Cautionary Tales Lyrics
Heard he was born as a beast and a ghost
On the East of a coast where they eat you for jokes, uh
I know a guy who said his mom knew a man
Whose mother's sister saw him in the mall one time
Heard he was high and he rode to the sky
And it opened and God played a song he recorded
He wrote it down
But he only play the record for his wife sometimes
Heard he survived, on an island with Vikes
That provided the Valkyries, sirens, and pirates
Don’t know the guy, yeah, uh
But they talk about his verses in the night sometimes
[Chorus: Jon Bellion]
Big bang, the six, the seven
Hey hey, the king, the legend
Big bang, the truth, the weapon
Hey hey, the king, the legend
Big bang, the six, the seven
Hey hey, the king, the legend
Big bang, the truth, the weapon
Hey hey, the king, the legend
[Verse 2: Jon Bellion]
Heard he was formed from the lights that are Northern
The Rock of Gibraltar, he once got an offer
From Lucifer's daughter to bow to the gods
So he'd keep his verses sharper than a knife sometimes
Heard he was warned that a hero gets torn
Between fame and adornment and loses his sword
So he shot the fame down, uh
But he keep a mask on him if the sign’s in the sky
Heard he was happy so no one could gas him
Or force him to dance like a monkey for assets
He loves his life, uh, uh
But he keep a pen sharp enough to write one time (Woo)
Big bang, the six, the seven
Hey hey, the king, the legend
Big bang, the truth, the weapon
Hey hey, the king, the legend
Big bang, the six, the seven
Hey hey, the king, the legend
Big bang, the truth, the weapon
Hey hey, the king, the legend
[Bridge: Jon Bellion]
(Ooh)
(Ooh)
He struck down gods and he killed an army
Stood up on top of a hill of bodies
It was never enough
He just needed saving from himself
Put up both hands, made the lightning come down
Rep got so big that it blocked the sun out
It was never enough
He just needed saving from himself
[Outro: Jon Bellion & JD McCrary]
(Woah)
It was never enough
He just needed saving from himself
It was never enough
He just needed saving from himself
He just needed saving from himself (Ooh, woah)
It was never enough
He just needed saving from himself (The king, the legend)
He just needed (The king, the legend)
It was never enough
He just needed saving from himself
The king, the legend
Himself
The king, the legend (Woah)
The king, the legend
About
Cautionary Tales is a song written alike a fairytale or a story that is passed down through generations via word of mouth alone. Jon starts by talking about how his fans see him as a legend but states that the fame started to rip him apart and he wants people to see him as a regular guy – not wanting to be treated specially. And that he makes music as he enjoys it not down to fans or critics.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
It’s a young artist named JD McCrary! He’s up-and-coming and has released a couple of songs this year
Before the album released, Jon posted a video of him and Will in the studio. When listeners heard “Cautionary Tales,” the voice in the chorus sounded familiar to Will’s and lines were drawn back to the video posted earlier in the year. Jon cleared up the question on Genius’ show For the Record:
That’s not him, that’s my voice saying that. It’s just me manipulating it to a place where it doesn’t sound like me. He just stopped by the studio one day. We were in the same place in the Bahamas, I was finishing up Glory Sound Prep. I played him a bunch of the album, he was super into it. He was joking around like, “Please don’t play me anymore ‘cause I’m gonna end up forcing you to put me on this album,” but no, it wasn’t him.
- 2.JT
- 3.Let’s Begin
- 4.Stupid Deep
- 5.The Internet
- 6.Blu
- 7.Adult Swim
- 9.Cautionary Tales
- 10.Mah’s Joint
