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"
Ah
God, what a mess, on the ladder of success
Where you take one step and miss the whole first rung
Dreams unfulfilled, graduate unskilled
It beats pickin' cotton and waitin' to be forgotten
Wait on the sons of no one, bastards of young
Wait on the sons of no one, bastards of young
The daughters and the sons
Clean your baby womb, trash that baby boom
Elvis in the ground, no way he'll be here tonight
Income tax deduction, what a hell of a function
It beats pickin' cotton or waitin' to be forgotten
Wait on the sons of no one, bastards of young
Wait on the sons of no one, bastards of young
Now the daughters and the sons
Unwillingness to claim us, ya got no warrant to name us
The ones love us best are the ones we'll lay to rest
And visit their graves on holidays at best
The ones love us least are the ones we'll die to please
If it's any consolation, I don't begin to understand them
Wait on the sons of no one, bastards of young
Wait on the sons of no one, bastards of young
Daughters and the sons
Young, of young, young, young, young
Take it, it's yours, take it, it's yours
Take it, it's yours, take it, it's yours
Take it, it's yours, take it, it's yours
Take it, it's yours, take it, it's yours
Take it, it's yours
God, what a mess, on the ladder of success
Where you take one step and miss the whole first rung
Dreams unfulfilled, graduate unskilled
It beats pickin' cotton and waitin' to be forgotten
Wait on the sons of no one, bastards of young
Wait on the sons of no one, bastards of young
The daughters and the sons
Clean your baby womb, trash that baby boom
Elvis in the ground, no way he'll be here tonight
Income tax deduction, what a hell of a function
It beats pickin' cotton or waitin' to be forgotten
Wait on the sons of no one, bastards of young
Wait on the sons of no one, bastards of young
Now the daughters and the sons
Unwillingness to claim us, ya got no warrant to name us
The ones love us best are the ones we'll lay to rest
And visit their graves on holidays at best
The ones love us least are the ones we'll die to please
If it's any consolation, I don't begin to understand them
Wait on the sons of no one, bastards of young
Wait on the sons of no one, bastards of young
Daughters and the sons
Young, of young, young, young, young
Take it, it's yours, take it, it's yours
Take it, it's yours, take it, it's yours
Take it, it's yours, take it, it's yours
Take it, it's yours, take it, it's yours
Take it, it's yours
Lyrics submitted by punkynoisething, edited by lhooq27, oski2005, Xeinix, paul839025
Bastards Of Young Lyrics as written by Paul Westerberg
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
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The Night We Met
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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.
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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.
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
At first I thought this was about orphaned children, but on further consideration, it seems more a post-punk anthem about orphans of a generation. "It beats pickin' cotton and waitin' to be forgotten" really parallels to the Replacements attitude of almost boasting about being semi-dropouts and fuck-ups. The sing-a-long beer-in-hand chorus really reenforces that impression that it's okay to be a generation without a future or purpose. Written before the term "Generation X" caught on, I always thought the line was "ya got no wars to name us", as there were no wars from Vietnam to Desert Storm.
"Young...take it, it's yours..." is a sort of punk reiterance, updated for 1985, "it" being the future, whereas, in 1977, the cry was "no future". Or maybe Westerberg was saying "we're not using it, you can have it".
Under pressure from their label, they reluctantly made a video for Bastards of Young - an unedited shot of a speaker playing the song. Perfect negation for the new video age they so despised.
This song is also one of the many examples of Westerberg's songwriting techniques of making sure the intro and outros of his songs were jarring or at least interesting from the rest of the song, in order for the listener to take notice. I'm constantly amazed how this is done time and again without sounding tacked on in the slightest.
I have always thought the line was "Got no war to name us"
It seems like generations are often defined, or at least strongly associated, by the wars they have fought, which is a pretty interesting concept if you ask me.
And yes, I do agree with the previous posts. This song seems to be about generational displacement and/or generational existentialism (what am I doing here? sort of thing). Being a college student myself, the lyrics are more than just a little ominous, especially the first stanza.
I always thought it was "got no war to maim us" for the longest time (what can I say, I am a veteran). a song meant for shouting along with until hoarseness sets in.
trivia: he slips in a "sons of norway" for a "sons of no one" one time sons-of-norway is kinda-sorta big in mpls. it's a group along the lines of shriners and elks and what-not that were so popular to the generation of the 50's. in the 80's they degenerated to the point that they mainly sold insurance (and like the shriners and the elks gained no new members while watching all of their current members die off). The had a huge building in the twin cities and they allowed local bands to rent their space on friday and saturday nights for concerts. i'm sure the mats played at least once at the sons of norway during '81.
The ones who love us best are the ones we'll lay to rest And visit their graves on holidays at best The ones who love us least are the ones we'll die to please If it's any consolation, I don't begin to understand them
^^^^^^^^^
That line used to annoy the SHIT outve some girl I used to be friends with. Love this song.
"Income tax deduction, what a hell of a function"
...having custody of a child allows the guardian to claim a deduction on their income taxes. Maybe this is obvious to everyone else, but that line never made any sense to me until a friend explained it.
God, what a mess, on the ladder of success Where you take one step and miss the whole first rung
i almost can't fucking believe two lines can sum up the past few years of my life. i need a "bastards of young" support group.
Amazing song, I was just a kid when this came out but when ever I hear people talk about or play the greatest songs of the 80's it's amazing to me that this song never comes up.If it's not the greatest,it definitely is one of the greatest songs to come out of the 80's.The beginning of this song just kills every time,the guitar and then Paul screaming,just fucking awesome.
Possibly one of the greatest bands to ever be. This song rocks along with the rest of the album (Tim).
I was real big into this band in high school, they are truely great. Yet, when I went off to school their cds just sort-of got mixed up in my collection and forgotten about. I heard this song out at the bar the other night - God, how good it is.