Ain't No Rest for the Wicked

"Ain't No Rest for the Wicked"
Single by Cage the Elephant
from the album Cage the Elephant
ReleasedJune 16, 2008
Genre
Length2:55
LabelRelentless
SongwritersJared Champion, Lincoln Parish, Brad Shultz, Matt Shultz, Daniel Tichenor
ProducerJay Joyce
Cage the Elephant singles chronology
"In One Ear"
(2008)		 "Ain't No Rest for the Wicked"
(2008)		 "Back Against the Wall"
(2009)
Audio sample
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"Ain't No Rest for the Wicked" is the third single by the American rock band Cage the Elephant. It was released as a CD single on June 16, 2008, by Relentless Records and became the first Top 40 hit for the band in the UK. A music video was filmed for this song which was directed by D.A.R.Y.L of Pulse Films. A later re-release in North America the following year reached number 92 on the Billboard Hot 100, reached number 3 on the Alternative Songs chart and number 8 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

Composition

The song talks about three particular instances in which the narrator realizes "there ain't no rest for the wicked." First, he encounters a prostitute asking if he desires to spend the night with her. The narrator proceeds to ask her why she does what she does. The chorus (her response) analyzes the main reasons why individuals follow the paths they follow ("...Money don't grow on trees, I've got bills to pay, I've got mouths to feed..."). The narrator, less than fifteen minutes later, is held at gunpoint by a criminal, whom he asks the same question and from whom he receives the same answer. Finally, upon arriving home and turning on the television, the narrator sees a preacher being arrested for stealing the funds of his church. This is followed by a third chorus saying that everyone is the same and we all have no rest "until we close our eyes for good."

Lead singer Matt Shultz stated the song was inspired by an old co-worker of his who at the time was a drug dealer. When Shultz asked him why he dealt drugs, the co-worker told him that "There's no rest for the wicked." Shultz was a plumber at the time, and said that he wrote the lyrics on a piece of drywall which he found while working at his co-worker's house.[1]

Reception

BBC Music wrote that the song "certainly makes you sit up and take notice. It's a sing-along rhythm and blues anthem for the disaffected. Expect to be hearing this blast out of cars for weeks."[2] Charles Ubaghs of Drowned in Sound added "Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked" may read like the title for some rollicking slice of southern-rock hellfire, the actual result is something more akin to a mutant hybrid of Kid Rock and the chart fodder of McFly. It’s a fatal flaw that rears itself again and again as a bastardised version of blue-collar Americana is force-fed a mass-produced strain of bland modern rock throughout all eleven tracks."[3]

Commercial performance

The song became the band’s first hit single reaching number 32 on the UK Singles chart, 37 on the singles download chart and number 8 on the physical singles chart.[4] It also reached number 24 on the Scottish Singles chart and 42 on Canada Hot 100. It became the bands first song to make the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 83 it also reached number 3 on the Alternative Songs chart and number 8 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.[5] It has been certified platinum in both Brazil and the UK, as of 2026 it is their best selling song in the US having been certified platinum 8x by the RIAA.[6]

Usage in media

The song appeared in the opening and closing sequences of the first Borderlands game; a commercial for the TNT series Leverage; in the 2010 film The Bounty Hunter; in an episode of The Vampire Diaries ("Isobel"); in a third-season episode of Jersey Shore; as the opening song of Canadian reality television series Yukon Gold; and Cage the Elephant performed the song on television on the Late Show with David Letterman. In the pilot episode for Fox's Lucifer, the song is in both the opening and closing scenes of the episode. It was also used in the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why and in Hawaii Five-0.[7] Internationally, it was used in the background of the Australian series, Packed to the Rafters. In 2021 it appeared in an episode of the Outer banks.[8]

A live version of the song appears on their 2012 album Live from the Vic in Chicago and their 2017 album Unpeeled.[9][10]

Track listings

  1. "Ain't No Rest for the Wicked" – 2:52
  2. "Ain't No Rest for the Wicked" (Acoustic Version) – 3:02

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for "Ain't No Rest for the Wicked"
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[18] Platinum 60,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[19] Platinum 600,000‡
United States (RIAA)[20] 8× Platinum 8,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ↑ Lopez, Korina (April 22, 2011). "On the verge: Cage the Elephant stampedes to fame". USA Today. Archived from the original on March 17, 2012. Retrieved April 28, 2012.
  2. ↑ "BBC - Music - Review of Cage the Elephant - Cage the Elephant". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
  3. ↑ "Album Review: Cage the Elephant - Cage The Elephant". DrownedInSound. June 23, 2008. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
  4. ↑ "Cage the Elephant Official Charts Company".
  5. ↑ "Cage the Elephant | Biography, Music & News". Billboard. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
  6. ↑ "Gold & Platinum: Cage the Elephant". Recording Industry Association of America".
  7. ↑ "Hawaii Five-0" A'ole e 'olelo mai ana ke ahi ua ana ia (TV Episode 2017), IMDb, retrieved October 2, 2018
  8. ↑ "Songs From "Outer Banks" Season 2 That Deserve A Spot On Your Playlist". Seventeen. August 2, 2021. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
  9. ↑ Unpeeled - Cage the Elephant | Album | AllMusic, retrieved June 6, 2026
  10. ↑ Live from the Vic in Chicago - Cage the Elepha... | AllMusic, retrieved June 6, 2026
  11. ↑ "Cage the Elephant Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
  12. ↑ "Cage the Elephant Chart History (Canada Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
  13. ↑ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart on 22/6/2008 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
  14. ↑ "Official Singles Chart on 22/6/2008 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 25, 2022.
  15. ↑ "Cage the Elephant Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
  16. ↑ "Cage the Elephant Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
  17. ↑ "Hot Rock Songs – Year-End 2009". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 17, 2021. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
  18. ↑ "Brazilian single certifications – Cage the Elephant – Ain't No Rest for the Wicked" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil. Retrieved August 15, 2024.
  19. ↑ "British single certifications – Cage the Elephant – Ain't No Rest for the Wicked". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved November 25, 2022. Select singles in the Formats field. Type Ain't No Rest for the Wicked Cage the Elephant in the "Search:" field.
  20. ↑ "American single certifications – Cage the Elephant – Ain't No Rest for the Wicked". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
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