Sinta o Pulso: Lauryn Hill, em teoria

“…e quando me refiro a Adão, estou mesmo falando sobre toda a humanidade, sem exceção, qualquer um. E eu sei que muitos dos conceitos nesta música são pesados, mas eu….Veja, fantasia é o que as pessoas querem, mas realidade é do que elas precisam. E eu me aposentei da fantasia, porque eu percebi que eu….”

Costumava ouvir Lauryn Hill em bancos de passageiro. Lembro d’ela esganiçar alí, coberta por jeans e violão, mas jamais havia parado para ouví-la falar. Acontece. Há tantas outras coisas que vivem perto de mim, dentro de mim, e nem fico sabendo.

Nestas idas e ouvidas, chegou até mim a música Adam Lives in Theory, com sua letra de fato pouco leve. No vídeo abaixo (MTV Unpluggled/ Maio 2002 – quando minha mente ainda nem era nascida), a nega já começa mostrando para o que veio antes de cantar. O trecho de início, aqui trazido entre aspas e itálico, é narrado antes da música, momento em que Lauryn prepara: vou falar aqui em preto-e-branco (e não necessariamente agradou quem aplaudiu por euforia).

Adam Lives in Theory fala de humanidade, de um Adão que transborda crenças e verdades-mestras de origem questionável. Fala da culpa colocada em quem apenas provocou o perigo, sendo ambos responsáveis por qualquer consequência. Fala da morte  trazida por Eva para dentro de um lar, deixando adoecidos os que traem, os que fazem trair e os que vivem enfermos de desconfiança. Ora, seria Eva a mente que nos provoca a própria humanidade? Não por adultério conjugal, mas por traição de valores deixados de lado? A música toda acontece num Jardim do Éden, história cheia de significados atuais e sem ser um início de Bíblia. Cada estrofe riquíssima em verdades duras. Veste, sem fantasiar-se, uma bandana justa, que parece coroar a mente desta nega-jeans. Vale a pena conferir os gênesis a cada estrofe, logo após o vídeo.

Adam Lives in Theory

Adam lives in theory trying to turn stone into bread, masquerading like he’s got it figured out

Cut off from the sunshine only smart in his own head

Leaving his descendents to hope in doubt

Left to his devices, those worthless sacrifices, praying to the altar of his self

Making pilgrimages thinking he’s religious, like he’s got all the light and no one else

He takes the unsuspected ’cause he knows they’re not connected, and he shows them how to be just as he is

Virtually real and commercially appeal to the lust of all the people where he lives

Eve was so naïve, blinded by the pride and greed, wanting to be intellectual

Drifting from the way she got turned out one day and now she thinks that she’s bisexual

Caught up in emotion, burning up in her devotion to the king of exploitation in the field

She handed him her virtue, ’cause he told her ‘I won’t hurt you,’ so she laid with him to see how good it feels

Now can you tell me what, what we gonna do now, where we gonna go now, what we gonna say now ,

now can you tell me what, what we gonna do now, where we gonna go now, what we gonna say now…

Now after the sensation and the empty fornication she brought infection home into her bed

Quickly multiplying, now the three of them are dying by the poison she perceived to be good head

Now Eve and her husband are perverted in their judgment ’cause everything appeared to be the same

They entertained suggestions,’next time just use protection’

Desiring to cover up their shame

But much to their demise poor decision closed their eyes to the very antidote to their dilemma

Burning in their lust, both of them adulterous, destroying the original agenda, praying to the sky in order to maintain a lie

They exhausted every possible conclusion

They can’t even entertain the solution in a brain filled with vain information and pollution

Hiding from the truth, he provided an excuse to explain away his desperate situation

When confronted blamed his wife, giving birth to carnal life, refusing to acknowledge what he’d done

Now, if we can’t agree with who created us to be who says we’re guilty everyone before his eyes

Making no exception since the day of our conception, predisposed to hating truth and loving lies

Then can you tell me what, what we gonna do now, where we gonna go now, what we gonna say now…

Then can you tell me what, what we gonna do now, where we gonna go now, what we gonna say now…

Stop walking in pride, let the thief be crucified, unlearn everything you know and let Him teach you

Line upon line and precept upon precept

Say goodbye to this decaying social system

He wants to know how far we’re willing to go, if we love Him like we say we do, He’ll try us

Just you don’t regress or slip into hopelessness

Once He’s satisfied it’s love He won’t deny us

And then He’ll tell us what, what we gonna do now, where we gonna go now, what we gonna say now…

He’ll tell us what, what we gonna do now, where we gonna go now, what we gonna say now…