Take the Long WayQqqqtipppp

Intro - spoken over bass and Rhodes

Turn the dashboard down

Let the skyline light the room

Yeah

Take the long way

Verse 1 - MC 1 smooth and deliberate

Rain scribbles on the windshield diamonds in cursive

Her nails tap the console keeping time with the verses

Bordeaux leather seats her lipstick a match

Moon caught inside the bezel trying hard to slip the latch

Learned math from the landlord the first was the deadline

Now my last name sits inked on a slice of the skyline

The tailor took my measure couldn't measure the mileage

There's a kid in this cashmere still allergic to sirens

Silver plated the doorway warm tile underfoot

Mama used to burn her hands on the oven every winter

Now the heated marble greets her like the sun came in for dinner

My old rival sent a bottle tied a ribbon round the neck

Funny how a threat gets manners once your name is on the check

She said why's the seal unbroken

I said some gifts got teeth

Saw his smile reflected in the silver underneath

Left a tip that paid the rent then the doorman swung the door

Engine cleared its throat we weren't talking anymore

Hook - melodic female vocal with male responses

Black glass low lights bass in the leather

Her perfume and the night air mixing together

Whole city in the mirror gold face on the dial

She said take the long way

I said that's my style

Black glass low lights let the kick drum roll

Champagne in her laugh little smoke in her soul

From the bars on the windows to a roof full of stars

We were raised by the night now the night is ours

Verse 2 - MC 2 harder delivery accelerating through internal rhymes

Black lacquer back pressure that engine's a panther

Her dress got one strap the night got no manners

Snare kicking doors bass picking the locks

Got the whole car leaning like a yacht at the dock

Silk lining steel nerves signatures on the mergers

Seen wolves learn French just to sweet-talk the shepherds

They put velvet on a trap call it first-class seating

I can hear the price change by the way a man greets me

Every handshake comes with fine print underneath the fingers

I study who gets served who eats who lingers

Your whole empire's rented I can hear it in the boasting

Paper crowns get soggy when the champagne starts exploding

She says you ever switch it off

I loosen up the tie

Let the bass do all the talking as the buildings wander by

Red light on her cheek little gold around her eyes

Soon as green hits the glass we melt back into the lights

Hook - fuller harmonies

Black glass low lights bass in the leather

Her perfume and the night air mixing together

Whole city in the mirror gold face on the dial

She said take the long way

I said that's my style

Black glass low lights let the kick drum roll

Champagne in her laugh little smoke in her soul

From the bars on the windows to a roof full of stars

We were raised by the night now the night is ours

Breakdown - bass and drums only MCs trade lines

Bridge lights stitch gold through the roof of the ride

Bass got the rearview dancing side to side

Her heel on the floor she's conducting the kick

Diamond bracelets playing percussion on her wrist

We could park by the water let the whole world pass

Watch the headlights melt on the river like wax

Turn the phones face down let the last call fade

We can give the city back when the night turns gray

Final Hook - both MCs female harmonies soaring

Black glass low lights bass in the leather

Her perfume and the night air mixing together

Whole city in the mirror gold face on the dial

She said take the long way

I said that's my style

Black glass low lights let the kick drum roll

Champagne in her laugh little smoke in her soul

From the bars on the windows to a roof full of stars

We were raised by the night now the night is ours

Outro - drums drop bass continues

She reached for the volume

I thought she was turning it down

She wasn't