There’s a silence in these types of winters that allows for grand, creative moments that come to life later, during warmer months, adding to the vibrancy and brilliance of a city like Cleveland.

During bad Ohio winters, the ones where pipes burst and thick snow pushes its weight down on power lines, people stay inside unless they have no other choice. I think of how, in winter, a heavy chill drifts in from Lake Erie and sits over the city, sometimes for months, making the outside world a burden. With this in mind, when I think of Kid Cudi, I also think of Cleveland, Ohio, in all of its beauty and its moods. This last hook is used to show the aftermath of drinking too much and the pain that it causes.It is nearly impossible to imagine an artist and their work without also framing those ideas around where they come from. The last line is left intentionally vague to allow the listener to interpret a meaning for himself/herself, yet Cudi seems to say that his pursuit of outward happiness is really a mislead attempt to fill an inner void. Cudi then evokes the listener to compare their dreams to his, and then expands how he is alone in his suffering and isolation which are his dreams. He then mentions 'night terrors', which relate to his childhood as he believed that to sleep was to die. The second verse Cudi mentions dreaming, which is to imply that all people dream, but not equally. Finally it says that after ruling out every other source of happiness, only the drugs could actually bring him happiness. He seeks all these things in his pursuit of happiness to only be left unsatisfied and alone. It then talks about how h e parties, drinks and smokes but what may seem great, and glamorous, like gold for example, is not always satisfying. This first hook references the pursuit of happiness which is somewhat of a philosophical idea. Lastly he says if he does in fact die, he lived through the highs and the lows knowingly. It then says that he is willing to die as long as he lived his life the way he wanted to.

It also says how his friends tell him to slow down on the drugs but he isn't ready to quit just yet. This combination is meant to show how he chooses to look for happiness through substances rather than real events.

The first verse describes the use of drugs combined with alcohol.

Pursuit of happiness meaning kid cudi