Meshell Ndegeocello Cloud Nine
[Dennis:] The childhood part of my life
Wasn't very pretty, see...
[Temptations:] Boom, boom-boom, boom
[Dennis:] I was born and raised
In the slums of the city,
[Temptations:] Boom, boom-boom, boom
[Dennis:] It was a one-room shack
That slept ten other children beside me,
[Temptations:] Boom, boom-boom, boom
[Dennis:] We hardly enough food
Or room to sleep
[Temptations:] Boom, boom-boom, boom
[Dennis:] It was hard times...
I needed somethin' to ease my troubled mind
[Dennis:] Oooh listen...
My father didn't know the meaning of work
[Temptations:] Boom, boom-boom, boom
[Dennis:] He disrespected mama,
And treated us like dirt
[Temptations:] Boom, boom-boom, boom
[Dennis:] I left home seeking a job
That I never could find
[Temptations:] Boom, boom-boom, boom
[Dennis:] The pressure came down hard
And I took to cloud nine
[Temptations:] Boom, boom-boom, boom
[Paul:] I'm doing fine
Up here, on cloud nine
[Dennis:] A one more time
[Paul:] I'm doing fine
Up here, on cloud nine
[Dennis:] Folks down there tell me...
[Dennis:] They say give yourself a chance
And don't let life pass you by,
[Temptations:] Woo, woo, woo
[Dennis:] But the world, say, is a rat race
Where only the strongest survive,
It's a dog-eat-dog world
And that ain't no lie,
[Temptations:] Ain't no lie
[Dennis:] It ain't even safe no more
To walk the streets at night
[Temptations:] I'm doing fine
On cloud nine
[Dennis:] Let me tell 'bout cloud nine...
[Temptations:] Cloud nine
[Paul:] You can be what you want to be
[Temptations:] Cloud Nine
[Dennis:] You ain't got no responsibility
[Temptations:] Cloud Nine
[Eddie:] And every man, every man is free
[Temptations:] Cloud nine
[Dennis:] You're a million miles from reality
[Paul:] Reality
[Temptations:] I wanna' say up
[Eddie and Otis:] Higher
[Temptations:] Up and up,
Up and away
[Temptations:] Cloud nine
[Eddie:] I wanna' say I love the life I live,
And I'm going to live, the life I love
Or be on cloud nine...
I, I, I, I, I, I'm ridin' high
[Temptations:] On cloud nine
[Dennis:] You're as free as a burning flame
[Temptations:] Cloud nine
Melvin: There's no difference between day and night
[Temptations:] Cloud nine
[Eddie:] It's a world of love and harmony
[Temptations:] Cloud nine
[Dennis:] You're a million miles from reality
[Paul:] Reality
[Temptations:] I wanna' say up
[Eddie and Otis:] Higher
[Temptations:] Up and up, up and away
[Temptations:] Cloud Nine
[Paul:] You can be what you want to be, ah
[Temptations:] Cloud nine
[Dennis:] You ain't got no responsibility
[Temptations:] Cloud nine
[Eddie:] Every man in his mind is free
[Temptations:] Cloud nine
[Dennis:] You're a million miles from reality
[Temptations:] Cloud nine
[Paul:] You can be what you want to be
[Temptations: all of them weave in and out with ad libs]
[Choruses of "Boom-booms"]
[Fade to end]