You just could not know how long we tried
To see how this building looks inside
This must be a lucky day for me
Because the sign says there's a vacancy
Look, I know you came a long way
But you made it just too late
So we had to give it to somebody else
Well, I talked to you on the phone less than fifteen minutes ago
And you told me that it was cool
I graduated from Howard U
My job is paying good money too
And if you check on my resume
You'll find they all wanted me to stay

Well, I can't take the time out
To check your credit card
'Cause the computer just broke down today
Well, I'll stop by here tomorrow to complete our interview
But I know what you're gonna say
I know what your bottom line is

You might have the cash
But you can not cash in your face
We don't want you living in here
Say you might have the cash
But you can not cash in your face
We don't want your kind living in here
Too, too, too bad
Too, too, too sad

Our first child is due here any day
That's why we're desperate for a place to stay
The location is so perfect too
So please try to do what you can do
Well, in this apartment complex no children are allowed
And if you told me that I could have saved you a lot of time
Well, I thought the bill was passed that said you could not discriminate
But I know some excuse you'll find
Because your bottom line is

You might have the cash
But you can not cash in your face
We don't want you living in here
Say you might have the cash
But you can not cash in your face
We don't want your kind living in here

Ay, you might be a great doctor
You might be a great lawyer
You might possess the key to the city
Or maybe a politician

Say you might have the cash
But you can not cash in your face
We don't want you living in here
No, no, no
You might have the cash
But you can't cash in this face


Lyrics submitted by ruben

Cash in Your Face Lyrics as written by Stevie Wonder

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Cash In Your Face song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

2 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +1
    General Comment

    The guy won't rent him the apartment because he's black no matter how educated he is.

    Great song that really shows how institutional racism works.

    ArsMoridenion December 03, 2015   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines: "Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet" So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other: "I had all and then most of you" Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart "Some and now none of you" Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship. This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Album art
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Album art
Holiday
Bee Gees
@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday". I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
Album art
Page
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
Album art
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it. “I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.