Ain't No Rest For The Wicked Lyrics

Lyric discussion by qwerm 

Cover art for Ain't No Rest For The Wicked lyrics by Cage the Elephant

To me, each verse represents something that could completely take control of you. The street he's walking on represents the course of his life.

In the first verse, the narrator encounters sex/lust. When he says, "You're such a sweet young thing, why do you do this to yourself?," I think he overcomes his temptations in search of a deeper form of love, though not completely.

I like to picture the person that the narrator encounters in the second verse as a drug dealer. I think that the whole verse vaguely talks about the risks and struggles associated with drugs and drug deals. I think it takes awhile for him to overcome his temptation for drugs, contrasting the 15 minutes that passed after his first encounter and the couple hours after his second encounter.

In the third verse, the narrator finally gets off of the street and into his house, as his life is winding down. He encounters religion, as a lot of people do towards the end of their life. He witnesses the corrupt bullshit that can take place behind the scenes of a church. He ends the verse in understanding because he has confronted these different temptations and he understands how easy it can be to get lost on the street of wickedness, even when you're subscribed to a religion that is meant to be pure.

These social issues exist as a result of our flawed capitalist system. Money fuels impurity and everybody is looking for their next thrill.

I hope that kind of makes sense for some people.

My Interpretation

Wow man that pretty deep and i agree whole heartedly.

i both agree and think you might be over thinking it. make sence?

That makes a lot of sense. Also I think it touches up on the main chorus line "there ain't no rest for the wicked," because no matter how far along in his life he is, the wickedness never really stops (it appears in different forms each time).