The band consists of Matt Shultz (vocals), Brad Shultz (guitar), Nick Bockrath (guitar), Daniel Tichenor (bass, vocals), Jared Champion (drums) and Matthan Minster (keyboard, vocals, guitar).
Their breakthrough single was Ain't No Rest For The Wicked, which peaked at #83 on the Billboard Hot 100, #32 on the UK Singles Chart and #3 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart. This song was also featured as the intro song for the 2009 video game "Borderlands."
No Rest For The Wicked
Cage the Elephant Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I saw a pretty little thing approachin' me
She said, "I never seen a man who looked so all alone
Oh, could you use a little company?
If you pay the right price, your evening will be nice
And you can go and send me on my way"
I said, "You're such a sweet young thing, oh, why you do this to yourself?"
She looked at me and this is what she said
"Oh, there ain't no rest for the wicked
Money don't grow on trees
I got bills to pay, I got mouths to feed
There ain't nothin' in this world for free
Oh no, I can't slow down, I can't hold back
Though you know I wish I could
Oh no, there ain't no rest for the wicked
Until we close our eyes for good"
Not even fifteen minutes later, I'm still walkin' down the street
When I saw the shadow of a man creep out of sight
And then he swept up from behind, he put a gun up to my head
He made it clear he wasn't lookin' for a fight
He said, "Give me all you've got, I want your money, not your life
But if you try to make a move, I won't think twice"
I told him, "You can have my cash, but first, you know I gotta ask
What made you wanna live this kind of life?"
He said, "There ain't no rest for the wicked
Money don't grow on trees
I got bills to pay, I got mouths to feed
There ain't nothin' in this world for free
Oh no, I can't slow down, I can't hold back
Though you know I wish I could
Oh no, there ain't no rest for the wicked
Until we close our eyes for good"
Yeah
Well, now a couple hours passed and I was sitting in my house
The day was winding down and coming to an end
And so I turned on the TV and flipped it over to the news
And what I saw, I almost couldn't comprehend
I saw a preacher man in cuffs, he'd taken money from the church
He'd stuffed his bank account with righteous dollar bills
But even still I can't say much because I know we're all the same
Oh yes, we all seek out to satisfy those thrills
You know there ain't no rest for the wicked
Money don't grow on trees
We got bills to pay, we got mouths to feed
There ain't nothin' in this world for free
Oh no, we can't slow down, we can't hold back
Though you know we wish we could
Oh no, there ain't no rest for the wicked
Until we close our eyes for good
Cage the Elephant's song "Ain't No Rest for the Wicked" tells the stories of three characters who are all driven by the need to survive in a world where "money don't grow on trees." The first character is a man who is approached by a prostitute who offers him company for the right price. He rejects her offer and asks her why she does what she does, to which she responds, "there ain't no rest for the wicked." She explains that she has bills to pay and mouths to feed, and in this world, nothing comes for free.
The second character is the singer who gets mugged by a man who also tells him that "there ain't no rest for the wicked." The mugger explains that he is driven by the same need to survive in a world where money is scarce. The third character is a preacher who is caught embezzling money from his church. The singer acknowledges that even though he cannot condone the preacher's actions, he understands that he was also driven by the same need to fulfill his desires.
The song highlights the fact that everyone is driven by the same needs and desires, and in this world, one must work hard to meet those needs. It suggests that there is "no rest for the wicked" because we are all living in a world that demands constant movement, and one must be smart and resourceful to survive.
Line by Line Meaning
I was walkin' down the street when out the corner of my eye
I was walking down the street when I noticed something out of the corner of my eye
I saw a pretty little thing approachin' me
I saw an attractive woman walking towards me
She said, "I never seen a man who looked so all alone
Oh, could you use a little company?
If you pay the right price, your evening will be nice
And you can go and send me on my way"
She said that she had never seen a man who looked so lonely and offered her company for a price
I said, "You're such a sweet young thing, oh, why you do this to yourself?"
I called her sweet and asked why she was selling herself
She looked at me and this is what she said
"Oh, there ain't no rest for the wicked
Money don't grow on trees
I got bills to pay, I got mouths to feed
There ain't nothin' in this world for free
Oh no, I can't slow down, I can't hold back
Though you know I wish I could
Oh no, there ain't no rest for the wicked
Until we close our eyes for good"
The woman explained that she had bills to pay and couldn't afford to rest. She had to keep moving and earning money until she died.
Not even fifteen minutes later, I'm still walkin' down the street
When I saw the shadow of a man creep out of sight
And then he swept up from behind, he put a gun up to my head
He made it clear he wasn't lookin' for a fight
After only 15 minutes, a man crept up behind me and held a gun to my head, making it clear that he wanted my money.
He said, "Give me all you've got, I want your money, not your life
But if you try to make a move, I won't think twice"
The robber demanded my money and said he wouldn't hesitate to shoot me if I resisted.
I told him, "You can have my cash, but first, you know I gotta ask
What made you wanna live this kind of life?"
I gave the robber my money and asked what drove him to rob people.
He said, "There ain't no rest for the wicked
Money don't grow on trees
I got bills to pay, I got mouths to feed
There ain't nothin' in this world for free
Oh no, I can't slow down, I can't hold back
Though you know I wish I could
Oh no, there ain't no rest for the wicked
Until we close our eyes for good"
Yeah
The robber explained that he had bills to pay and mouths to feed, just like everyone else. He couldn't afford to rest until he died.
Well, now a couple hours passed and I was sitting in my house
The day was winding down and coming to an end
And so I turned on the TV and flipped it over to the news
And what I saw, I almost couldn't comprehend
After a couple of hours, I was sitting at home watching the news, unable to comprehend what I was seeing.
I saw a preacher man in cuffs, he'd taken money from the church
He'd stuffed his bank account with righteous dollar bills
But even still I can't say much because I know we're all the same
Oh yes, we all seek out to satisfy those thrills
I watched as a preacher was arrested for stealing church money and putting it in his own bank account. Despite this, I couldn't judge him too harshly because we all seek to satisfy our desires.
You know there ain't no rest for the wicked
Money don't grow on trees
We got bills to pay, we got mouths to feed
There ain't nothin' in this world for free
Oh no, we can't slow down, we can't hold back
Though you know we wish we could
Oh no, there ain't no rest for the wicked
Until we close our eyes for good
The song concludes by stating that, like the woman and the robber, we all have bills to pay and can't afford to rest. Despite wishing we could, there is no true rest for the wicked until we die.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Matthew Ray Shultz, Donald Bradley Shultz, Jared Lloyd Champion, Daniel Andrew Tichenor, Lincoln Parish
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@loganhelland4073
Glad the mugger had the decency to sing his threat.
@jordan_rae_music
i know, so sweet
@vauledmanx
Yes!!!
@eyoshinthemaximum
Ikr, such a nice man! Why cant all muggers be like that?
@rubenolivier4646
Professionals have standards!
@amartya9034
@@rubenolivier4646 Be polite
@Lord_Rangoon
The official song to listen to if you want to see if your headphones still work
@vinterbukser2261
[] hiii mind listening to this song called Time by The Impures, its a vibe trust me []
@Gothlover4ever
Thats litteraly why im here....
@agent-duckman
Why