Woke up in the '20s and there were flappers and fruits in white suits
And it was right before the crash, we got thrashed throughout the '30s
Queuing up for soup with scabby sores
Then they sent us off to war

We came back in the '40s and there were wheelchairs, guns and tickertape
We poured it on the floor and we made love to the interstates
We got shiftless in the '50s, holding hands and going steady
Twisting into dark parts of the large midwestern cities

Tripped right through the '60s with some blissful little hippie
Some Kennedy's got shot while you were screwing San Francisco
And the '70s got heavy, we woke up on bloody carpets
Got tangled up in gas lines, and I guess that's where it started

The '80s almost killed me, let's not recall them quite so fondly
Some Kennedy OD'ed while we watched on MTV
And in the '90s we were wired and well connected
Put it all down on technology and lost everything we invested

We gotta start it off with a positive jam
We gotta start it with a positive jam, man
Gotta start it with a positive jam

All the sniffling indie kids, hold steady
And all you clustered-up clever kids, hold steady
And I got bored when I didn't have a band
And so I started a band, man
We're gonna start it with a positive jam
Hold steady


Lyrics submitted by leonperkin

Positive Jam Lyrics as written by Craig Finn

Lyrics © Reservoir Media Management, Inc.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Positive Jam song meanings
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4 Comments

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  • +1
    General Comment

    he got bored when he didn't have a band, so he started a band, man. and god damn am I glad he got bored. this song almost killed me.

    kemekongkaon October 09, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    HAHA WERE GONNA START IT WITH A POSITIVE JAM!

    morecerealon October 04, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    great little history lesson there. 'mazin lyricism as usual.

    BlackLungFeveron July 23, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    It seems to me as though this song is about starting a stretch of time (namely the `00 decade) out with something positive after so many other time periods that weren't. I think it might give some insight as to the name of the band--the Hold Steady--as well; a 'positive jam' represents the band, whose message, as outlined by the last part of the song, is to 'hold steady.'

    tippy_typewriteron April 09, 2008   Link

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