Matt Shultz's A Day In The Sun

A Day in the Sun Have you ever done something that may not be considered ethical, but you didn’t even think twice about it? What about the time you found money on the ground at your local store and kept the money to yourself? Some people have a gift to tell stories through lyrical poetry, they are often referred as musicians! Song writers almost always have a deeper meaning in their work. Matt Shultz wrote a song called “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked,” in which he describes a whole day where three unique instances define the struggles of life. He rambles on about how a prostitute comes up to him asking if he wants to buy her for the night, a mugger who has an agenda to rob people, and a preacher on the news who gets caught stealing money from
This setting played a very important role in his song writing. Shultz used to work at a construction site. He had a co-worker who was a good friend of his. This friend was a drug dealer at the time, and when Shultz asked why he wants to live life as a drug dealer, the friend responded, “There’s no rest for the wicked.” This is what inspired Shultz to not only write a song about that phrase, but to also name it as well. Shultz, who is part of the rock band Cage The Elephant, releases “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked” on June 16, 2008 (“Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked” 1). What Shultz is trying to tell the listener in the song is that people may not always be doing the best of things, but it may be for the most noble of reasons. He has a great use of Symbolism in his work when he writes “I saw a preacher man in cuffs taking money from the church” (38). This is telling the listener that not every criminal is dressed up in all black with ski masks on. Criminals can look like everyday people (“Figurative Language is Everywhere” 9). This song has a very recognizable universal truth. Greed is really what stands out when listening to the song. Some lyrics from the song that almost define greed are “If you pay the right price your evening will be nice” (5), “I want your money not your life” (23), and “...taking money from the church” (38). Maybe Matt
Shultz preaches about how money is hard to get, “Money don’t grow on trees” (11). He personifies the tree giving it properties to generate money. Almost like painting a picture he allows the listener to really understand that money is not something that can be made easily. This line forces the listener to sit in the shoes of the culprits of wicked acts. This use of figurative language helps people relate to being in poverty, which creates a feeling of