Yet again I'm hustling (x3)
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 [ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/f/foster_the_people/life_on_the_nickel.html ]
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 difference
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 not 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
I heard this at work and thought he was saying "im awesome" over and over. Turns out thats not the case at all
by Unregistered on May 24th 2012 6:15 pm
Get your ross on. I'm typing this extra bit because it says that what i typed was too short.
Get your ross on.
by Unregistered on May 19th 2012 2:45 pm
Lol i love foster the people! I love the song houdini and i decided i should listen to this
by Unregistered on May 17th 2012 6:08 pm
"the nickel" is what the winos and hobos in los angeles call part of skid row. It is a street section where a lot of homeless people live, and they refer to that part of the street as "the nickel".
So, i think he is writing specifically about a homeless junkie that lives there, since mark lived (maybe still is living) in la.
by Unregistered on May 9th 2012 3:09 pm
It's about a homeless person, mark foster said it himself
Heroin addiction. Mark foster is a former addict. This song is about that.
by Unregistered on Mar 12th 2012 7:02 pm
It's about a homeless man who keeps hustling for money so he can try to make it, but he keeps living "on the nickel". Nickel is a double entendre for both the nickels he collects on the streets, and the $5 bags of drugs (probably black tar heroin) on which he keeps throwing away his life, which is why he has to keep going back to hustling.
by Unregistered on Feb 24th 2012 8:32 pm
Seems to be about life as a drug user and small-time dealer, and the attendant issues with life on the street and the damage to relationships.
by Unregistered on Feb 22nd 2012 4:14 pm
I feel this song is about someone who tries to rip people off because they don't have anything, yet other people in their life wish and know they could do something better with their life. Yet all this someone is good as is hustling hustling hustling, but it doesn't work