I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
I still hang around neither lost nor found
Hear the lonely sound of music in the night
Nights are always bright
That's all that's left for me, yeah
I play the street life
Because there's no place I can go
Street life, it's the only way I know
Street life
And there's a thousand cards to play
Until you play your life away
You dress and walk and talk
You're who you think you are
Street life, you can run away from time
Street life, for a nickel, for a dime
Street life, but you better not get old
Or you're gonna feel the cold
There's always love for sale
A grown up fairy tale
Prince charming always smiles
Behind a silver spoon
And if you keep t young
Your song is always sung
Your love will pay your way beneath the silver moon
Street life, street life, street life, oh street life
Hear the lonely sound of music in the night
Nights are always bright
That's all that's left for me, yeah
I play the street life
Because there's no place I can go
Street life, it's the only way I know
Street life
And there's a thousand cards to play
Until you play your life away
You dress and walk and talk
You're who you think you are
Street life, you can run away from time
Street life, for a nickel, for a dime
Street life, but you better not get old
Or you're gonna feel the cold
There's always love for sale
A grown up fairy tale
Prince charming always smiles
Behind a silver spoon
And if you keep t young
Your song is always sung
Your love will pay your way beneath the silver moon
Street life, street life, street life, oh street life
Lyrics submitted by Nelly, edited by sam1131489
Street Life Lyrics as written by Will Jennings Joe Sample
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Spirit Music Group, Sentric Music, Songtrust Ave, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Has anyone checked out the lyrics to this song? The music and arrangement sound exuberant and optimistic, but the lyrics are all about homelessness, drugs, prostitution and a short and unhappy life. It's not just another disco singalong!
yeah i agree, it might not be exactly about homelessness, drugs, and stuff like that, probably its more like about when your life have no responsibility, like when everybody were younger, its crazy how you get a total different feeling from a song when you listen to it in different time of your life
@butterfingersbeck There is that element but it’s even more the fact that you had no choice, you grew up on the streets. This song celebrates your life. It’s the only life you know. You’re street tough. You’ve lived it, you love it, and you’re up for whatever goes down.
This song is a masterpiece! Never get tired of it. If I were a prostitute, I'll play this every night before going out and play it again when i get back in (if I make it). It captures I think the 'excitement' of life on the streets - to be whoever you want to be - but of course there is a price to pay. A hefty price
I knew this song long before I was sleeping in the streets\n But every lyric and note chimes with my experience on the street. Fantastic song and it\'s used in Jackie Brown too.
I always thought this song was about prostitution!? Is it? Or just about dancing and flirting?? If it is about the former it is very classy. A really lovely song!