July 19 - Monday

I was quite surprised to hear this song being sung in chat today. Was even more surpised to see that some of us had the lyrics memorized.

This is one of those songs that doesnt exactly take long to memorize the lyrics. Its one of those "Tell a story" songs, and it makes sense for Borderlands.

Video:

Lyrics:

I was walking down the street
When out the corner of my eye,
I saw a pretty little thing approaching me.
She said I never seen a man,
Who looks so all alone,
Could you use a little company?
If you could pay the right price,
Your evening will be nice,
Or you can go and send me on my way,
I said you're such a sweet young thing,
Why'd you do this to yourself?
She looked at me and this is what she said.

Oh, there ain't no rest for the wicked,
Money don't grow on trees,
I got bills to pay,
I got mouths to feed,
There ain't nothing in this world for free.
I know I can't slow down,
I can't hold back
Though you know I wish I could,
Oh no there ain't no rest for the wicked,
Until we close our eyes for good.

Not even 15 minutes later,
I'm still walking down the street,
When I saw the shadow of a man creep out of sight,
And then he swept up from behind,
Put a gun up to my head,
He made it clear he wasn't looking for a fight,
He said give me all you've got,
I want your money not your life,
If you try to make a move I wont think twice,
I told him you can have my cash,
But first you know I've got to ask,
What made you want to live this kind of life?

He said there ain't no rest for the wicked,
Money don't grow on trees,
I got bills to pay
I got mouths to feed
Ain't nothing in this world for free.
I know I can't slow down,
I can't hold back
Though you know I wish I could
Oh no there ain't no rest for the wicked,
Until we close our eyes for good.

Now a couple hours past,
And I was sitting in my house,
The day was winding down and coming to an end,
So I turned on the TV,
And flipped it over to the news,
And what I saw I almost couldn't comprehend,
I saw a preacher man in cuffs
Taking money from the church,
He stuffed his bank account with righteous dollar bills
But even still I can't say much
Because I know were all the same,
Oh yes we all seek out to satisfy those thrills.

You know there ain't no rest for the wicked,
Money don't grow on trees,
We got bills to pay
We got mouths to feed
Ain't nothing in this world for free.
Oh no
We can't slow down,
We can't hold back
Though you know we wish we could.
You know there ain't no rest for the wicked,
Until we close our eyes for good.

Meaning:

You could easily say that this song sort of tells how people resort to pickpocketing and need money, and the things that people do to get what they need. But I found this and I think that it makes sense. It sort of changed the song after reading what this person said:

"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."

Discuss.