Whatever happened to the punk rock ballads, the rooftop anthems?
Why were they all tossed aside?
For the boys with eyeliner, poetry in a diner
And jeans meant for 12 year old girls
They can just cry about it
In their LiveJournals

Growing up, I'd always come downtown
Checking out the local scene (you know what I mean)
It's kinda crazy but nowadays
I don't think they quite get it (they're full of shit)
step in a show see a 16 year old
acting like he's got a clue (singin' "Dad, I hate you")
and I don't think it will ever been the same

So he cries in his bed all night
with his pillow clenched tight
wondering about the things
wrong with his life

Whatever happened to the punk rock ballads, the rooftop anthems?
Why were they all tossed aside?
For the boys with eyeliner, poetry in a diner
And jeans meant for 12 year old girls
They can just cry about it
In their LiveJournals
In their LiveJournals

Word on the street is punk rock's dead
And they don't think it's ever coming back (we'll see about that)
Never know what it's like to fight

For something, they're never gonna win (yeah we'd do it again)
Do you think we got a hero's shot
Or maybe just one more way? (save the day)
And I don't think it will ever be the same

So he cries in his bed all night
with his pillow clenched tight
wondering about the things
wrong with his life

Whatever happened to the punk rock ballads, the rooftop anthems?
Why were they all tossed aside?
For the boys with eyeliner, poetry in a diner
And jeans meant for 12 year old girls
They can just cry about it
In their LiveJournals
In their LiveJournals

It'll never be the same
They don't even know why
They write these goddamn songs
They dont get it at all (x2)

Whatever happened to the punk rock ballads, the rooftop anthems?
Why were they all tossed aside?
For the boys with eyeliner, poetry in a diner
And jeans meant for 12 year old girls
They can just cry about it

In their LiveJournals (x4)
They can just cry about it in their LiveJournals


Lyrics submitted by BleedorBreathe

Exile of Emo song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

0 Comments

sort form View by:
  • No Comments

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines: "Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet" So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other: "I had all and then most of you" Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart "Some and now none of you" Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship. This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Album art
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Album art
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Album art
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
Album art
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.