I'm Allowed

One of the best songs of the 90's. Underrated in every way. It's an immaculate piece of work.

There's a lot of uncertainty after you graduate college and become a young adult. Earlier in life it always seem like there was somebody who could guide you or would tell you what to do. Then you realize in your twenties there's no one there to guide you, and you're allowed to do anything but that doesn't always mean that you can get what you want. Maybe it's because this album came out in my early twenties I always associated with the uncertainties of being a young adult and wondering how my life was going to turn out. Regardless of how you look at it., the song is a real gem

This song touches me every time. I didn't get the meaning of 'being allowed' when I heard it back in the 90s, but I guess it's something like allowed to drink, drive, etc. In other words: he's a grown-up now. What I like about the lyrics is that he sings from the first-person perspective in 'Waited for an answer. But I waited for twenty five years' and then switches to 'I waited for the day when you came out from beneath all that weight'. It looks like he's addressing himself in these lines, so the perspective becomes a bit vague, but in a likeable way. And then the 'came to a party'-part, what's that about? Looks like the 'party' is figurative way of describing all the cool stuff he was promised as a kid for once he would become an adult. In reality he doesn't have a clue and feels awkward and depressed. Still though, there seems to have been a real party when you look at the last part: 'She spoke of a French boy. At least two times through the night. It could have been the liquor, or the music but that is all right.' So there you have it: an amazing coming-of-age story in a few lines of text being carried by chords, melody and voice. Love it every freaking time again.