Mm, oh, hey, Ratata,
Yeah, nah nah nah,
Nah nah nah

Crush a bit, little bit,
Roll it up, take a hit,
Feeling lit, feeling right,
2 A-M, summer night, I don't care,
Hand on the wheel,
Driving drunk I'm doing my thang,
Rolling in the midwest side now,
Living my life, getting our dreams,
People told me slow my roll,
I'm screaming out "fuck that",
I'm a do just what I want,
Looking ahead no turning back,
If I fall if I die,
Know I lived it to the fullest,
If I fall if I die,
Know I lived and missed some bullets.

[Chorus: x2]
I'm on the pursuit of happiness and I know,
Everything that's shine ain't always gonna be gold (hey)
I'll be fine once I get it, get it in, I'll be good.

Tell me what you know about dreamin' (dreamin')
You ain't really know bout nothin' (nothin')
Tell me what you know about the night terrors every night,
5 A-M cold sweats, waking up to the sky,
Tell me what you know about dreams (dreams),
Tell me what you know about night terrors nothin',
You don't really care about the trials of tomorrow,
Rather lay awake in the bed full of sorrow.

[Chorus: x6]

Pursuit of happiness,
Yeah, I'm a get it, I'll be, good,
Ugh,
Oh man,
Oh alright,
Oh, room is spinning, room is spinning,
Pat, Zule, where, oh fuck,
Oh my God
Why did I drink so much and smoke so much oh!



Lyrics submitted by mranderson

Track duration: 04:55

"Pursuit of Happiness [Nightmare]" as written by Michael Stroud Evan Mast

Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind


Pursuit of Happiness (Nightmare) song meanings
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96 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:Oh shit another song about drugs...

    I liked it better when I thought he was criticizing how money controls our lives
    Flag NexCarnifexon November 06, 2012   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:its all about drugs and how they made his life easier but how he final get to a point where he decided to stop taking them. shortly after this song he came off drugs . the whole song is about his experience with drugs.
    Flag louis22kon October 19, 2012   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:I'm pretty sure this song also pertains to drugs - always looking for his next hit, on the pursuit (the chase) of happiness (the drugs/the high)
    Flag Lolly14on September 19, 2012   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:Umm... did none of you (other than Gary03mw) see the music video? Or even just read the last lyrics? The ending (when he's drunk and miserable wondering why he drank and smoked so much) makes the meaning pretty clear; this "pursuit of happiness" inevitably turns into a nightmare. And yet, even knowing how it will end, we can't stop doing it because we're a generation that lives only for the moment. It's actually an incredibly dark (and brilliant) song if you pick up on the subtext.
    Flagged danothan24on June 17, 2012   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:this song it totally uplifting to me. every time i listen to it, it says "things might suck right now, but keep your head up. you'll be alright in the end." he knows partying isn't going to make him happy, but it will make him feel better for a while. i'm from ohio, too, and almost everyone i know, myself included, does this same thing. life is hard, things get bad sometimes. go have some fun, and try to stay positive.
    Flag CondorMoneyon May 19, 2012   Link
  • +4
    Song Meaning:I feel like most people are missing the actual point of this song. Have you seen the video? It's not an uplifting anthem. This is a fairly dark, depressing song despite the title. Basically, the whole song is about a person feeling empty and doing self-destructive things to try to feel the void, hence the "driving drunk," and "crush a bit, roll a bit" referring to drugs, obviously. There are other clues to the dark place the person singing this song is in, specifically the whole verse referring to nightmares and waking up in cold sweats. Basically, the drugs and alcohol can only help him fake happiness for so long before he wakes up in dark place all over again. The most important song is the chorus, however. "I'm in the pursuit of happiness and I know that everything that shines won't always be gold. I'll be fine once I get it. I'll be good." This is a person in denial, trying to kid himself that if they can just find that one "good" thing, all their problems and unhappiness will go away. The person of this song is not fine, but wants desperately to cling to the idea that if he can just find that one thing to fill the void, he can truly be happy. But at least a part of him knows that's not very realistic, saying "I know everything that shines ain't always going to be gold." Drinking, drugs, and being reckless (refusing to slow your roll) can look shiny and appealing, esp. when you are so depressed and desperate to be happy, but they come at a big cost, i.e. the nightmares, 5 AM cold sweats, and knowing that you haven't managed to find happiness. This song is definitely not glorifying drunk driving and drug use. Just the opposite in fact.
    Flagged sarahisdreamingofon April 10, 2012   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:Am I the only one that thinks this song is strongly about Lucid Dreaming and Sleep Paralysis?

    Tell me what you know about dreamin’ dreamin’
    you don't really know about nothin’ nothin’
    tell me what you know about them night terrors every night
    5 am, cold sweats wakin’ up to the skies
    tell me what you know about dreams, dreams
    tell me what you know about night terrors, nothin’
    you don't really care about the trials of tomorrow
    rather lay awake in a bed full of sorrow
    Flag Jon1348on April 02, 2012   Link
  • 0
    Song Meaning:I think this song is about escaping the commitments of reality. He is unsatisfied with his life and the only time he has fun or is happy is when he is escaping those commitments through getting high and getting drunk. He has been through some shit and wishes he could just be happy all the time; however, towards the end of the song he begins to regret the after-effects of all his escaping...
    "Why did I drink so much? Smoke so much?"
    Flag PopCultureCriticon March 10, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:"I don't care, hand on the wheel, drivin drunk, I'm doin’ my thang
    Rollin the Midwest side and out livin’ my life getting’ out dreams
    People told me slow my roll I'm screaming out fuck that"
    those lines remind me of David Fincher's Fight Club for some reason
    being so happy that even dying seems a tremendous idea, I'm really glad I found this song.
    Flag luxxieon January 11, 2012   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:i made an account to comment on this video. and i don't mean to sound like a dick, but just hear me out. all the people saying this is about doing whatever you want no matter what the consequences are as misguided as the person Cudi is trying to portray in this video is.

    in my opinion, his character is telling himself that excessive partying with alcohol, driving drunk, smoking pot and having sex with tons of women is okay because "he's having a good time", "hell be good" and all that stuff. he's just using all of those things to mask his real problems, and perhaps he believes that doing all of those things will eventually lead him to happiness.

    i think the end of the video shows that once the good time and party is gone and you're just drunk and stumbling around, you begin to realize that this isn't what you want and this isn't what makes you happy. but all of those destructive behaviors are a vicious cycle.

    i've been there and i'm sure most people on this forum have too. great song. dudes awesome.
    Flag imonthepursuitofhappinesson December 04, 2011   Link

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