminder of what could have been. This memorable line dares to ask: is it better to chase a dream with the risk of monumental failure or to live with the specter of ‘what if’?

Moreover, the reference to the Crown Vic, a car often associated with the police, hints at the omnipresence of law enforcement in underprivileged areas, ready to ‘lock a nigga up’. Cole’s world is one wherein the socio-legal apparatus is not a protective force but an antagonist that perpetuates the cycle of poverty and desperation.

The Prayer for Redemption: Seeking Solace in a Higher Power

In the vulnerability of the outro, ‘Father forgive me for my childish ways’, J. Cole transitions from rapper to supplicant, seeking divine intervention to ‘take me miles away’ from the engulfing grayness of his environment. It’s a moment of raw spiritual longing, a plea for both physical and spiritual transcendence beyond the clutches of the dark urban maelstrom.

‘And you get your piece but no peace, won’t be found’ subtlety reveals that in the quest for ‘a piece’ of the pie or success, the peace of mind remains elusive. Cole implies that the success one achieves might not be the panacea for the deeply entrenched social and individual wounds suffered along the way, affirming that some hungers are beyond worldly satiation.