Zack Hemsey - 'Silver Crimson Black'

Track 5 from the album RONIN.

Music, Lyrics, Production, and Vocals by Zack Hemsey
Mixed by Zack Hemsey
Mastered by Lou Hemsey
Artwork & Design by Omead Afshari

[jeffreymcgillivray]

This man has the best lyrics I've ever heard. It sends shivers down my spine.

[ganjaericco]

"That silver shines when a man stands in victory
That crimson blinds from the fires of our history
That black aligns all the beauty and the misery"

Wow...

[HumanistCommunicator]

Ronin was a feudal samurai without a master, forced and discriminated against by all those around him.
Silver, Crimson, Black, is about the different shades of a warrior (the
theme of the warrior is repeated throughout the Ronin Album).
Silver, is about the honor, the prestige, the respect and the nobility of a warrior.
Crimson is about the blood and violence, the aggressive brutality of the reality a warrior must live.
Black is the ultimate answer. It is depression, it is fear, it is death itself. It is inescapable and a true warrior must acknowledge Black's existence.
We can assume that Zack Hemsey was reciting the combination of these three key traits of the few greatest and most brave warriors, included the Ronins of Feudal Japan.

[shadowkhiz]

[Intro]
Silver, crimson, black
Ronin
That silver, crimson, black
Silver, crimson, black
Ronin
Silver, crimson, black

[Verse 1]
Words of a scribe
No words can describe
But they can serve as a guide
And you can learn if applied
Now some burn from the match
Some fall through the cracks
So for those lost, this a map
Silver, crimson, black

[Verse 2]
To know silver is to know respect
In disguise, come that silver like a side effect
But silver lies with the snake, ain't no idle threat
So only rest where all them silver lines bottleneck
Silver off the screen, treated patron like a saint
Silver in that spoon, but don't confuse the painter with the paint
'Cause silver heed the tales of butchered men and perished souls
Leave in its path fallen beasts, silver bullet holes
Silver under gold like pressure under weight
Silver that potential, it's that key to heaven's gate
Silver when that patience conquer seizure with restraint
Silver understands the essence of no greatest of the greats
And silver tame emotion like that silver spider sews
Silver mirrors light the way that silver moon glows
And silver cut adversity, so keep your hands closed
That silver, crimson, black a mix so few have ever known
Silver, crimson, black
Silver, crimson, black

[Verse 3]
Crimson decimate the workings of a straw man
Cut the ribbon, crimson opens with a strong ram
And crimson spread a mass of fury when the flames fan
Crimson have you searching for the exit on the floor plan
Crimson mob, bold
Paint the town red, giant uncontrolled
Red letter A's told
And crimson can seduce and turn a district into sleepers
Infect a righteous leader with a case of scarlet fever
Now let that crimson rise within, begin to see red
Catch that surprise, crimson reveals, begin to seem red
If crimson blooms, all the waters up and seized red
And all the crimson in our hands leave them seas red
Mark that zone red
Sound that code red
That ringing phone's red, emergency, the word said
And crimson flows from the rivers that our hearts bled
Crimson rose, redrum, murder, pose, dead
Silver, crimson, black
Silver, crimson, black

[Bridge]
Made with silver, crimson, black
Made with silver, crimson, black
Made with silver, crimson, black
Made with silver, crimson, black
Made with silver, crimson, black
Made with silver, crimson, black
Made with silver, crimson, black
Made with silver, crimson

[Verse 4]
Black rose pedals on the landscape when Grim come near
And black roams far, it's that final frontier
When black holes swallow, black's magic disappears
That black hole sorrow break the most austere
Now evil in the air, black tones sound fear
Though even if you stare, black veils, all clear
And never beg a savage, black hearts don't tear
But black mourns those who've departed so dear
Sincere is the reckoning, black's cloud storms
Black robes worn, black day's norm
Like black rats spread disease, black swarms
Meander in the dark and black eyes gon' form
As black's knight shield the heaven's with, black hides the messages
But black's light shows the evidence
And space is full of dark matter's black mass
Raise them stone walls, watch when black's ball smash

[Verse 5]
'Cause black's mark bear that ash from the rubble
Black bears the vault where those secret thoughts huddle
And black bares all, turn and face it if you dare
But if you run from black's bear be prepared for some trouble
Now who on earth am I?
Why are we alive?
What's the me in "my"?
Where does time fly?
All the pieces to the puzzle black hides
Black boundless explanatory gap so wide
And black envelops in that blackout
Question of the truth will lead to silence in that blackout
You should know confusion always follows when you black out
So never turn your back to black when it blacks out
Every luminescence casts a black shadow we perceive
But black's mail contain not one letter you can read
And criticize their worth but black's sheep stampede
Rely upon a plea or flee from black's OPs

[Verse 6]
That silver shines when a man stand in victory
That crimson blinds from the fires of our history
That black aligns all the beauty and the misery
Crimson and that silver can shed light on black's mystery
So pull that silver from the stone, let that red attack
Cross that silver with that black, be a silverback
And hold that crimson, red-handed as you go
Then with your black hand spin that hourglass, black widow

[Outro]
Silver, crimson, black
Silver, crimson, black
Silver, crimson, black

[reemkhatib]

