Cage the Elephant: Ain't No Rest For The Wicked Meaning

Ain't No Rest For The Wicked Lyrics

I was walkin' down the street
When out the corner of my eye
I saw a pretty little thing approaching me

She said I never seen a man
Who looked so all alone
Oh could you use a little company

And if you pay the right price
Your evening...

1. 1TOP RATED

   #1 top rated interpretation:
   britw87

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   Feb 23rd 2010 !⃝

   This song is about struggle, everyone is interpreting this word for word when it is much deeper than that. It's about people trying to just get by and doing things that they are not to proud of. Everyone in this song is made to sound like there is some good in there, their just tryin to take care of their own, "i wan't your money not your life", any heartless thug would just shoot him and the part about the preacher was indeed to show that even some of thee best of us are headin down this road. Wicked isn't to say that these people are bad people, its more or less dirty deeds and once you get caught up in these "wicked" things it's hard to stop weather it be stealing,. Prostitution, dealing drugs or any other hustle, it's hard to stop beause its more money than workin any 9-5. Thats why these people can't slow down or hold back like they say "even thou I wish I could" if you've ever done any kind of hustle you understand that goin from cold hard tax free cash back to a 9-5 is hard, most people who start hustlin-and never stop

2. 2TOP RATED

   #2 top rated interpretation:
   AnonEmouse

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   Sep 27th 2009 !⃝

   I think the song “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked” by Caged Elephant has a few different meanings. It talks about different people doing bad stuff. But I think they do it for the same reason, money. In the line “ain’t no rest for the wicked,” it means that the wicked, meaning people who do bad things, don’t get a break. They don’t get any rest from hassles, like bills, paying for food, and the law. They need the money right away. Everyone, even them, needs money to survive and feed their families. Sometimes people think they have to steal, and “sell” their bodies because they feel it is the only way they can get what they need.
   
   In the song, the singer also says “Ain’t nothing in this world for free.” I think that means that everyone needs to work to get something, you can just sit there and expect to get it. “I can’t slow down, I can’t hold back, Though you know I wish I could,” I think the prostitute is saying that her life is already ruined, she can’t stop or she’ll be in a deeper hole. Which would be, her life right then, only without any money, so she thinks that she might as well keep doing what she is doing. In the lines “But first you know I’ve got to ask,/ What made you want to live this kind of life?” I think that the artist was trying to show that not only him, but other people want to know why people commit crimes like that robber.
   
   At the end of the song, it talks about a preacher who stole from the church. I think they put that in the song because they wanted people to realize, that not all bad people look bad on the outside. They can be regular people in the street and you can’t tell the difference between them. Like in the line “But even still I can’t say much, because I know were all the same, oh yes we all seek out to satisfy those thrills.” People can’t tell the difference because we are all the same. We all do not so great things for our own selfish desires. It’s saying the we all are basically the same in that way. We can’t change this about ourselves unless we “close our eyes” and block out the world.
3. anonymous

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   Jan 12th 2022 !⃝

   Its a song about how tough life is. How we cant "slow down" or "hold back" because "nothing in this life is free".
   
   Its about the speed we move at, that we need money and it doesnt matter how we get it.
   
   It uses 3 examples, hooker, thief, preacher but at the end goes on to say that we're actually all the same, we all go out to satisfy those thrills - ie we all do things we're not proud of (or like doing, or want to do) in order to have the things in life we want / need.
4. anonymous

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   Nov 28th 2017 !⃝

   Note that the narrator initially doesn't comment on whether the excuse is valid. Only when he sees the preacher on the news does he talk about how we're all the same. Necessity can't excuse the preachers actions since he has a job that you can survive comfortably on. He understands that we are "all the same" and "we all seek out to satisfy those thrills". So the excuse changes from "we can't survive without doing this" to "we all have to pursue forbidden thrills".
   
   It's not at all clear that either excuse if valid, the song is about forgiving the evils of others and recognizing that we aren't so different. However it leaves open the idea that the excuse isn't valid, and is only entertained so that the narrator can feel good about his own evil.
5. nobodyyouknow

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   Apr 16th 2012 !⃝

   It is about how we all do things for the thrill or because we don't how to make it any way else. We are all greedy and selfish and the world needs to change. This song is trying to get across the points that are true and what motivates the wicked behavior in the world.
6. anonymous

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   Nov 25th 2009 !⃝

   in and interview the lead singer matt schwaltz explained that the song was originally based upon when they where on tour and where approached by a hooker, hence in the first verse he sings 'if you pay the right price your evenging can be nice and you can kindly send me on my way'.

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