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  1. Tracks
  2. Mac Miller
  3. Swimming
  4. 2009

TRACK

Mac Miller

2009

Release date: 3rd August 2018

From Swimming
Hip-Hop/RapMusic
Rap
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About This Track

'2009' closes the second side of 'Swimming' with a minute-long orchestral introduction before Mac Miller arrives at a chorus built around acceptance. The title marks the year he released his first two mixtapes, and the song functions as both a reckoning with that earlier self and a declaration of distance from it. Miller sings rather than raps for much of the track, the guitar work supplied by Steve Lacy lending the arrangement a warmth that matches the lyric's shift in tone.

The verses catalogue the years between: the demons, the materialism that felt hollow, the search for something he couldn't name. By the second verse he's found it, or at least found enough peace to stop asking why. 'I'd rather have me peace of mind than war,' he sings, the line landing with the weight of someone who's tested the alternative. The song doesn't romanticise the past; it acknowledges the path and then steps clear of it, promising presence and patience in place of the old chaos.

Released in 2018, the track carries an unintended poignancy now, one of the rawest reflections in Miller's catalogue and a vow to a future he wouldn't see. The optimism feels hard-won rather than wishful, the kind that knows what's behind the door and walks through it anyway.

"2009" is a track by Mac Miller, from the album Swimming, released 3rd August 2018. Full lyrics are available below.

About the Artist

Mac Miller

Mac Miller

Lyrics

2009

[Intro]

Yeah

Eric

Well

[Chorus]

I don't need to lie no more

Nowadays all I do is shine, take a breath and ease my mind, and

She don't cry no more

She tell me that I get her high 'cause an angel's s'posed to fly, and

I ain't askin' "Why?" no more

Oh, no, I take it if it's mine, I don't stay inside the lines

It ain't 2009 no more

Yeah, I know what's behind that door

[Verse 1]

Yeah, okay, you gotta jump in to swim

Well, the light was dim in this life of sin

Now every day I wake up and breathe

I don't have it all but that's alright with me

Take it nice and easy, took a flight to see me

Send you back home with a light that's beamin'

The whole team 'bout to figure it out

We ice cold, that's what winter about

And sometimes, sometimes I wish I took a simpler route

Instead of havin' demons that's as big as my house, mhm

Have a ball with a dribble and bounce

'Cause the party ain't over 'til they're kickin' me out, yeah

Isn't it funny? We can make a lot of money

Buy a lot of things just to feel a lot of ugly

I was yea high and muddy

Lookin' for what was lookin' for me

[Chorus]

But I don't need to lie no more

Nowadays all I do is shine, take a breath and ease my mind, and

She don't cry no more

She tell me that I get her high 'cause an angel's s'posed to fly, and

I ain't askin' "Why?" no more

Oh, no, I take it if it's mine, I don't stay inside the lines

It ain't 2009 no more

Yeah, I know what's behind that door

[Verse 2]

Yeah, they ask me what I'm smilin' for

Well, because I've never been this high before

It's like I never felt alive before

Mhm, I'd rather have me peace of mind than war

You see, me and you, we ain't that different

I struck the fuck out and then I came back swingin'

Take my time to finish, mind my business

A life ain't a life 'til you live it, I was diggin' me a hole

Big enough to bury my soul

Weight of the world, I gotta carry my own, my own

With these arms, I can carry you home

I'm right here when you scared and alone, and I ain't never in a hurry

You don't ever gotta worry

Even when it's 7:30 and the time is runnin' low

When your heart get cold

See what's behind all them unturned stones

And I'm a pro when it come to my job

But really I'm just tryna start believin' in God

Now when it gets hard

I don't panic, I don't sound the alarm

[Chorus]

Because I don't need to lie no more

Nowadays all I do is shine, take a breath and ease my mind, and

She don't cry no more

She tell me that I get her high 'cause an angel's s'posed to fly, and

I ain't askin' "Why?" no more

Oh, no, I take it if it's mine, I don't stay inside the lines

It ain't 2009 no more

Yeah, I know what's behind that door

I don't need to lie no more

Nowadays all I do is shine, take a breath and ease my mind, and

She don't cry no more

She tell me that I get her high 'cause an angel's s'posed to fly, and

I ain't askin' "Why?" no more

Oh, no, I take it if it's mine, I don't stay inside the lines

It ain't 2009 no more

Yeah, I know what's behind that door

Lyrics provided by LRCLIB

View full lyrics page →

Track details

From Swimming

2018
Listen
Album
Swimming
Swimming
Mac Miller
3rd August 2018
Release year
2018
  1. —Come Back to Earth
    2:42
  2. —2009
    5:48
  3. —Jet Fuel
    5:45
  4. —Dunno
    3:57
  5. —Self Care
    5:45
  6. —Ladders
    4:47
  7. —Hurt Feelings
    4:06
  8. —What's the Use?
    4:49
  9. —Perfecto
    3:35
  10. —Wings
    4:10
  11. —Conversation Pt. 1
    3:30
  12. —So It Goes
    5:13
  13. —2009
  14. —What's the Use?
  15. —Ladders
  16. —Come Back to Earth
  17. —Wings
  18. —Jet Fuel
  19. —Hurt Feelings
  20. —Dunno
  21. —So It Goes
  22. —Perfecto
  23. —Conversation, Pt. 1

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I Love Life, Thank You
2022
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2020
The Divine Feminine
The Divine Feminine
2016
GO:OD AM
GO:OD AM
2015
K.I.D.S. (Deluxe)
K.I.D.S. (Deluxe)
2010

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Credits

Production & Engineering

Writer
Aja Grant, Chanté Moore, Eric G, George Jackson, James “Big Jim” Wright, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Jon Brion, Mac Miller
Producer
Eric G
Assistant Mixing Engineer
Robin Florent, Scott Desmarais
Mastering Engineer
Mike Bozzi
Mixing Engineer
Chris Galland, Manny Marroquin
Programmer
Eric G
Recording Engineer
Andrew Ching, Bea Go, Louis Fisher
Strings
Frédérique Gnaman, Niles Luther, Pedro Vallejos, Sarah Ashley Koenig-Plonskier
Strings Arranger
Aja Grant
Vibraphone
Jon Brion
READ MORE ABOUT MAC MILLERREAD MORE ABOUT MAC MILLER
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