About the song
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Words from the artist’s archive
Hunger Don’t Sleep lyrics
Artist-supplied lyric sheet, matched by title. The sheet may differ from this released performance. Production notes and alternate promotional cuts are omitted.
Read the lyric sheet
Intro
Mmm…
Verse 1
Rain tap the rental like the repo man already got the code Stomach doin’ calisthenics while the window unit wheeze in the corner like it tired of the fight too 441 glow on the ceiling, fridge hummin’ the same empty tune it hummed last night I skipped the store ’cause pride don’t spend and hunger don’t take checks Every car that pass got a story or a setup, every shadow got a hand out or a hand up Hunger turn the block into a test I ain’t study for, and the body keep score in ways sleep can’t fix Court date in the mornin’ but tonight the only verdict is which need I let win the first round
Chorus
Hunger don’t sleep and sleep don’t love and love don’t eat Three in the ring and the canvas already stained with the last round’s defeat One gotta give so the others can stand, but standin’ cost blood and the blood on my hands Which one I bury so the body don’t fold Three fronts in one chest, no white flag, no gold The night keep score and the score keep changin’ I feed one and the others start rearrangin’
Verse 2
Eyes heavy like the rain that won’t let up on the tin roof two doors down Body sayin’ lay down but the mind got a shift at the gig and a call from the house that raised me Sleep is the thing they tax when they want you slow, the first luxury the system revoke I close my eyes and see the same choices lined up like they waitin’ at the light on Pines Rest feel like givin’ up on the version of me that still believe tomorrow different But without it the hands shake and the decisions get loud, and loud get you caught or caught up The pillow smell like the last time I chose wrong, and the AC still hummin’ like it know
Chorus
Hunger don’t sleep and sleep don’t love and love don’t eat Three in the ring and the canvas already stained with the last round’s defeat One gotta give so the others can stand, but standin’ cost blood and the blood on my hands Which one I bury so the body don’t fold Three fronts in one chest, no white flag, no gold The night keep score and the score keep changin’ I feed one and the others start rearrangin’
Verse 3
She text “you good?” and the good feel like a lie I told so many times it got its own key Love want the man before the rent week carved him into someone who calculate every touch Family need the piece that the block already spent on keepin’ the lights on I got love but it come with a silence that sleep can’t fill and hunger can’t ignore The mirror show three versions arguin’ over the same body, and none of ’em got the full set of keys Which one I choose tonight determine which ghost I become by mornin’
Bridge
I don’t know which one I’m starvin’ when I pick Maybe all three lose and the winner is the grind that don’t quit Or maybe the real loss is the version that coulda fed all three without the split Costly to admit but the body don’t lie when the sun come up One more night of this and I still here…
Chorus
Hunger don’t sleep and sleep don’t love and love don’t eat Three in the ring but the canvas got new stains from the choices I keep One gotta give but maybe givin’ ain’t the same as losin’ I feed what I can and the others keep movin’ Three fronts in one chest, still breathin’, still choosin’ The night keep score but the score don’t own me I feed one and the others start rearrangin’… but I’m still here
Outro
Still here… or maybe it’s just— nah… Still here
Inside the recording
Mmm…
Hunger don’t sleep and sleep don’t love and love don’t eat One gotta give so the others can stand, but standin’ cost blood and the blood on my hands
Still here… or maybe it’s just— nah… Still here
Excerpts from artist-supplied lyric files matched by title. Lyric sheets may differ from the released performance.