Childhood part of my life, it wasn't very pretty

You see, I was born and raised in the slums of the city

It was a one room shack that slept ten other children besides me

We hardly had enough food or room to sleep

It was hard times, needed something to ease my troubled mind

Listen, my father didn't know the meaning of work

He disrespected mama and treated us like dirt

I left home seeking a job that I never did find

Depressed and downhearted I took to cloud nine

I'm doing fine up here on cloud nine

Listen one more time

I'm doing fine up here on cloud nine

Folks down there tell me

They say give yourself a chance, son, don't let life pass you by

But the world of reality is a rat race where only the strongest survive

It's a dog eat dog world and that ain't no lie (Ain't no lie)

Listen, it ain't even safe no more to walk the streets at night

I'm doing fine on cloud nine

Let me tell you about cloud nine (Cloud nine)

You can be what you wanna be (Cloud nine)

You ain't got no responsibility (Cloud nine)

And every man, every man is free (Cloud nine)

And you're a million miles from reality (Reality)

I wanna say upper, higher, upper up, up and away

Cloud nine

I wanna say I love the life I live

And I'm gonna live the life I love

Up here on cloud nine

I-I-I-I-I-I'm riding high on cloud nine

You're as free as a bird in flight

Cloud nine

There's no difference between day and night

Cloud nine

It's a world of love and harmony

Cloud nine

You're a million miles from reality (Reality)

I wanna say upper, higher, upper up, up and away

Cloud nine

You can be what you wanna be (Cloud nine)

You ain't got no responsibility (Cloud nine)

Every man in this world is free (Cloud nine)

You're a million miles from reality (Cloud nine)

You can be what you wanna be