Pyramids by Frank Ocean Lyrics Meaning – A Time-Traveling Tale of Love and Loss
Lyrics
There’s a thief out on the move
Underneath our legion’s view
They have taken Cleopatra
Run run run, come back for my glory
Bring her back to me
Run run run, the crown of our pharaoh
The throne of our queen is empty
We’ll run to the future, shining like diamonds
In a rocky world, rocky rocky world
Our skin like bronze and our hair like cashmere
As we march to the rhythm, on the palace floor
Chandeliers inside the pyramid, tremble from the force
Cymbals crash inside the pyramid, voices fill up the halls
Set the cheetahs on the loose
There’s a thief out on the move
Underneath our legion’s view
They have taken Cleopatra, Cleopatra
The jewel of Africa, jewel
What good is a jewel that ain’t still precious?
How could you run off on me? How could you run off on us?
You feel like God inside that gold
I found you laying down with Samson and his full head of hair
I found my black queen Cleopatra, bad dreams, Cleopatra
Remove her, send the cheetahs to the tomb
Our war is over, our queen has met her doom
No more, she lives no more serpent in her room
No more, he has killed Cleopatra, Cleopatra
Big sun coming strong through the motel blinds
Wake up to your girl for now, let’s call her Cleopatra, Cleopatra
I watch you fix your hair
Then put your panties on in the mirror, Cleopatra
Then your lipstick, Cleopatra
Then your six-inch heels
Catch her
She’s headed to the pyramid
She’s working at the pyramid tonight
Working at the pyramid
Working at the pyramid tonight
Working at the pyramid
Working at the pyramid tonight
Working at the pyramid
Working at the pyramid tonight
Working at the pyramid
Working at the pyramid tonight
Pimping in my convos
Bubbles in my champagne
Let it be some jazz playing
Top floor motel suite twisting my cigars
Floor model TV with the VCR
Got rubies in my damn chain
Whip ain’t got no gas tank
But it still got wood grain
Got your girl working for me
Hit the strip and my bills paid
That keep my bills paid
Hit the strip and my bills paid
Keep a nigga bills paid
She’s working at the pyramid tonight
Working at the pyramid
Working at the pyramid tonight
Working at the pyramid
Working at the pyramid tonight
Working at the pyramid
Working at the pyramid tonight
Working at the pyramid
You showed up after work I’m bathing your body
Touch you in places only I know
You’re wet and you’re warm just like our bathwater
Can we make love before you go
The way you say my name makes me feel like
I’m that nigga
But I’m still unemployed
You say it’s big but you take it
Ride cowgirl
But your love ain’t free no more, baby
But your love ain’t free no more
She’s working at the pyramid tonight
Working at the pyramid
Working at the pyramid tonight
Working at the pyramid, that’s right
Working at the pyramid tonight, yeah
Working at the pyramid
Working at the pyramid tonight
Working at the pyramid
Working at the pyramid tonight
(Air guitar)
Frank Ocean’s ‘Pyramids’ is more than just a song; it’s an intricate narrative that weaves together the past and the present, encapsulating centuries of love, power, and betrayal. At over nine minutes long, the track is an odyssey that transports listeners across time, setting the stage in ancient Egypt with Cleopatra before tumbling through the rabbit hole into a modern-day strip club.
Packed with symbolic imagery and a hauntingly smooth beat, the track from Ocean’s acclaimed 2012 album ‘channel ORANGE’ is a bold exploration of identity, commodification of love, and the enduring legacy of historically influential figures. Through his ambitious storytelling, Frank Ocean stitches an enigmatic lyricism that not only lures but demands a deeper introspection.
Cleopatra and Her Modern Incarnation – The Connecting Thread
Ocean’s ‘Pyramids’ is a clear juxtaposition of the powerful Cleopatra’s fall with a modern woman’s struggle in a society where her bodily autonomy is commodified. The lyric ‘She’s working at the pyramid tonight’ serves as a double entendre that bridges the ancient and contemporary worlds. It positions the modern ‘Cleopatra’ in a space far removed from her royal throne, highlighting the diminished glory and the altered perception of women in power across time.
The seamless transition from rulership to servitude presents a somber commentary on how the value of certain individuals in society has transformed. Ocean pens a powerful visual with the cheetah—a symbol of regal might—in scenes of both majesty and maltreatment, furthering the narrative of fallen dignity and exploited legacy.
The Sonic Landscape of a Crumbling Dynasty
Musically, ‘Pyramids’ is a masterpiece of changing tempos and genres, echoing the shift from ancient majesty to downcast present-day realities. The song opens with grandioity and a beat that evokes the march of Egyptian pharaohs, then descends into a darker, restrained R&B rhythm that mirrors the lyrical descent from queenship to the nightclub.
This sonic evolution not only illustrates the thematic shift but also emboldens the listener to feel the weight of centuries passed, making Ocean’s storytelling an immersive experience. Like the ‘chandeliers inside the pyramid’ and the ‘cymbals crash’, the music is fraught with the tension of opulence turned imperilment.
A Thief in the Night: The Hidden Meaning Behind the Loot
The recurrent theme of theft in ‘Pyramids’ underlines a nuanced view of historical loss and personal betrayal. ‘There’s a thief out on the move’ could speak to the real-life looting of Egypt’s treasures over centuries, but it also could depict the robbery of love and purity in the context of contemporary relationships.
Ocean’s protagonist, whether it be Cleopatra or the modern woman, faces a world where her possession—whether a kingdom or her heart—is never truly secure. Ocean lays bare the irony of how some jewels, physical or metaphorical, cease to hold value when exposed to the whims of time and the covetousness of men.
Echoes of Samson: Strength, Hair and The Fall
The biblical allusion to Samson in the line ‘I found you laying down with Samson and his full head of hair’ stirs a powerful image of betrayal and vulnerability. This association reflects the potency of love as a destructive force capable of causing the mightiest downfall—an inescapable fate, from ancient hero to the modern Everyman.
Ocean’s song adeptly uses the Samson motif not only to cement the female protagonist’s role in the downfall of greatness but also to comment on the fragility of intimacy and trust. The modern Cleopatra is complicit in a cycle of history that reverberates with the echoes of her ancient namesake’s tragedy.
The Poignancy in Love’s Labor: Unpacking Memorable Lines
Perhaps the most heart-wrenching moment of the song is in Ocean’s depiction of the labor of love, dismantled and repackaged into labor for survival, ‘Working at the pyramid tonight.’ This line resonates as a bleak anthem for the grind, the seductive disillusionment of modern-day romance, and the relentless pursuit to keep ‘my bills paid’ in a world where everything, even love, has a price tag attached.
Ocean’s introspective narrative culminates in lines soaked with vulnerability: ‘The way you say my name makes me feel like I’m that nigga/But I’m still unemployed.’ It encapsulates the protagonist’s yearning for significance in the shadow of societal roles and the merciless reality where his self-esteem hinges on economic prowess and romantic conquests.
