The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
Yet again, I'm hustling, hustling, hustling
Yet again, I'm hustling, hustling, hustling
Yet again, I'm hustling, hustling, hustling
But I can't seem to catch a dime
Take a little hit and I lose the time
I took the man and his horse
And ran before he looked up
I said the light's gonna change
But I'm calm and feeling warm
And now I'm sticking out my hands
And feeling weightless again
You got to push, got to shove
I've got to eat before they eat me
Got the crown and the cup
I've got to write to my family
And say, "I'm calm and feeling warm."
I'm not quite there, but I'm close
And it's a world of a difference
Yet again, I'm hustling, hustling, hustling
Yet again, I'm hustling, hustling, hustling
Yet again, I'm hustling, hustling, hustling
But I can't seem to catch a dime
Take a little hit and I lose the time
I've got the worst all behind me
Yeah they'll never be able to find me
I'm the king of the city
I'm a roach and they're all primates
This is meal time
Real life
I'm not gonna fight
No, I'm gonna start a war
I've been right
I've been wrong
My smokes have come and gone
I've been crazy
Been fed enough to not wind up dead
And I'm lonely
My eyes have been closed to the world
'Cause the world's got nothing for me
Yet again, I'm hustling, hustling, hustling
Yet again, I'm hustling, hustling, hustling
Yet again, I'm hustling, hustling, hustling
But I can't seem to catch a dime
Take a little hit and I lose the time
Yet again, I'm hustling, hustling, hustling
Yet again, I'm hustling, hustling, hustling
Yet again, I'm hustling, hustling, hustling
But I can't seem to catch a dime
Take a little hit and I lose the time
Yet again, I'm hustling, hustling, hustling
Yet again, I'm hustling, hustling, hustling
Yet again, I'm hustling, hustling, hustling
Yet again, I'm hustling, hustling, hustling
Yet again, I'm hustling, hustling, hustling
But I can't seem to catch a dime
Take a little hit and I lose the time
I took the man and his horse
And ran before he looked up
I said the light's gonna change
But I'm calm and feeling warm
And now I'm sticking out my hands
And feeling weightless again
You got to push, got to shove
I've got to eat before they eat me
Got the crown and the cup
I've got to write to my family
And say, "I'm calm and feeling warm."
I'm not quite there, but I'm close
And it's a world of a difference
Yet again, I'm hustling, hustling, hustling
Yet again, I'm hustling, hustling, hustling
Yet again, I'm hustling, hustling, hustling
But I can't seem to catch a dime
Take a little hit and I lose the time
I've got the worst all behind me
Yeah they'll never be able to find me
I'm the king of the city
I'm a roach and they're all primates
This is meal time
Real life
I'm not gonna fight
No, I'm gonna start a war
I've been right
I've been wrong
My smokes have come and gone
I've been crazy
Been fed enough to not wind up dead
And I'm lonely
My eyes have been closed to the world
'Cause the world's got nothing for me
Yet again, I'm hustling, hustling, hustling
Yet again, I'm hustling, hustling, hustling
Yet again, I'm hustling, hustling, hustling
But I can't seem to catch a dime
Take a little hit and I lose the time
Yet again, I'm hustling, hustling, hustling
Yet again, I'm hustling, hustling, hustling
Yet again, I'm hustling, hustling, hustling
But I can't seem to catch a dime
Take a little hit and I lose the time
Yet again, I'm hustling, hustling, hustling
Yet again, I'm hustling, hustling, hustling
Yet again, I'm hustling, hustling, hustling
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This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
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No Surprises
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he's definately saying hustlin'. the song used to be called hustling and it was changed to life on the nickel. it's about a homeless person. he says so here: youtube.com/watch