Yo guys! So this line from LOST IN THE ECHO has bugged me for quite a while. The full line is "I can't C-flat, it ain't my tone" and honestly, I've just been puzzled as to what Mike is actually saying. Like, is he trying to say that he hits notes perfectly every time that he sings and that he's incapable of falling short of a note? I mean, I get that he's trying to make a cocky rap line but that's pretty weak if you ask me. I know it seems trivial to nitpick at one line but I was just wondering if anyone else had an interpretation of what exactly Mike is trying to say here.
Good catch if that is the actual lyric. I always thought it was SEE FLAT. Also, a C Flat is not an actual note, that would be a B note. Like how a B Sharp is actually a C. Which is why I doubt this.
The lyrics do say C-flat. Straight out of the lyrics book, "I can't C-Flat / it ain't my tone". Yeah. Mike tried too hard to b sharp with his words.
Thanks for the feedback guys! Yeah that's what always tripped me up about this line, since NO ONE can C-flat lol. But it makes sense in that if you're trying to hit a C while singing, you can fall short and hit a semitone between B and C, which is how you'd hit C-flat, but even then, it wouldn't be a C-flat, it would be a flat C haha. And since he says it isn't his "tone" I'm assuming it must refer to his vocals. Minuteforce's explanation is interesting to me in that since there's no half step between B and C it could be Mike saying he doesn't step wrong, but I doubt Mike is that complex lol.
Well, there's no C-flat minor, only a C-flat major scale, so you could look at it with that in mind as well.
I feel what he's trying to say is almost a musical pun, as he can't "B natural", or be natural, as b natural is another name for c flat, and the theme of being an outcast is central to many linkin park songs, such as "breaking the habit".
It's strictly a musical pun on how in the literal sense there's no such thing as a "C flat" note (in certain situations it's theoretically correct to refer to a note that's enharmonic to B natural as a C flat since scale-wise you're only "supposed" to use each letter once, so like if you were playing a Bb phrygian scale or whatever you wouldn't call the second note B, you'd call it Cb since you already used the letter B for the Bb note). I can see why people might try to extract more meaning from it in context of the song, but Mike isn't above silly shit like this. Remember the "I'm like a struggling doctor, no patients" pun in High Road, where he literally wrote "get it? haha..." as a side note in the lyric book?
Love the discussion and all of the different opinions so far. To my ears, "I can't C-Flat" sounds like Mike's unwillingness to conform to the wrong standards the society has set for him, since C-Flat is a generally incorrect term to use in music.
He can't be anything that doesn't really exists... If he did...it would be spooky....unnatural.......powerful lyrics
You are all idiots. C-Flat is a reference to Pimp C's "The Honey" where he says he got respect for the flat backers. Mike doesn't like flat junk because it "ain't his tone" and he wants to fall back on that ass because he came (ejaculated) too far. What would you all do if I wasnt here to break down the quadruple entendres (don't ask me how) of Shinoda?