(Hoo hoo hoo-hoo-hoo.)
(Bom bom bom bom bom-bom-bom)
(Woo, woo-hoo.)
[ Dennis: ] The childhood part of my life wasn't very pretty.
[ Temptations: ] Boom, doo-doo, doo.
[ Dennis: ] See, I was born and raised in the slums of the city,
[ Temptations: ] Boom, doo-doo, doo.
[ Dennis: ] It was a one-room shack that slept ten other chi'ren beside me.
[ Temptations: ] Boom, doo-doo, doo.
[ Dennis: ] We hardly enough food or room to sleep.
[ Temptations: ] Boom, doo-doo, doo.
[ Dennis: ] It was hard times, needed somethin' to ease my troubled mind.
[ Paul: ] Mmm, listen. My father didn't know the meaning of work.
[ Temptations: ] Boom, doo-doo, doo.
[ Paul: ] He disrespected mama and treated us like dirt.
[ Temptations: ] Boom, doo-doo, doo.
[ Paul: ] I left home seeking a job that I never did find.
[ Temptations: ] Boom, doo-doo, doo.
[ Paul: ] Depressed and down-hearted, and I took to cloud nine [ 4 ] .
[ Temptations: ] Boom, doo-doo, doo.
[ Paul: ] I'm doing fine, up here, on cloud nine.
Listen, one more time. I'm doing fine up here on cloud nine.
[ Dennis: ] Folks down there tell me,
They say, "Give yourself a chance, son, don't let life pass you by."
[ Temptations: ] Woo, woo, woo-oo.
[ Dennis: ] But the world, around you is a rat race,
Where only the strongest survive.
It's a dog-eat-dog world and that ain't no lie.
[ Temptations: ] Ain't no lie.
[ Dennis: ] Listen, it ain't even safe no more to walk the streets at night.
[ Eddie: ] I'm doing (woo-hooo) fine,
[ Temptations: ] On cloud nine.
[ Dennis: ] Let me tell you 'bout cloud nine...
[ Temptations: ] Cloud nine.
[ Paul: ] You can be what you want to be.
[ Temptations: ] Cloud Nine.
[ Dennis: ] You ain't got no responsibility.
[ Temptations: ] Cloud Nine.
[ Eddie: ] And, ahhh, every man, every man is free.
[ Temptations: ] Cloud nine.
[ Dennis: ] You're a million miles from reality.
[ Otis: ] Reality.
[ Find more Lyrics at www.mp3lyrics.org/PbWb ]
[ Temptations: ] I wanna' stay up-a.
[ Eddie &Otis: ] Higher.
[ Temptations: ] Up-a, up, up and away. Cloud nine.
[ Eddie: ] I wanna' say I love the life I live,
And I'm gonna live the life I love.
Or be on cloud nine.
I, I, I, I, I, I'm ridin' high.
[ Temptations: ] On cloud nine.
[ Dennis: ] You're as free as a bird in flight.
[ Temptations: ] Cloud nine.
[ Melvin: ] There's no difference between day and night.
[ Temptations: ] Cloud nine.
[ Eddie: ] It's a world of love and harmony.
[ Temptations: ] Cloud nine.
[ Dennis: ] You're a million miles from reality.
[ Otis: ] Reality.
[ Temptations: ] I wanna' stay up-a.
[ Eddie &Otis: ] Higher.
[ Temptations: ] Up-a, up, up and away. Haa, cloud Nine.
[ Paul: ] You can be what you want to be, ah.
[ Temptations: ] Cloud nine.
[ Dennis: ] You ain't got no responsibility.
[ Temptations: ] Cloud nine.
[ Eddie: ] Every man in his mind is free.
[ Temptations: ] Cloud nine.
[ Dennis: ] You're a million miles from reality.
[ Temptations: ] Cloud nine.
[ Paul: ] You can be what you want to be.
[ Instrumental to fade, punctuated with boom-booms. ]
[ CLOUD NINE ]
[ Written by: Barrett Strong & Norman Whitfield ]
[ Performed by: The Temptations [ 1 ] -1968 [ 2 ] ]
[ Produced by: Norman Whitfield ]
[ Appears on: Cloud Nine (45RPM)-1968, Cloud Nine (LP)-1969, Anthology-1973 &
1995, Classic Rock: 1968 (Various Artists)-1987, Papa Was a Rolling Stone-1989 [ 3 ] ,
Greatest Hits-1994, 1997 & 2000, The Best of the Temptations (UK K-Tel)-2001, The
Temptations Featuring Eddie Kendricks-2004, Classic Soul Hits-2008, et al. ]
[ 1 ] Covered by: Albino Gorilla, Carl Dawkins, Marvin Gaye, Gladys Knight & the
Pips, The Mar-Keys, Mongo Santamaria, Edwin Starr, Rod Stewart, et al. ]
[ 2 ] Lead and background vocals by Dennis Edwards (tenor), Eddie Kendricks
(tenor), Paul Williams (tenor), Melvin Franklin (bass) and Otis Williams
(baritone). Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers including bass player Greg
Reeves, who was soon to join Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. ]
[ 3 ] Transcribed from the track on this album. ]
[ 4 ] The broke, unemployed, and despondant main character in the song proclaims
that he gets over all of his problems by "riding high on 'Cloud Nine.'" This has
been interpreted by many as a reference to drug abuse, although Whitfield,
Strong, and The Temptations deny that completely and insist it's about the
struggles and pains of living poor and that Cloud Nine is a "state of mind." ] |
