Cloud Nine
Escaping Hard Times: Edwin Starr's Journey to Cloud Nine
Lyrics
Childhood part of my life, it wasn't very pretty.
Childhood was not pleasant for the speaker.
You see, I was born and raised in the slums of the city,
Speaker was born and raised in the city slums.
It was a one room shack that slept ten other children besides me.
Lived in a cramped one-room shack with many siblings.
We hardly had enough food or room to sleep.
Scarcity of food and space was a challenge for the family.
It was hard times,
Describes the era as difficult times.
Needed something to ease my troubled mind.
Expresses a need for something to ease mental distress.
Listen! my father didn't know the meaning of work,
Father didn't understand the concept of work.
He disrespected mama, and treated us like dirt.
Father disrespected the mother and treated the family poorly.
I left home, seekin' a job that I never did find,
Left home in search of a job but couldn't find one.
Depressed and downhearted I took to cloud nine,
Feeling depressed, the speaker turns to "cloud nine" as a refuge.
I'm doin' fine, up here on cloud nine.
Asserts that the speaker is doing well on cloud nine.
Listen one more time I'm doin' fine, up here on cloud nine.
Reiterates the positive state on cloud nine.
Folks down there tell me,
Others advise the speaker to give life a chance.
They say, "give yourself a chance son, don't let life pass you by".
Life is portrayed as a competitive race where only the strong survive.
But the world of reality is a rat race where only the strongest survive,
Highlights the harsh reality of a competitive world.
It's a dog eat dog world, and that ain't no lie.
Describes the world as a "dog eat dog" place.
Listen! it ain't even safe no more to walk the streets at night,
Emphasizes the unsafe nature of the streets at night.
I'm doin' fine, on cloud nine.
Reaffirms the speaker's positive state on cloud nine.
Let me tell you about cloud nine.
Introduces the concept of "cloud nine."
Cloud nine, you can be what you wanna be
Cloud nine is a place where one can be what they want to be.
(cloud nine) you ain't got no responsibility,
No responsibilities on cloud nine.
And ev'ry man, ev'ry man is free
Everyone is free on cloud nine.
(cloud nine) and you're a million miles from reality.
Being on cloud nine means being far from reality.
I wanna say I love the life I live,
Expresses love for the current lifestyle.
And I'm gonna live the life I love up here on cloud nine.
Commitment to living a fulfilling life on cloud nine.
I'm riding high
Describes the speaker as riding high on cloud nine.
On cloud nine, you're as free as a bird in flight
On cloud nine, freedom is compared to a bird in flight.
(cloud nine) there's no diff'rence between day and night
No distinction between day and night on cloud nine.
(cloud nine) it's a world of love and harmony
Cloud nine is a world of love and harmony.
(cloud nine) you're a million miles from reality.
Being on cloud nine means being far from reality.
Cloud nine, you can be what you wanna be
Reiteration of the freedom on cloud nine.
Cloud nine) you ain't got no responsibility,
No responsibilities on cloud nine.
And ev'ry man, ev'ry man is free
Everyone is free on cloud nine.
(cloud nine) and you're a million miles from reality.
Being on cloud nine means being far from reality.
(cloud nine) (cloud nine) (cloud nine)
Repetition emphasizing the blissful state of cloud nine.
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