The first story in the song is about a kid named Dale, who didn't have any money but was very smart and had a lot of potential. The lyric says, "he was Harvard material an Ivy League scholar." It tells about how he had several degrees and honors when the lyrics say, "Had a PHD An MBA." However, he is forced to wait tables cause he can't pay his rent, "But now he's waitin' tables 'cause there's rent to pay." It then talks about how companies are downsizing and rising inflation are making it hard for him to find a job. Having so much stress in his live he turns to drugs, "So he falls off track starts smoking the crack." He gets addicted and sells his belongings to buy more drugs, "Sells the shirt off his back, The shoes off his feet." Then he is living on the streets and robs people to get more money for drugs, "Now he's out on the street and all of a sudden he's like Jesse James tryin to stick up kids for their watches and chains." The last few lines say that he wasn't cut out for this kind of life and ends up dead, "But he's from business school and he's nervous with the tool, so he ends up on his back in a bloody pool for the ends."
The second story in this song is about "this chick named Sally" who was into the night life and would strut around looking for men, "She had a nice strut and everywhere I went she was up in the cut swinging that butt like place your ad here." She is accustomed to getting her own way and starts craving attention and a lavish lifestyle that she will do anything to get, "Jewels around the neck A lotta style she's cravin." She spends a lot of money and turns to prostitution to support her expenses, "She's doin' all the spendin', If you do the lendin' she'll do the bendin."
The last part of the song is about two guys that thought they were invincible and talked big, and were making money from drug deals, "I knew these two homeboys who made a lot of noise makin' money on the block they was tougher than leather like Reverend Run." They also start living a lavish lifestyle and are packing guns, but when this all disappears they have no jobs, "They was tokin' guns, stackin' mad chips and pushin phat wears fly jewels and clothes and got no job." So one of them is murdered and the other is robbed, "And then one disappeared and one got robbed for the ends."
The chorus of
the song talks about how people will go to terrible lengths like, robbery,
and murder to get what they want and need, or the Ends as Everlast calls
it, "some people would rob their mother for the ends, sometimes kids get
murdered for the ends." This song tells stories that aren't about actual
people, but I am sure things like those talked about in the song have and
are happening to people somewhere. The "Ends" as Everlast called
them, are everything desirable in our society from money to sex to drugs.