And The Cradle Will Rock...

It's about how the young generation can get tied up with the wrong crowd and get into a lot of trouble.

I originally thought this song was about a new kid in town that didn't fit in and was depressed, or "down". However, "gets down" has multiple meanings. It is slang for "party".

Notice the lyrics say "local kid gets down", and not "new kid gets down". This is reflecting upon the town, meaning the town is conservative and this song is not about a new kid fitting in, but rather a local kid. "They say, you coulda least faked it, boy", means you could at least try to act like a normal person acts in our town.

So we have a kid that parties and doesn't come home, and is getting poor grades, in a conservative town where this behavior is not normal. No wonder the cradle is rocking! What significance is the cradle, you ask? A cradle is slang for someone's home.

After he drops out of school, he's unemployed and "tied with who he meets", meaning he's either stuck couch surfing or in a gang.

His folks are glad to be rid of him.

I think this song nailed my ( gen x ) generation perfectly . The van halen boys are boomers so it gave Dave a good perspective . In short i think every generation is looking for something more but the older generation has their set ways they want you to follow. I dont think Dave was making it " cool " to be lofty and lost . His lyrics are quite dark in this . When the kid " hits the streets and winds up tied with who he meets " ...is a perfect line . It could be the guy that finally got a drudgery job and got hooked up with a girl or the rebellious kid screwing around with girls and finally gets one knocked up . Either way , the worn path will capture you . The term " cradle will rock " is basically that you will wind up being a father in the end if that path captures you as it does many .

The change in music in the early 90s was a manifestation of that rebellious street kid. Many rebelled by not having kids and going into tech jobs etc , or just killing themselves with heroin .

They are great lyrics . I remember listening to them in the 80s getting a short window into that dark reality - now thats all i see .

Great song but can somebody explain the meaning here??

It's about adolesence, doing crazy things when your young and the shit you get from your parents.

I agree with the two above. its a pretty easy song to understand.

This is like the best Van Halen song.

I think that it also alludes that the guy gets a girl pregnant and ends up with her. Thus a baby would be in the cradle that rocks.

"It's kinda frightenin' how this younger generation swings." refers to the hard-drug-using adolescents of the 70's. "It's more than just a new sensation. Well, the kid is into losin' sleep and he don't come home for half the week... Rock on..." This is alluding to cocaine, which induces insomnia and addiction. The term "rock" is commonly used in classic rock songs to refer to cocaine because the substance's form resembles white rocks; see, "Let's Get Rocked" by Def Leppard. "It's more than just an aggravation." - It's a lifestyle, one that is damaging to the body. Alas, the subtle glorification of an addictive, dangerous drug via the music industry at the will of TPTB for experimentation and exploitation.

OMG having a baby? Really?

This song is from the late 70's and is about a teenager misbehaving and ignoring his parents rules while running around smoking pot and listening to rock music. Have you seen JRs grades? Because the kids grades have plunged now that he is partying all the time.

The Part about you could have at least faked it boy, His parents things he hates them and they are saying you could have at least acted like you loved us even if you didn't and they eventually become happy to see him fail.