Perfect Circle / God Speed by Mac Miller Lyrics Meaning – Exploring the Depths of Vulnerability and Vice
Lyrics
I came for whoever is in charge
I suggest you go and get yourself a weapon and a guard
They need some coffee, everybody’s sleeping on me
Going around door to door, setting off alarms
All that horse shit, you should have left it at the barn
Keep a stallion, tell her gallop to the store and get cigars, yeah
Too many whips, gotta get a new garage made
I might steal one just to drive it in a car chase
Me and my bizarre ways (no emergency)
I moved up from a Private to a Sargent
You can see it in the scar face
Hidden in a dark place, swimming in the shark tank
Give a bitch a little bit of change, she a game in an arcade
(Time crisis) Not a second to lose
I’m the motherfuckin’ Bible, that’s forever the truth
And this is not another case of the celebrity blues
The devil with me and he tell me to shoot
Murder, murder, murder, what would you do?
Have you ever had to hurt her? Just for something to do
Can you draw a perfect circle?
Lot of lies cover the truth, you got options, what do you do?
I wash these pills down with liquor and fall
Leave it to me, I do enough for us all (I do)
Got what you need if you like breaking the law
My mother raised me a God (Hey)
(Fuck you)
Yeah, blame the drugs, got me sinning on the weekday
Drunk as fuck, doing buck sixty on the freeway
Giving y’all the freebase, hidden in the middle of a briefcase
Hidden in a subwoofer, beat case
Used to wanna know how a freak taste
Now I’m in it in an instant like replay
Bra’s a baton, pass it off like relay
Why I’m so mad on my B-Day?
She say “I thought you got sober”
And I say “I wish you’d stop being a bitch
And get to minding your business”
Told me “Money has changed you”
I get to thinking, how rarely do I visit?
How’d I get so egotistical? I’m a Buffalo Soldier
Heaven is a mile away, the trouble, much closer
I’m only twenty-three but my mind is older, and it’ll forever be
Dead presidents to the homies, death to my enemies
Murder, murder, murder, what would you do?
Have you ever had to hurt her? Just for something to do
Can you draw a perfect circle?
Lot of lies cover the truth, you got options, what do you do?
I wash these pills down with liquor and fall
Leave it to me, I do enough for us all
Got what you need if you like breaking the law
My mother raised me a God (Hey)
(Fuck you)
A goddess told me “good morning” when I woke up
(Fuck you)
You know I had a good morning when I woke up
(Fuck you)
Gotta thank God every morning then I woke up
(Fuck you)
Would you remember me if I never woke up?
Bye bye (Fuck you)
I am a sinner, I’m just tryna sin
Warm in the winter, and I’ll be on my way
I’m just a drifter, in endless seas of whispers
I just need some shelter, give me shelter from the wind
Oh yeah, I thought I’d have it figured out by now
Shit would be simple, problems would be in the past right now
Me and the homies would be sitting on millions
Reminiscing when we were so broke and living in Oakland just chillin’
I thought I’d have it in the bag by now
I thought that we’d be kicking back by now
I know that life is a bitch, I know that life is a bitch
I thought we’d put her in a cab by now
But I’m stressing, I can’t relax
I swallow my pride and I’m higher than what’s making me mad
Everybody say I need rehab
Cause I’m speedin’ with a blindfold on and won’t be long ’til they watching me crash
And they don’t wanna see that
They don’t want me to OD and have to talk to my mother
Telling her they could have done more to help me
And she’ll be crying saying that she’ll do anything to have me back
All the nights I’m losing sleep, it was all a dream
There was a time that I believed that
But white lines be numbing them dark times
Them pills that I’m popping, I need to man up
It’s a problem, I need a wake up
Before one morning I don’t wake up
You make your mistakes, your mistakes never make ya
I’m too obsessed with going down as a great one
And if you wait too long, they go find someone to replace ya
So I guess this is a letter, to all my brothers, Most Dope, that’s forever
I love you more than words could express
And this the part that Q start crying, if he ain’t already yet
I did my best to be a leader you respect
At times I became weaker, got defeated by regret
So tell my baby I love her
And if she give me time I’ll put a seed inside her, make her a mother
Just know that there’s a place
Where all my people free and everybody straight
Every devil don’t got horns, and every hero ain’t got capes
Opened up my eyes, shit, I’m finally awake, Good morning
Yeah, good morning
In the labyrinthine journey of self-discovery and self-destruction, music often acts as both a guide and a reflection. Mac Miller’s ‘Perfect Circle / God Speed’ becomes a hauntingly beautiful representation of this duality. This track, artfully split into two distinct parts, takes listeners by the hand through the alleys of Miller’s consciousness, revealing the intoxicating blend of fame, addiction, and existential quest in a brutally honest narrative.