Words of a scribe
No words can describe
But they can serve as a guide
And you can learn if applied
Now some burn from the match
Some fall through the cracks
So for those lost, this a map
Silver crimson black
To know silver is to know respect
In disguise come that silver like a side effect
But silver lies with the snake, ain't no idle threat
So only rest where all them silver lines bottleneck
Silver off the screen, treated patron like a saint
Silver in that spoon but don't confuse the painter with the paint
Cuz silver heed the tales of butchered men and perished souls
Leave in its path fallen beasts, silver bullet holes
Silver under gold like pressure under weight
Silver that potential, it's that key to heaven's gate
Silver when that patience conquer seizure with restraint
Silver understands the essence of no greatest of the greats
And silver tame emotion like that silver spider sews
Silver mirrors light the way that silver moon glows
And silver cut adversity so keep your hands closed
That silver crimson black a mix so few have ever known
Silver crimson black
Crimson decimate the workings of a straw man
Cut the ribbon, crimson opens with a strong ram
And crimson spread a mass of fury when the flames fan
Crimson have you searching for the exit on the floor plan
Crimson mob bold
Paint the town - red - giant uncontrolled
Red letter A's told
And crimson can seduce and turn a district into sleepers
Infect a righteous leader with a case of scarlet fever
Now let that crimson rise within, begin to see red
Catch that surprise, crimson reveals, begin to seem red
If crimson blooms all the waters up and seized red
And all the crimson in our hands leave them seas red
Mark that zone red
Sound that code red
That ringing phone's red, emergency the word said
And crimson flows from the rivers that our hearts bled
Crimson rose, redrum, murder, pose, dead
Silver crimson black
Made with sliver crimson black
Black rose pedals on the landscape when Grim come near
And black roams far, it's that final frontier
When black holes swallow black's magic disappears
That black hole sorrow break the most austere
Now evil in the air, black tones sound fear
Though even if you stare black veils, all clear
And never beg a savage, black hearts don't tear
But black mourns those who've departed so dear
Sincere is the reckoning, black's cloud storms
Black robes worn, black day's norm
Like black rats spread disease, black swarms
Meander in the dark and black eyes gone form
As black's knight shield the heaven's with - black - hides the messages
But black's light shows the evidence
And space is full of dark matter's black mass
Raise them stone walls, watch when black's ball smash
Cuz black's mark bear that ash from the rubble
Black bears the vault where those secret thoughts huddle
And black bares all, turn and face it if you dare
But if you run from black's bear be prepared for some trouble
Now who on earth am I
Why are we alive
What's the me in "my"
Where does time fly
All the pieces to the puzzle black hides
Black boundless explanatory gap so wide
And black envelops in that blackout
Question of the truth will lead to silence in that blackout
You should know confusion always follows when you black out
So never turn your back to black when it blacks out
Every luminescence casts a black shadow we perceive
But black's mail contain not one letter you can read
And criticize their worth but black's sheep stampede
Rely upon a plea or flee from black's ops
That silver shines when a man stand in victory
That crimson blinds from the fires of our history
That black aligns all the beauty and the misery
Crimson and that silver can shed light on black's mystery
So pull that sliver from the stone, let that red attack
Cross that silver with that black, be a silverback
And hold that crimson, red-handed as you go
Then with your black hand spin that hourglass, black widow

[Peter_Holder]

Keep coming back to this for the 'black' verse, love the raw energy in it

[JesusPeto]

Zack Hemsey- Thank you so much for these beautiful, deep, and moving songs that you post on youtube for us. We are all so appreciative of your music and your ideas. Please keep doing what your doing.

[godisnowhere]

Interesting how his rap videos are in Silver Crimson Black, but his intrumentals are Silver Black. So is he saying that the instruments contain his ideals (silver) and mysteries(black) while his voice conveys his rage (crimson)?

[to]

zack you're not a rapper, you're a poet... and hip hop could use some poems to flourish !

[dropcake]

Zack is spitting straight napalm at this point.

[lifetrinity]

People call Kanye a lyrical master in the same world that Zack Hemsey exists... this man is a beast at his game.

[shrikebutcherbird]

Silver: The Weapon, the Means

Crimson: The Murderous Rage, the Intent

Black: The Death from them, the Result

[raphaelhashbrown]

There is just something that you have expressed in this song that hits me very deeply and I love this feeling. I cant figure out what I feel like doing when I listen to this song, its just something which I feel great doing, makes the fire in me rage so passionately. Love what you did here Zack, very touching work. I very much believe that I will feel this great feeling in my life and when that happens I want you all to know reading this comment that you are too much of a great person to miss out on, do you and do what you love, You would be doing yourself a disservice for not living the life you want.

if you read all that, please be the REAL and uninfluenced you, bcuz when we are all fake to each other and ourselves we will never really know what it meant to live.

[donaldholden]

Silver is "the known" (order, culture, tradition, yang)
Black is "the unknown" (chaos, nature, death, yin)
Crimson is the conflict (blood and fire) that often appears on the boundary.
This song is a guide for YOU to go forth and act in the world, defined as such.
There is a ton of meaning in here packed tightly into a few verses.

[metamockingbird]

I'm glad I found your music Zack Hemsey. All of it fire, and helping me through some dark times. I hope you're doing well, and the best wishes over the holiday's Merrt Christmas to you and your family.

[Steveo-ni]

Love listening to his music at the gym

[truevision]

To fully appreciate this album I suggest understanding what the title means. Ronin is a Samurai who no longer has a master. The words of this song are describing the life of a Samurai.

[TheMrCaviar]

Silver Crimson Black. Nice color scheme, good choice for the album artwork. Mr. Afshari's art always makes a perfect match for Zack's songs.

[Kozk]

"No words can describe" how amazing these lyrics are. Easily up a notch on most stuff I've heard

[Aztx_]

When I listen to the song, I can only think of how it tells the futility of dying by the blade

The sliver is the slash, it commands respect for it is the sword, it delivers the blow

Crimson is the blood, it appears through sliver

Black is death, black is pointless black is internal and empty nothing more nothing less