Cloud Nine
Gladys Knight & The Pips Lyrics

Childhood part of my life, it wasn't very pretty.
I grew up in the poor slums of the city and it was far from a happy childhood.

You see, I was born and raised in the slums of the city,
I spent my entire childhood living in the dingy, crime-ridden urban slums.

It was a one room shack that slept ten other children besides me.
My living quarters were cramped and barely suitable for human habitation, with 10 kids crammed into one small room.

We hardly had enough food or room to sleep.
Food and sleeping space were both in short supply, and we had to do without many basic necessities of life.

It was hard times,
My childhood brought some of the roughest challenges and obstacles that life could throw at me.

Needed something to ease my troubled mind.
I was desperate for some kind of relief from the stresses of my difficult living conditions.

Listen! my father didn't know the meaning of work,
My dad was lazy and never held down a real job or contributed meaningfully to our family's well-being.

He disrespected mama, and treated us like dirt.
My dad was emotionally abusive and regularly mistreated my mother and his children.

I left home, seekin' a job that I never did find,
As soon as I was old enough, I tried to escape my terrible home life by finding a job that could support me, but it proved fruitless.

Depressed and downhearted I took to cloud nine,
In order to escape my pain and seek refuge from the turmoil of my life, I turned to cloud nine - a metaphorical state of mind where my worries and responsibilities could evaporate.

I'm doin' fine, up here on cloud nine.
In my own way, I've found a sense of peace and joy that was never available to me in reality.

Folks down there tell me,
People back in the world of normalcy often give me advice.

They say, 'give yourself a chance son, don't let life pass you by'.
They offer me words of encouragement, telling me to seize opportunities and make a better life for myself.

But the world of reality is a rat race where only the strongest survive,
Unfortunately, the outside world is filled with harsh competition and a struggle to survive where many cannot thrive.

It's a dog eat dog world, and that ain't no lie.
The truth is that life is full of ruthless competition and few people get ahead without stepping on others to climb the ladder.

Listen! it ain't even safe no more to walk the streets at night,
The world has become a dangerous and unpredictable place, where even simple things like walking outside at night are fraught with peril.

I'm doin' fine, on cloud nine.
Despite the intense difficulties of reality, I remain content and happy in my own private haven.

Let me tell you about cloud nine.
In case you're not familiar with this metaphorical state of mind I'm enjoying, let me share my insights with you.

Cloud nine, you can be what you wanna be
Cloud nine is a place of freedom, where you can completely and unapologetically be yourself.

(cloud nine) you ain't got no responsibility,
In cloud nine, there is no sense of obligation or duty, only a feeling of unrestrained happiness.

And ev'ry man, ev'ry man is free
Everyone, without exception, is able to experience the joys of cloud nine without judgment or restriction.

(cloud nine) and you're a million miles from reality.
Cloud nine is a complete escape from the harshness of reality, allowing you to leave behind your troubles and just be.

I wanna say I love the life I live,
I wouldn't trade the serenity I find in cloud nine for anything else in the world.

And I'm gonna live the life I love up here on cloud nine.
As long as I have the option, I will continue to revel in the bliss of cloud nine and evade the misery of reality.

I'm riding high
I am currently experiencing a great feeling of happiness and levity.

On cloud nine, you're as free as a bird in flight
One of the most wonderful aspects of cloud nine is the sensation of complete freedom, akin to a bird soaring through the open sky.

(cloud nine) there's no diff'rence between day and night
Time and its restrictions have no meaning in cloud nine, with every moment feeling like it blends into the next without a demarcation of day and night.

(cloud nine) it's a world of love and harmony
Unlike reality, cloud nine is a place of universal love and harmony, where all differences and conflicts vanish in the face of unbridled happiness.

(cloud nine) you're a million miles from reality.
Once again, it cannot be stressed enough how cloud nine offers a complete and total escape from the harsh, unforgiving world we inhabit, granting a million mile psychological distance from reality's many problems.

Cloud nine, you can be what you wanna be
Returning to the central theme of cloud nine, which is the freedom to be and do as you please without worrying about consequences or external expectations.

Cloud nine (you ain't got no responsibility),
Once again highlighting the looseness of cloud nine in terms of responsibilities, and the carefree attitude it encourages.

And ev'ry man, ev'ry man is free (cloud nine)
As said earlier, cloud nine is a fully egalitarian realm where every person is given the same opportunity to experience joy and happiness.

And you're a million miles from reality. (cloud nine) (cloud nine) (cloud nine)
Finishing up the song with a final, emphatic repetition of the core messages of cloud nine, its escapist nature, freedom, and ability to eradicate the constraints of reality.