Holy Grail by Jay-Z: Lyrics Meaning and Interpretation
JayZ is an American rapper and record executive, working with and enhancing the careers of artists such as Kanye West, Rihanna and J Cole. He is one of the worlds best selling artists, having sold over 125 million records worldwide. He has won 24 Grammys to tie with Kanye West for the most Grammys won by a rap artist. He has even been ranked by Billboard and Rolling Stone as one of the 100 greatest artists of all time.
What does the title mean?
In the Christian religion, the Holy Grail is said to contain the blood of Christ, collected after his crucifixion. From there, it has been absorbed into myths with the likes of King Arthur having been known to have searched for it in the holy land. What the Holy Grail represents here is wanting something desperately and, as the further we dig into the lyrics shows, not knowing the cost.
Interpreting the lyrics of Holy Grail
This song is about the cost of fame. Jay Z and Justin Timberlake spend the entirety of the song weighing the pros and cons of what they’ve individually achieved. You could say the two of them are titans of the industry with multiple world-renowned tracks and prestigious awards to their names. All the fame and recognition, however has come at a cost as they show in these lyrics.
The video as well alludes to the cost of fame and fortune, with JayZ being alone in a largely spartan black painted room. Justin as well enters a decrepit ballroom with the guests gesticulating as ghosts and a table of food and drink that has already been savaged. These things perhaps refer to the isolation one feels when they are at the very top of the industry.
Verse 1 – What does it mean?
“Uh, Blue told me remind you niggas
Uh, fuck that shit y’all talkin’ about, I’m the nigga
Uh, caught up in all these lights and cameras
Uh, but look what that shit did to Hammer
Uh, goddammit I like it
Bright lights is enticing
But look what it did to Tyson
All that money in one night
Thirty mill for one fight
But soon as all that money blows
All the pigeons take flight
Fuck the fame, keep cheatin’ on me
What I do, I took her back, fool me twice that’s my bad
I can’t even blame her for that
‘Nough to make me wanna murder, mama please just get my bail
I know nobody to blame
Kurt Cobain, I did it to myself, uh”
Blue mentioned here could refer to the fact that JayZ has in fact trademarked a specific color of blue. This rather interesting achievement is what he’s talking about with his compatriots. It is meant to be the pinnacle of fame and fortune, to own an entire color.
The next lines however mention fame in a negative light again. Talking about what it did to MC Hammer. The star who rose to fame through his one hit wonder ‘baby got back’ soon ran into bankruptcy despite having made one of the most recognizable tracks in the industry.
He follows this with mentions of Mike Tyson. The infamous fight he had with Evander Holyfield netted him a cool thirty million dollars, though this was the fight where he chose to bite his opponents ear clean off. The bit about pigeons taking flight could be a subtle jab at about how Tyson has now retired and is raising pigeons.
The mentions of infidelity are interesting as it was JayZ who was allegedly unfaithful. Perhaps he has anthropomorphized fame and tried in the past to stay away from her and cheated on her with a quieter life. He couldn’t stay away however, so he returned and she took him back. Kurt Cobain unfortunately took his life at the age of 27 after a difficult battle with depression. The fame and following pressure to create more music were some of the reasons he took his life.
“And we all just entertainers
And we’re stupid, and contagious
Know we all just entertainers”
This is a sample of Nirvana’s ‘Smells like teen spirit’. These lyrics in isolation capture what JayZ is trying to say – about him being an entertainer and the love hate relationship he has with it. While this bit fits the theme thematically, the remix is just grating and unnecessary.
Verse 2 – What does it mean?
“You’d take the clothes off my back, and I’d let you
You’d steal the food right out my mouth
And I’d watch you eat it, I still don’t know why
Why I love you so much, oh
You curse my name
In spite, to put me to shame
Hang my laundry in the streets
Dirty or clean
Give it up for fame
But I still don’t know why (don’t know why)
Why I love it so much, yeah”
Justin here is addressing the media and his fans. They try to get a piece of him whenever they can. This could refer to them directly when he interacts with them on the way to shows or indirectly when they’re purchasing his merchandize and trying to look like him. Fans could have stopped him when he’d just stepped out for dinner for a simple thing as an autograph. The paparazzi also could’ve hounded him at that time. Through this, he still wonders why he loves it so much. When he drops a track that doesn’t immediately resonate with his audience or he changes his music style his fans may curse him for selling out or being subpar.
