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Cover of Cage the Elephant by Cage The Elephant
Cover: Cage the Elephant

Song · Cage The Elephant

“Aint no Rest for the Wicked” by Cage The Elephant

From the album Cage the Elephant (2008)

“Aint no Rest for the Wicked” by Cage The Elephant appears on 65 radio countdowns from 45 stations between 2009 and 2026. It was first released in 2008 on the album Cage the Elephant. Its best result is #1 on the WEQX Top 102.7 of 2009. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #4 alternative song of 2009, #2,070 alternative song of all time, #42 of the '00s and #342 of the '10s.

65countdowns
45stations
#1best position
1#1 finishes
18top 10 finishes
2009–2026years charted

Watch

Cage The Elephant - Ain't No Rest For The Wicked (Official Video)

Video from YouTube (CageTheElephantVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Ain't No Rest for the Wicked" came off Cage the Elephant's self-titled 2008 album, landing as a CD single on Relentless Records in June 2008 and handing the band their first Top 40 hit in the UK. All five members share the writing credit: Matt Shultz, Brad Shultz, Lincoln Parish, Jared Champion and Daniel Tichenor.

The song plays like a string of bad run-ins. The narrator asks a prostitute why she does what she does, then minutes later finds himself staring down a gun, and both times the answer is the same weary shrug about money and the people depending on it. It's wry, sweaty alternative rock with sympathy for everybody hustling to get by, and a North American re-release the next year pushed it to number 3 on Billboard's Alternative Songs chart.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

Classic Rock

Hard Rock & Metal

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
2009 18 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 20 Songs of 2009 20
2009 3 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 2009 91
2009 10 Q101 Chicago, IL Q101 Top 101 Songs of 2009 101
2009 17 WFNX Boston, MA WFNX Top 101 Songs of 2009 101
2009 23 89X Detroit, MI / Windsor, ON 89X Top 89 Songs of 2009 89
2009 29 CD101 Columbus, OH CD101 Top 101 Songs of 2009 101
2009 19 CFNY 102.1 The Edge Toronto, ON 102.1 The Edge The Top 102 of 2009 102
2009 9 The Buzz Burlington, VT / Plattsburgh, NY / Montreal, QC The Buzz Top 99 Songs of 2009 99
2009 3 105.7 The Point St. Louis, MO 105.7 The Point Top 105 Songs of 2009 105
2009 1 102.7 WEQX Southern Vermont and the Capital District of New York (Albany) WEQX Top 102.7 of 2009 103
2009 3 WVBR Ithaca, NY WVBR Top 93 of 2009 92
2009 21 88.3 The Sting Cleveland, OH 88.3 The Sting WBWC Top 88 Songs of 2009 88
2009 10 X96 Salt Lake City, UT X96 Top 50 Songs of 2009 50
2009 19 90.5 WERG Erie, PA WERG Top 90 of 2009 90
2009 26 107.1 The Peak Westchester County, NY WXPK Top 107 Songs of 2009 107
2009 7 106.1 The Corner Charlottesville, VA 106.1 The Corner Top 106 Songs of 2009 106
2009 46 94.5 The Buzz Houston, TX 94.5 The Buzz Top 94 of 2009 94
2009 5 99 Rock Lebanon-Hanover-White River Junction, NH-VT 99Rock WFRD Top 99 of 2009 99
2009 4 94.3 WCYY Portland, ME WCYY Top 50 of 2009 50
2009 9 ALT 104.5 Philadelphia, PA Radio 104.5 Top 50.5 Songs of 2009 51
2009 7 FM 102/1 Milwaukee, WI FM 102/1 Top 50 of 2009 50
2009 23 103.1 The River Kalispell-Flathead Valley, MT 103.1 The River Top 103 of 2009 103
2009 2 WRNR 103.1 Annapolis, MD WRNR Top 104 Songs of 2009 104
2009 13 103.1 The Buzz West Palm Beach, FL Buzz 103.1 Top 103 Buzz Cuts of 2009 103
2009 9 96X Norfolk-Virginia Beach-Newport News, VA 96X Top 30 of 2009 30
2009 51 Lightning 100 Nashville, TN Lightning 100 Top 100 Songs of 2009 100
2009 24 X103.9 Riverside-San Bernardino, CA X103.9 Top Songs of 2009 103
2009 20 The Current Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN The Current Top 89 Songs of 2009 89
2009 5 KSLG Eureka (Humboldt County), CA KSLG Top 94 of 2009 94
2009 73 WTMD Baltimore, MD WTMD Top 89 Songs of 2009 89
2009 3 WBRU Providence, RI WBRU Top 95.5 Songs of 2009 96
2010 32 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 2010 91
2010 33 CFNY 102.1 The Edge Toronto, ON 102.1 The Edge Top 102 Songs of 2010 102
2010 47 89.7 The River Omaha, NE / Council Bluffs, IA 89.7 The River Top 89 of 2010 89
2010 77 KSLG Eureka (Humboldt County), CA KSLG Top 94 Slugtunez of 2010 94
2010 8 93XRT Chicago, IL WXRT Listener Poll: Top 25 Songs of 2010 25
2010 81 Channel 92.3 San Jose / San Francisco Bay Area, CA Channel 92.3 Top 92 Songs of 2010 92
2010 14 103.1 The Buzz West Palm Beach, FL Buzz 103.1 The 103 Most Played Buzz Cuts of 2010 103
2011 38 X107.5 Las Vegas, NV X107.5 Top 50 Songs That Didn't Suck 2011 50

