This song is about a quieter kind of living.
Not chasing, not proving—just getting through the day and finding something good in it. It’s the feeling of having very little, but not letting that take anything away from who you are.
There’s something very real about it. Coins in your pocket, a cup of tea to warm your hands, walking instead of catching the bus—not because you have to, but because somehow it feels better that way.
It’s about dignity in small things.
About standing outside the life you thought you might have, looking in through the window, and being okay with it. Not bitter, not defeated—just aware that life isn’t always about having more. Sometimes it’s about seeing clearly what you already have.
There’s a kind of quiet richness in that.
This song sits in those moments—rain on your coat, music drifting out of a doorway, a simple walk with no real destination. Nothing big is happening, but something meaningful still is.
“High Life (Empty Pockets — UK 60s)” isn’t loud about it.
It just tells the truth gently—that even with empty pockets, life can still feel full… if you let it.
🎵 High Life (Empty Pockets — UK 60s)
Verse 1
Coins in my pocket
Two at best
Tea from a café
Warm in my chest
Bus goes past
I let it ride
Walking feels
Like better pride
Pre
Don’t need much
Never did
Mum said — smile
That’s the trick
Chorus
Living the high life
Nothing to spend
Laugh with the night
And walk with a friend
Cheap cup of tea
Rain on my coat
Whole wide world
Inside my throat
Living the high life
No money again
Still feels rich
Now and then
Verse 2
Shop window suits
Never mine
Still I stop
Every time
Radio drifting
From a door
Dreams don’t cost
Anything at all
Pre
Empty hands
Open sky
Funny how
You get by
Chorus
Living the high life
Nothing to spend
Laugh with the night
And walk with a friend
Cheap cup of tea
Rain on my coat
Whole wide world
Inside my throat
Living the high life
No money again
Still feels rich
Now and then
Bridge (very UK 60s reflective)
Someday maybe
Different street
But tonight
This life is sweet
Streetlight gold
Pavement shine
Borrowed world
Still feels mine
Final Chorus (gentle lift)
Living the high life
No money to show
Still got somewhere
I can go
No big plans
No grand view
Just this moment
Pulling through
Living the high life
Quiet and true
Nothing much —
But it’ll do
Michael Forty