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  1. Tracks
  2. Macklemore
  3. The Heist
  4. Wing$

TRACK

Macklemore

Wing$

Release date: 21st January 2011

From The Heist
Spotify
More on Macklemore

About This Track

A childhood memory of Air Max trainers, the air bubble, the mesh, the promise of flight, opens into a sharp critique of consumer culture and brand mythology. Macklemore traces the line from playground status symbols to genuine violence, recalling a friend's brother murdered for his Jordans, the desire to 'be like Mike' curdling into something darker. The song moves from nostalgic detail to discomfort with unusual discipline, never quite settling into either celebration or condemnation.

The production, handled by Ryan Lewis, keeps the arrangement spare enough to let the narrative breathe, a children's choir lifting the hook into something close to hymnal. Macklemore's delivery stays conversational even as the subject tightens, the sneaker obsession rendered as both formative experience and cautionary parable. Released as the debut single from 'The Heist', the track arrived in January 2011, its examination of identity and consumerism framed through the specific iconography of Nike but reaching towards something more universal.

The final verse turns inward, the swoosh becoming a kind of mental stranglehold, the box and the laces more important than the act of wearing or playing. It's a song about wanting to fly that ends with the speaker unable to move, the commodity consuming the thought that first reached for it.

"Wing$" is a track by Macklemore, from the album The Heist, released 21st January 2011. Full lyrics are available below.

About the Artist

Macklemore

Macklemore

Lyrics

Wing$

[Verse 1: Macklemore]

I was seven years old when I got my first pair

And I stepped outside, and I was like "Momma

This air bubble right here, it's gonna make me fly"

I hit that court, and when I jumped

I jumped, I swear I got so high

"I touched the net! Mom, I touched the net!

This is the best day of my life"

Air Max's were next, that air bubble, that mesh

The box, the smell, the stuffing, the tread

At school, I was so cool, I knew that I couldn't crease 'em

My friends couldn't afford 'em, four stripes on their Adidas

On the court, I wasn't the best, but my kicks were like the pros, yo

Stick out my tongue so everyone could see that logo

Nike Air Flight, book bag was so dope

And then my friend Carlos's brother got murdered for his Fours

Woah

[Verse 2: Macklemore]

See he just wanted a jump shot

But they wanted his Starter coat, though

Didn't wanna get caught from Genesee Park to Othello

You'd get clowned for those Pro Wings, with the velcro, those were not tight

I was tryna fly, without leaving the ground

'Cause I wanted to be like Mike, right, wanted to be him

I wanted to be that guy, I wanted to touch the rim

I wanted to be cool, and I wanted to fit in

I wanted what he had, America, it begins

[Hook: Children Choir]

I wanna fly, can you take me far away?

Give me a star to reach for

Tell me what it takes

And I'll go so high, I'll go so high

My feet won't touch the ground

Just stitch my wings and pull the strings

I bought these dreams that all fall down

[Verse 3: Macklemore]

We want what we can't have

The commodity makes us want it

So expensive, damn, I just got to flaunt it

Got to show 'em

So exclusive, this is that new shit

A hundred dollars for a pair of shoes, I would never hoop in

Look at me, look at me, I'm a cool kid

I'm an individual, yeah, but I'm part of a movement

My movement told me "Be a consumer"

And I consumed it

They told me to just do it

I listened to what that swoosh said

[Verse 4: Macklemore]

Look at what that swoosh did

See it consumed my thoughts

"Are you stupid? Don’t crease 'em! Just leave 'em in that box!"

Strangled by these laces, laces I can barely talk

That's my air bubble and I'm lost, if it pops

We are what we wear, we wear what we are

But see I look inside the mirror and think Phil Knight tricked us all

Will I stand for change, or stay in my box?

These Nikes help me define me

But I'm trying to take mine off

[Hook: Children Choir]

I wanna fly, can you take me far away?

Give me a star to reach for

Tell me what it takes

And I'll go so high, I'll go so high

My feet won't touch the ground

Just stitch my wings and pull the strings

I bought these dreams that all fall down

[Outro: Macklemore]

They started out with what I wear to school

That first day

Like these are what make you cool

And this pair, this would be my parachute

So much more than just a pair of shoes

Nah, this is what I am

What I wore, this is the source of my youth

This dream that they sold to you

For a hundred dollars and some change

Consumption is in the veins

And now I see it's just another pair of shoes

Lyrics provided by LRCLIB

View full lyrics page →

Track details

From The Heist

2011
Listen
Album
The Heist
The Heist
Macklemore
Release year
2011
  1. —Can't Hold Us
  2. —Make the Money
  3. —My Oh My
  4. —BomBom
  5. —Neon Cathedral
  6. —Victory Lap
  7. —Can't Hold Us (feat. Ray Dalton)
    4:18
  8. —Thrift Shop (feat. Wanz)
    3:56
  9. —Thrift Shop
  10. —Castle
  11. —Wing$
  12. —White Walls
  13. —Thin Line
  14. —Ten Thousand Hours
  15. —Jimmy Iovine
  16. —A Wake
  17. —Starting Over
  18. —Gold
  19. —Cowboy Boots

More from Macklemore

Albums & EPs

BEN
BEN
2023
GEMINI
GEMINI
2017
Good Old Days (feat. Kesha)
Good Old Days (feat. Kesha)
Glorious (feat. Skylar Grey)
Glorious (feat. Skylar Grey)
Open Your Eyes
Open Your Eyes
This Unruly Mess I’ve Made
This Unruly Mess I’ve Made

Explore

More tracks by Macklemore

  1. HEROES
  2. HIND'S HALL
  3. HIND’S HALL 2
  4. NO BAD DAYS
  5. 1984BEN
  6. Can't Hold Us [Remix] [Mixed]
  7. DAY YOU DIEBEN
  8. f****d up
  9. fucked up
  10. GOD’S WILLBEN

Showing 10 of 20

If you like Macklemore

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

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Flo Rida

B.o.B

B.o.B

G-Eazy

G-Eazy

Joyner Lucas

Joyner Lucas

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Machine Gun Kelly

Credits

Production & Engineering

Writer
Hollis, Macklemore
Composer
Andrew Joslyn, Ryan Lewis
Producer
Ryan Lewis
Engineer
Amos Miller, Pete Stewart, Ryan Lewis
Additional Vocals
Camila Recchio, Ray Dalton
Bass Guitar
Zach Fleury
Cello
Dana Albaum
Choir
Denny Middle School Choir, Sonny Byers
Hammond B-3 Organ
Noah Goldberg
Mixing Engineer
Macklemore, Ryan Lewis
Percussion
Andrew Joslyn
Piano
Noah Goldberg
Recording Engineer
Macklemore, Ryan Lewis
Trumpet
Owuor Arunga
Viola
Andrew Joslyn
Violin
Andrew Joslyn
READ MORE ABOUT MACKLEMOREREAD MORE ABOUT MACKLEMOREREAD MORE ABOUT MACKLEMOREREAD MORE ABOUT MACKLEMORE
READ MORE ABOUT MACKLEMOREREAD MORE ABOUT MACKLEMOREREAD MORE ABOUT MACKLEMOREREAD MORE ABOUT MACKLEMORE
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