How the Leopard Got Its Spots Lyrics

[Verse 1]
Palms are fitted black and finely tuned
To triggers, cause bodies that tremble


[Chorus]
But this mud looks shallow from the beach
When we hide behind such ugly faces
And the dark-eyed woman lifts her head
"Why do we hide behind such ugly faces?"

[Verse 2]
Child-bearing games from the streets down to the shores
They're playing as waterways open in an obscene gaping gasp


[Chorus]
But this mud looks shallow from the beach
When we hide behind such ugly faces
And the dark-eyed woman lifts her head
"Why do we hide behind such ugly faces?"

[Post-Chorus]
"Rally all your men there is work to be done"
Still, we don't have the time for speaking out of place
Because he won't come down
(He won't come down)
He won't come down
(He won't come down)
[Verse 3]
When lengths of snakes match each silent syllable
"With eyes like these"
Face glistening with suspense of a scalpel blade
Clockwork calculating surgical precision

[Chorus]
But this mud looks shallow from the beach
When we hide behind such ugly faces
And the dark-eyed woman lifts her head
"Why do we hide behind such ugly faces?"

[Post-Chorus]
"Rally all your men there is work to be done"
Still, we don't have the time for speaking out of place
He won't come down
(He won't come down)
He won't come down
(He won't come down)
He won't come down
(He won't come down)
He won't come down
(He won't come down)

[Bridge]
La, la, la da da
La, la, la da da
La, la, la da da
La, la, la da da
La, la, la da da
La, la, la da da
La, la, la da da
[Verse 4]
Palms are fitted black and finely tuned
To stomachs, swallowed whole that bayou

[Chorus]
But this mud looks shallow from the beach
When we hide behind such ugly faces
And the dark-eyed woman lifts her head
"Why do we hide behind such ugly faces?"

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About

Genius Annotation

The title of this song is a direct allusion to “How The Leopard Got His Spots,” a children’s story from Rudyard Kipling’s book of origin stories Just So Stories.

In the story, all the animals begin as solid-colored and are disadvantaged against the Leopard who blends in with the sand-colored High Veldt. All the animals acquire spots or stripes upon retreating to a forest to escape the Leopard and the Ethiopian. Following the advice from the Wise Baviaan, the Ethiopian turns his own skin black then prints spots on the Leopard with the tips of his fingers in order to blend with the forest.

The story ends with a reference to Jeremiah 13:23

Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the Leopard his spots?

The implied rhetorical answer is “no”, but it resolves by saying “They are quite contented as they are.”

Credits
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Release Date
January 24, 2006
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