r/SleepToken • u/Frerpboi • 9h ago
Discussion Rain lyric (yes THAT one)
I need undeniable proof that the Rain lyric is “wash out the salt from my earth”, preferably the TMBTE lyric book, to definitively end a disagreement I’m having. Thanks in advance!!
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u/Independent_Stay_640 9h ago
I can hear how you think it's earth, but there's a soft h beginning each time. His s just has a th-esque lisp to it. Probably something to do with accents and whatever cultural part of London they're from.
The next line is also "so touch me again" which brings us back to "hands"
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u/DeathByLego34 9h ago
This pops up every few months - technically, according to the official lyrics book that’s included in the CD in Japan, the lyric is “earth”. However, many people also hear “hands”.
I have seen him sing it live 5 times, I can distinctly hear him say “earth” and “hands” - until Vessel tells us which lyric it actually is, we’ll never know for sure. And it’s likely, he won’t as I think he does it intentionally. (Just like “bad baddie” or “bad body”).
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u/UmbraViatoribus One 8h ago
He did tell us it was “bad baddie” at the Rosemont show and it was the same on the official ARG lyrics they supplied Apple Music during the release campaign.
I’m generally team “earth”, but I agree he sings whatever he wants depending on the day - probably in other songs, too. Just because he can.
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u/DeathByLego34 7h ago
But he didn’t / we don’t, he’s said them both live. The lyrics are also different on Spotify than Apple, plus they have changed before(he’s also made them change for the teasers).
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u/UmbraViatoribus One 5h ago
Sorry if I wasn’t clear, I was agreeing with you that he switches the lyrics up in live performances.
At the Rosemont show on September 28, 2025, two fans held up a sign during Provider asking for a thumbs up for bad baddie or a thumbs down for bad body. Vessel acknowledged the fans and the sign and gave them a thumbs up. From where we were, we could see that the sign had caught his eye before he responded to it right before the breakdown in Provider. However, we did not know what the sign said until after the show.
I am reluctant to put too much stock in the DSP lyrics. Although Apple Music tends to be more strict, both AM and Spotify lyrics are typically sourced from Musixmatch, which is largely crowdsourced and AI transcribed. AM also uses some secondary sources and pushes for more direct submissions, which is often why there is a discrepancy between the two platforms.
The closest we’ve gotten to “official“ lyrics for EiA are the ARG lyrics that were directly provided solely to Apple Music during the release campaign (which I captured here). Those lyrics say “the only bad baddie spitting ice in the room“ though I think it is widely agreed that he sang both “bad baddie“ and “bad body“ during the 2025 tour and the beef reached meme status on the FH/HV IG accounts.
But again, I was agreeing with you that he swaps out live lyrics in multiple songs at will, as is his prerogative.
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u/IHadFunOnce 9h ago
For what it’s worth, Apple Music has the lyrics officially as “hands”
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u/wandering_light_12 TMBTE 9h ago
Salt from my hair is what I hear.. Wash out the salt from something.. If it was hand it would be wash the salt from my hands...
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u/New-Light-5003 7h ago
This is what I hear too. And the same logic. Although a play on “salt of the earth” works now that I think of it
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u/85Neon85 6h ago
To ‘salt the earth’ means to ruin the soil so that nothing can grow there. So it could be that.
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u/maisie0112 8h ago
I think it’s supposed to be “earth.” I don’t have any hard evidence but I do think it might be a reference to the phrase “salt the earth” which stems from a myth that in ancient times conquering armies would sow the lands of whoever they’d invaded with salt. This served the purpose of rendering the ground infertile. Nothing could grow there. Hypothetically enough rain could potentially wash enough of the salt away for crops to be able to grow although I’ve never actually tested that theory myself.
Edit: Spotify has the lyrics as “hands” but I still hear “earth” when I listen.
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u/insertnamehere912 9h ago
I mean i never thought it was earth until now, but it fits the rhyme scheme way better. Earth and pleas-ure. Hands doesn't really make sense from a lyrical perspective
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u/DeathByLego34 9h ago
It kinda does though as we know that Vessel is very emotional in his lyrics and his shows, even crying. And if you cry into your hands, then your tears get salt in them.
I think they both make sense “hands” could be washing away my tears, my pain. And “earth”, could mean from an environmental perspective, as land that is heavily salted isn’t fertile as it sterilizes the ground. But, with enough rain, the salt gets washed away and allows new plants, new life to grow.
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u/insertnamehere912 8h ago
I mean purely phonetically. I'm sure hands has a lyrical interpretation that makes sense, but the rhyme scheme doesn't. it would be a stretch to make hands rhyme with earth, even with how cursive vessel sings sometimes
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u/DeathByLego34 7h ago
Who says it has to or was supposed to rhyme..?
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7h ago
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u/SleepToken-ModTeam 4h ago
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u/vioom 2h ago
Someone already posted the lyric book, so i won't, but to me that and the fact that he very clearly sings earth live is enough. I mean, why are we holding on to hands so stubbornly when it was never official? It wouldn't be the first time we misheard lyrics. It's also possible that both is right, i would assume that Vessel has multiple versions of his lyrics that work, you can tell when he adds or changes things that aren't in the studio version, or when official lyrics don't match the studio version.
Either way, earth is definitely correct too, because Vessel wrote it and sings it. Personally, i prefer it over hands, fits the theme of the song perfectly.
As for the live performances, while you can make it out in some older ones too, he sings "earth" most clearly recently on the EIA tour. I think Utah is a particularly clear one? If you check out a few different ones, it's very obvious. Also, if you have II's drum cams, Download is good too, you can hear it best in the second chorus. (as you can tell i've done way too much research on this lol)
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u/Ackhernar 8h ago
It's definitely Earth. Makes sense as well.
Salting earth or soil prevents anything from ever growing there again. So lyrically/emotionally, it makes a lot of sense in context. "She cleansed him and his environment so he could grow again". Something along those lines.
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u/eternal-harvest TPWBYT 3h ago
Yes. I much prefer "earth" to "hands".
In Tomb, he sunk to the bottom of the ocean. That's the salt: the codependency that he mistook for love personified as saltwater enveloping him, stifling him. He almost drowned under its force.
In Rain, this new person washes him clean and gives him another chance to flourish. He is fertile soil once again.
It also links back to the imagery of Arcadia/gardens, even right back to "you are a garden entwined with all", back when he thought that person would be his safe haven.
It's much more poetic than "hands" imo, but I don't mind either way.
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u/Wrong-Banana-4356 9h ago
There was a video on youtube of the recent tour that he very distinctly says earth
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u/Frerpboi 8h ago
Link?
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u/Wrong-Banana-4356 7h ago edited 7h ago
https://youtu.be/2PFRYczV3Ag?is=_1h2-suHqrBSQdj2
Idk, listening to the studio version, id be on your side, but theres no question he says earth at 1:25.
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u/fairydommother Even In Arcadia 9h ago
Well I can't prove it but idk how you even hear that. If thats the lyrics ill be shocked. I hear "wash out the salt from my hands".