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
2010 200 CFNY 102.1 The Edge 102.1 The Edge Top 200 New Rock Songs of the Millennium 200
2010 150 94.1 The Zone 94.1 The Zone 210 Most Played Songs of the Decade 210
2010 96 WJRR WJRR Top 101 Songs of the Decade 101
2011 69 CFNY 102.1 The Edge 102.1 The Edge Top 102 New Rock Songs of the 2000s 102
2014 237 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2014) 500
2015 240 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2015) 500
2018 190 WTMD WTMD Listeners' Top 897 Songs, 2003-2018 896
2019 619 WYEP WYEP Labor Day Weekend Countdown 2019 1099
2019 619 WYEP WYEP Big Spring Countdown 2019 1017
2019 197 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2019) 500
2020 5 The Buzz The Buzz Top 99 Songs of the Decade 99
2020 444 Q105.7 Q105.7 Memorial Day 500 (2020) 499
2020 277 DC101 The DC101 Top 500 500
2021 432 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2021) 500
2022 632 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 2000s 907
2022 162 101X 101X 500 (2022) 498
2023 141 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2023) 500
2024 387 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Top 400 of the Last 40 Years (2024) 400
2024 492 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Songs of the 21st Century 1055
2024 728 WYEP WYEP Best Songs of the Past 50 Years 1049
2024 348 WXPN WXPN The 885 Greatest Songs of the 21st Century (2024) 885
2025 351 The Current 893 Essential Songs of The Current: 2005 to Now 893
2025 294 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Top 400 of the Last 40 Years (2025) 400
2025 249 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 21st Century 909
2025 101 WYEP WYEP Best Songs of the 21st Century (So Far) 714
2026 108 101X 101X 500 (2026) 500

Also listed as: Ain't No Rest For The Wicked; Ain't No Rest for the Wicked; Ain't No Rest For the Wicked; Aint No Rest For The Wicked; Ain't No Rest for The Wicked; Ain't No Rest for The.

Charting alongside it in 2009

Best songs of 2009 →
  1. 1Use SomebodyKings of Leon
  2. 2UprisingMuse
  3. 3Panic SwitchSilversun Pickups
  4. 5(If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You ToWeezer
  5. 6The FixerPearl Jam
  6. 721 GunsGreen Day

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