Lyrics For the Record (feat. Alfred Clemonts) - Donovan Livingston

What was coming from the speakers always hit the spot
Grandma would play the record, I'd just sit and watch
Never paid attention, always getting popped
She used to tell me like to scratch it like the chicken pox
Listen I learned a lot from them switches and belts
But nothing ever hit me like the music itself
The shelf, well it was stacked with em - stacked to the maximum
Old school, before R&B became an acronym
The Commodores, Ojays, Isleys, and the Jacksons, um
Marvin Gaye before his pappy put a cap in em,
Teddy Pendergrass, this fate, not an accident
Sunday night sounded like the theme from What's Happenin
Now, this high I could never explain
Granny would drop the needle like the groove was a vein
And no, I aint shooting up the charts - it's from the heart
For the record, I'm just reflecting, y'all this where it starts

For every scratched CD and unraveled cassette
You stuck a pencil through the hole and you twist to the left
For every needle and a groove that let's a human connect
For the record, it's the music that you gotta respect
For every scratched CD and unraveled cassette
You stuck a pencil through the hole and you twist to the left
For every needle and a groove that let's a human connect
For the record, it's the music that you gotta respect

Long before I was respected in all cyphers
I was writing in my dorm room, pulling all nighters
Before there was Spotify, before there was Limewire
We would gather 'round the radio like a bonfire
Crazy how a song could light a way or be a hiding place
From Side B to Side A, there's not a lot of space
I gotta find a tape! Can't record over that, bro that's gotta stay
I bump that one with the hearts when I gotta date
But hey, I never knew a love like this
I swear, every Tuesday, I'd cop a compact disc
Then I'd get back home, and download Dat Piff
Close my eyes, bite my lip, and pump my fist
That's it - I'm just my ancestors manifested
They said my legacy was clandestine, I'm transgressive
They left shoes that you can't step in, so don't stress it
This is the soundtrack to your next blessing

For every scratched CD and unraveled cassette
You stuck a pencil through the hole and you twist to the left
For every needle and a groove that let's a human connect
For the record, it's the music that you gotta respect
For every scratched CD and unraveled cassette
You stuck a pencil through the hole and you twist to the left
For every needle and a groove that let's a human connect
For the record, it's the music that you gotta respect

Yes I remember how you made me feel
The thoughts are clearer now how it was so real
You made the lonely nights fly by
You made the winter feel like July
You touched my heart, soothed my soul
I won't forget it. That's love
Look what you did to me, it's hard to explain
Every groove and melody, you make me free, I aint the same
You make me better, you keep my head up
You put me together again
Aint nothing greater

For every scratched CD and unraveled cassette
You stuck a pencil through the hole and you twist to the left
For every needle and a groove that let's a human connect
For the record, it's the music that you gotta respect
For every scratched CD and unraveled cassette
You stuck a pencil through the hole and you twist to the left
For every needle and a groove that let's a human connect
For the record, it's the music that you gotta respect