Yeah
Eric
Well
[Chorus]
I don't need to lie no more
Nowadays all I do is shine, take a breath and ease my mind, and
She don't cry no more
She tell me that I get her high 'cause an angel's s'posed to fly, and
I ain't askin' "Why?" no more
Oh, no, I take it if it's mine, I don't stay inside the lines
It ain't 2009 no more
Yeah, I know what's behind that door
[Verse 1]
Yeah, okay, you gotta jump in to swim
Well, the light was dim in this life of sin
Now every day I wake up and breathe
I don't have it all but that's alright with me
Take it nice and easy, took a flight to see me
Send you back home with a light that's beamin'
The whole team 'bout to figure it out
We ice cold, that's what winter about
And sometimes, sometimes I wish I took a simpler route
Instead of havin' demons that's as big as my house, mhmm
Have a ball with a dribble and bounce
'Cause the party ain't over 'til they're kickin' me out, yeah
Isn't it funny? We can make a lot of money
Buy a lot of things just to feel a lot of ugly
I was yea high and muddy
Lookin' for what was lookin' for me
But I don't need to lie no more
Nowadays all I do is shine, take a breath and ease my mind, and
She don't cry no more
She tell me that I get her high 'cause an angel's s'posed to fly, and
I ain't askin' "Why?" no more
Oh, no, I take it if it's mine, I don't stay inside the lines
It ain't 2009 no more
Yeah, I know what's behind that door
[Verse 2]
Yeah, they ask me what I'm smilin' for
Well, because I've never been this high before
It's like I never felt alive before
Mhmm, I'd rather have me peace of mind than war
See, me and you, we ain't that different
I struck the fuck out and then I came back swingin'
Take my time to finish, mind my business
A life ain't a life 'til you live it, I was diggin' me a hole
Big enough to bury my soul
Weight of the world, I gotta carry my own
My own, with these arms I can carry you home
I'm right here when you scared and alone, and I ain't never in a hurry
You don't ever gotta worry
Even when it's 7:30 and the time is runnin' low
When your heart get cold
See what's behind all them unturned stones
And I'm a pro when it come to my job
But really I'm just tryna start believin' in God
Now when it gets hard
I don't panic, I don't sound the alarm
Because I don't need to lie no more
Nowadays all I do is shine, take a breath and ease my mind, and
She don't cry no more
She tell me that I get her high 'cause an angel's s'posed to fly, and
I ain't askin' "Why?" no more
Oh, no, I take it if it's mine, I don't stay inside the lines
It ain't 2009 no more
Yeah, I know what's behind that door
I don't need to lie no more
Nowadays all I do is shine, take a breath and ease my mind, and
She don't cry no more
She tell me that I get her high 'cause an angel's s'posed to fly, and
I ain't askin' "Why?" no more
Oh, no, I take it if it's mine, I don't stay inside the lines
It ain't 2009 no more
Yeah, I know what's behind that door
About
“2009” is a reflective journey from the year before Mac’s breakout mixtape, K.I.D.S, was released to the present day. He speaks to the listener about the lessons he’s learned and the wisdom he’s gained throughout the track.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
We have a couple other songs that never came out, but ‘2009’ was the first one that I actually got to be there to record with him. It was in Seattle when he was on tour [Editor’s Note: Mac was on ‘The Divine Feminine’ tour, around November 2016]. We had dinner at the Space Needle one night, with him and Ariana and all the people on tour. Went to the studio for two nights in a row. The way he did the song, he did it so quickly. He works really fast and does a lot of stuff at all times.
That’s what’s really crazy about working with him, too, is that he will sit down and play piano. Then he’ll play guitar, then he’ll play bass. He’ll play drums. Everything! The studio we were at, they had a big audio room, and he just played drums in there all crazy and came back in the room and played piano. It’s just insane. I think a lot of people think he’s just a rapper, which is fine, but he’s multi-talented. It’s just fluid. He just kind of exists, going with it. Instead of overthinking anything, he just goes. That speaks a lot to people’s talent, too. Not even a second thought. He just always did. Right off his first thought and instinct.
I did the whole beat [on ‘2009’]. It was a sample chop that I had. I did all the drums, the bass, the piano. The chords. I did the whole thing. It was just a beat on my computer that I had. So [we were] in Seattle, at the studio I was talking about. He was sober for a while at this point. He was looking all healthy and stuff. It was just me and him there, and I was kinda going through my own thing at the time and I was asking him for advice. We just talked about that for hours, going in and outside, smoking cigarettes.
He was like, ‘Play me some beats.’ And the first or second beat I played was that one. He just paced around the room for a little bit, with the beat playing. Then he put it in Pro Tools, and then he paced around for a little bit and did the first whole half of the song in a pitch black booth with no phone or anything. I don’t even know how he did it, and for it to be so meaningful. It’s crazy that it just came off the top of his head like that. He does the whole first half, and he goes, ‘Oh, that was tight.’ Then he did the rest a little later, but he didn’t write anything down, or anything. It was really crazy to watch.
Mac performed “2009” live for NPR Music’s Tiny Desk on August 8, 2018:
Yes, “2009” was certified platinum by the RIAA on September 28, 2023.
- 4.Perfecto
- 5.Self Care
- 6.Wings
- 7.Ladders
- 8.Small Worlds
- 10.Dunno
- 11.Jet Fuel
- 12.2009
- 13.So It Goes