Hang my laundry in the streets refers to him ‘airing his dirty laundry’. The following line ‘dirty or clean’ though could mean he is just venting as a human would, and not just for the clicks and likes he’d have to bear for divulging private secrets.
While the starting of the verse reflects his views towards his audience, in the end he laments the fame. Switching from ‘I don’t know why I love you so much’ to ‘I don’t know why I love ‘it’ so much.
What does the chorus mean?
“And baby
It’s amazing I’m in this maze with you
I just can’t crack your code
One day you’re screaming you love me loud
The next day you’re so cold
One day you’re here, one day you’re there
One day you care, you’re so unfair
Sipping from your cup ’til it runneth over, Holy Grail”
Justin here says he cant understand how the fans and fame react to him. Its like hes in a maze, as we all are, most of the time. One day his idolaters adore him, yet the next they grow tired and indifferent. Its all or nothing in their eyes and the eyes of the public in general.
The ‘cup runneth over’ is taken from the Hebrew bible which means the owner has more than he needs. Juxtaposed with the Holy Grail, it makes for an interesting interpretation of having more than one needs, yet having more than one wants. A necessary difference considering the Holy Grail is often considered something unnatainable.
Verse 3 – What does it mean?
“Now I got tattoos on my body
Psycho bitches in my lobby
I got haters in the paper, photo shoots with paparazzi
Can’t even take my daughter for a walk
See ’em by the corner store
I feel like I’m cornered off
Enough is enough, I’m calling this off
Who the fuck I’m kidding though?
I’m getting high, sittin’ low
Sliding by in that big body
Curtains all in my window
This fame hurt but this chain worse
I think back you asked the same person
If this is all you had to deal with
Nigga deal with it, this shit just ain’t work, this light work
Camera snapping, my eyes hurt
Niggas dying back where I was birthed
Fuck your iris and the IRS
Get the hell up off your high horse
You got the shit that niggas die for
Dry yours, why you mad take the good with the bad
Don’t throw that baby out with that bath water you’re still alive
Still that nigga nigga, you survived
Still getting bigger nigga living the life
Vanilla wafers in a villa, illest nigga alive
Michael Jackson thriller”
Tattoos have gone from being taboo to being mainstream these days. JayZ, here, points to his tattoos being a showcase of his prosperity. Fans wait for him in hotel lobbies and try to follow his every move. Critics in newspapers give his albums mediocre ratings while at the same time he poses for the paparazzi. This is showcasing the duality of the media in his life.
If he wishes to do a simple thing like take his daughter to a store, he’ll be constantly hounded by photographers. He contemplates giving it all up but immediately chastises himself. Hes got cars and a mansion where he can lay low and get high. As long as he doesn’t step out, he has everything he could ever need.
He then mentions how while the fame hurts, what he dealt with before he made it big in the industry was a lot more difficult to deal with. The chain here could be the shackles of poverty or racial discrimination. The biggest problem he has is the camera flash making his eyes hurt, he says sarcastically. Growing up he had to deal with people he knew dying on a daily basis. He even admonishes rich people for complaining about having to pay taxes and the IRS. There are people on the street who would die for even a small amount of money.
Throwing the baby out with the bathwater here refers to not losing track of what he has gained. He does not wish to lose what little positivity fame has brought to him in pursuit of a quieter lifestyle. Even the irony of a simple thing as munching on vanilla wafers, a decidedly simple snack, in the comfort of a villa is not lost on him.
What does the outro mean?
“You get the air out my lungs, whenever you need it
And you take, the blade right out my heart
Just so you can watch me bleeding, I still don’t know why (don’t know why)
Why I love you so much
Yeah
Justin here is talking about how his fans can get the air out of his lungs whenever they need it. Quite literally referring to how he sings and uses his voice to make them happy. The fame he has accrued has come at a cost. His fans and their adoration save him by pulling out the knife in his chest, but that’s only because they want him to bleed more creativity for their ears.
Conclusion
This song is ultimately about weighing the pros and cons of fame and fortune. Many of us aspire to reach that level of adoration, but few stop to process what it would cost us socially and mentally. JayZ and Justin Timberlake do a great job of encapsulating what it feels like to be at the very top of the industry. Yet they also add a subtle ‘terms and conditions’ at the bottom, where they lament the problems fame has brought them.
In the end, we may not know what we’ve got till it’s gone, but worse yet, we may not want what we do till we get it.
It’s a decent track, give it a listen and see what you think!
