I'm forty "The big four oh" I'm forty "The big four oh" I'm forty "The big four oh" I'm forty "The big four oh" "Five years from thirty" Plus another five after Older than the TV infomercial for the thigh master Half-alive rapper Never signed to Half Life Snapping off fast like the segments of X-acto knifes Yeah, I do my own cuts in a pinch Stage fright used to have my guts in a cinch So much innocence diminished like dust in the wind I'm not a loser, man I just didn't win I'm six years older than my father when i got born Shopworn, well loved Heard around the harbour like a foghorn They got warned but little did they know I got middle aged but never been Middle of the road I'm forty "The big four oh" I'm forty "The big four oh" I'm forty "The big four oh" I'm forty "The big four oh" I put in the work The years The decades The ten thousand hours I worked service and lived in low rent housing I toured far and wide Performed in bars, dives, and chip shops Bizarre Ride! I made my mind an archive of hip-hop Living in tribute to the forebears The kid trail-blazed with pigtails, braids, and short hair I fought fair I couldn't wouldn't didn't stop Rocking to the rhythm and chewing more than I'd bitten off I've shown my influences reverence Flown by intuition Made known my preferences For the freshest princes and the jazziest of Jeffs If you happen to forget my name, hazard a guess I'm Lazarus resurrected, back like i left the oven lit Old McDonald, if not exactly loving it Get your nugget dipped in hot mustard and testify I'm fly as the biplane that crop dusts you with pesticide "Come check the age" Getting older as the crow flies I've looked at Joni Mitchell from both sides, I'm so wise I've authored only fictions but I've told no lies My libel turns to slander solely when it's vocalized I'll bowdlerize you boldly til there's soap in your eyes No surprise there So use caution washing that nice hair Or before you know it your scalp is itching and There's powder up top like the alps in Switzerland Yup, shampoo for my real friends, and so forth You know the rest. I'm all washed up, it's time to go to bed Aww shucks, you can buy my record But you won't I'm forty "The big four oh" I'm forty "The big four oh" I'm forty "The big four oh" I'm forty "The big four oh" Middle class Middle american Middle-schoolers Muddle through their Middle-life crisis Just a little too Disillusioned