As we dive into the profound layers of the song, we confront the gripping realizations of an artist grappling with the paradigms of mortality, legacy, and self-worth. There’s a rich tapestry of pain and clarity stitched together in the bars, producing an anthemic introspection that commands attention and empathy.
A Cry for Clarity in a World Obscured by Excess
Miller opens with a challenge to the powers that be, demanding recognition in an industry that often overlooks the raw and real. The ‘weapon and a guard’ symbolize the defensive posturing necessary in a sphere of sharks and serpents. It’s a battle cry against complacency and a revealing look into the exhausting fight to remain authentic.
The verse becomes a canvas, showcasing the internal rift between the public persona and the private struggle. References to ‘whips’ and ‘garages’ represent not just material wealth but the often futile attempts to fill emotional voids with the physical.
The Dance with the Devil – Addiction’s Tight Embrace
Throughout the song, Miller doesn’t shy away from exposing his vice-laden escapades, detailing drug use and the dangers that so often accompany it. He openly acknowledges this dangerous liaison with lines like ‘I wash these pills down with liquor and fall.’ It’s an aching admission of reliance and reflection on how substances often become both the crutch and the curse for those in the limelight.
The ‘devil with me’ isn’t just a spiritual adversary but a personification of addiction, constantly coaxing and challenging his resolve. The use of ‘God Speed’ in the track title interplays with this notion, as if he’s asking for divine rapidity to escape his demons or, perhaps, an acknowledgment that he’s racing toward his end.
A Twisted Labyrinth: The Hidden Meaning Behind the Melodies
Peering beneath the surface of ‘Perfect Circle / God Speed’ reveals a hidden maze where Miller’s perspectives on mortality and morality are laid bare. The seemingly conversational questions ‘Murder, murder, murder, what would you do?’ pulls listeners into the moral quandaries that haunt him, questioning if others, too, dance with darkness when the night is still.
The ‘perfect circle’ is an unachievable goal, chasing a purity of spirit in a world that continually complicates and corrodes. This metaphor extends to the endless pursuit of perfection in one’s art and personal life—a cycle that is both self-sustaining and self-destructive.
Pensiveness and Pain: The Album’s Most Memorable Lines
Miller’s lyrics are a collage of confessionals. ‘I’m only twenty-three but my mind is older, and it’ll forever be’ stands as a testament to the aged soul within his youthful vessel, reflecting the wisdom gained and innocence lost through his tumultuous journey.
In the vivid refrain ‘You make your mistakes, your mistakes never make ya,’ Miller observes the resilience of the human spirit in the face of error and adversity. He mints a mantra that acknowledges flaws while rejecting them as defining traits. These lines linger long after the track ends, echoing a universal truth that transcends the personal and becomes part of the collective consciousness.
Awakening from the Dream: Miller’s Prophetic Goodbye
As the song closes, Mac presents a prophetic and poignant goodbye. The regret, the love for his ‘Most Dope’ family, the unfulfilled dreams, and the whispers of a potential future that may never arrive paint a chilling forecast of an early departure. ‘Opened up my eyes, shit, I’m finally awake, Good morning’ can be interpreted as Miller’s realization of what truly matters, albeit amid fears he might not wake to see another day.
In the eulogy that he never meant to write, he considers his impact, his trials, and the legacy that he may leave behind, wrapping it up in a vulnerable message to his loved ones. This introspection is undeniably heartbreaking in retrospect of his untimely death, turning the piece into a time capsule of Miller’s final thoughts and wishes.
