Żywot [English translation]

[Verse 1: Taco Hemingway]

For those who want a biography this badly...

Szcześniak, '90. Place of birth? Cairo

Parent's marriage? Shattered in two thousand and fourth

Since then I protect my issues with jokes

At school always in the Z.A.L.1 mode, I still pass

Smart but lazy. The bell rings, I copy homework

In fourth grade I had an older friend

Nowadays she has a kid, and I carry a quarter2 in my pocket

In high school a guy offered me a blunt

Where are they? This and that one both failed

I listen to "Chronic"3, smoke until morning, finish at the daybreak

Like an outcast I want to be a bit of a Big and a bit Andre4

I download some mp3, flipping samples

Sounds awful, I give up on making beats, I prefer Grand Theft

I tell myself marijuana is cool, it's a lie

Final exams are soon, and I'm drifting with a car

I'm awaiting a failure, but not this time

Finals passed, I dealt with this silly rock5

Fell in love around seven times during the holidays

Still impatient, I keep looking at what will happen

Too lazy at the university, I would ditch lectures

I'm nineteen years old and I feel untouchable

I keep writing rhymes as to not get out of practice

I would probably kill back then to do what I'm doing now

I write raps but no one says arigato6

I don't worry if the money I spent will come back

MF DOOM's beats in that basement didn't make a very fun summer

Nowadays they cry to me that I make rap because it's trendy...

You've heard million anecdotes like this

A girl caught my eye, I broke up with another for her

2010 I met...

Actually I shouldn't be mentioning names here

Either way, later I started living with her in London

2012, I want to get to Luton on some cheap flight

While working on my master's degree I feel like they think I'm an idiot

I come back from the lessons, constantly under the impression that they were pouring water again7

During those lessons I write texts, poems in English

Looking for someone who could help me turn this into an EP

I record foreign songs with borrowed money

And my homie says "Your Polish ones are much better"

Right hand on the mic, my teeth crooked

I saw the spark up in your heart and then I took it

Me and London don't like each other, I question myself being here

It's getting more difficult with my girlfriend, we both have our own rhythm

Atmosphere in the relationship is getting less pretty

Until one Saturday the break up finally happened

I drive to Brussels, my head hurting me from tears

Thank god "Nothing Was The Same" by Drake started playing

[Bridge: Taco Hemingway]

- And then what? I came back to Warsaw, fell in love in around two weeks. I found a studio in Muranów and managed to finish an English EP titled "Young Hems". Then I sat down for a Polish project, started living with Partyka8, and kept thinking about what I'd like to do with my life

- And what happened to that Young Hems?

- You know...

[Verse 2: Taco Hemingway]

A few guys downloaded "Young Hems", then it went quiet

I don't know what to do... After all I have this master's degree...

I'm afraid that marketing business is too slimy for me

Sorry Michał9, but I know you have a huge distance to yourself

I become a translator, I translate a thousand of CVs

Contracts, manual guides, reports, regulations

Medical documentations, applications for money from the Union

Thesis synopses, flyers and magazines

(What else?) Drug, sausage and margarine commercials

(What else?) And many more, but it's not the right time for it

At nights I wrote "Trójkąt"10, and Rumak wrote beats

I was writing about legs and he was sampling rifles

December, huge premiere, Partyka8 poured drinks for us

We leave the topic alone, I'm still white from the stress

Because next day there's a concert... At a cafe in PKiN11

I walk out on the stage hoping that the fear goes away

Later at Chłodna12 I scream over this distortion

Months pass and people begin to talk

Talk about "Trójkąt"10, success out of nowhere like Leicester

Finally a sudden explosion after Jonek shoots "6 zer"13

I remember the anxiety before playing at Open'er14

Today it makes me happy, but I'll be honest with you...

I could barely walk onto that stage, and you can see the daze

On my face, that "There's so many people? I was playing underground just a while ago"

Autumn comes, and with it the first tour

The first down of all of this year's amazing ups

And I know, I know, I sound like a whiny kid again

But you see, there's still a pain buzzing in my head

Someone will recognize me at a pub so I stay home

My girlfriend keeps worrying, and I've been working less

I explain that it's because of the tour, but I don't mention the heavy drinking

And I blame the whole evil world for me gaining 10kg

When you ask me what's up, something's constantly wrong

Hypochondria is destroying me, I'm still scared of cancer

When you ask me what I've been doing since around September

I'll tell you that I don't remember, but definitely wasn't rap

In January I get back to living, before I roll onto the bottom

In February I start writing as Kanye releases Pablo

In March I run and exercise and feel like Rambo now

I enjoy breathing again and I haven't felt that for a while

I get a message "You're nominated for Fryderyki15 dude!"

I'm finally getting the fruit of my labor

I'm afraid of that rather loud gala, I prefer a quiet house

News about me winning, and I'm playing the fucking "Wild Hunt"16

To be honest I was really shocked

Tytus17 collects the award while saying something about show-business

I pick up Kacha18 from BUW19. Next morning I start working on "Marmur"

But things get complicated and I accidentally write "Wosk"20

[Bridge: Taco Hemingway & Rumak]

- Alright, I think that's enough. You're free to go, sir.

- Enough? You mean I can go now, back to Warsaw?

- Of course you can! This isn't a prison after all

- I understand. Thank you so much for helping me, sir... Goodbye

[Outro: Taco Hemingway]

After therapy I want to go ahead and not backwards

No complaining even if you hit me with a stick

You miss the past because days keep going by faster?

But remember:

You don't learn about "good old days" when you live in them

The "good old days" are happening right now, it's a privilege to live

I'll go eat falafel and drink Chilean wine

I'll finish "Mock"21 before midnight and then I'll go sleep

(Mr. Szcześniak, shot of vodka?) Okay, but just a tiny one

1. Zdolny a leniwy - Smart but lazy2. Meaning a quarter bottle of alcohol3. Chronic by Dr. Dre4. Reference to a hip-hop duo OutKast and the members Big Boi and Andre 3000.5. "Głaz" literally means "a rock" and as that it's most likely a reference to Sisyphus. But Łukasz Głaz is also the name of a physics and chemistry teacher from Taco's school, who was known for being very strict6. "Thank you" in Japanese7. Polish phrase "to pour water" means to talk/write in a wishy-washy way/off topic/avoiding the topic i.e. saying very little while talking a lot8. a. b. Łukasz Partyka9. Michał Wolniak10. a. b. Trójkąt Warszawski, (Warsaw Threesome) Taco's album11. Palace of Culture and Science12. Klubokawiarnia Chłodna 25, where Taco's album Trójkąt Warszawski had it's official release13. Reference to the music video for Taco's song "6 zer" that was produced by Jonek14. Open'er Festival that annually takes place in Gdynia15. Polish music awards16. Witcher 3: Wild Hunt17. Marcin Grabski, creator of Asfalt Records that Taco is a part of18. Katarzyna Kunda, Taco's girlfriend at the time19. Biblioteka Uniwersytecka w Warszawie - Warsaw University Library20. Wosk was an EP Taco released sometime before Marmur21. Book by Marek Krajewski