Guess you're old enough to know
The kids out on the east coast
Roughly twenty years old
They got coaxed out by a certain perfect ratio
Warm beer to the summer smoke
And the Meat Loaf to the Billy Joel
Certain songs they get so scratched into our souls
She goes low on the seats when she gets high in her car
She looks shallow
But she's neck deep in the steamy dreams of the guys along the harbor bars
She's pulling out her shirttails and she's jacking up her socks
Stern and stoned and confident, coming up towards the jukebox
Born into the only songs that everybody finally sings along
B-1 is for the good girls and it's "Only The Good Die Young"
C-9 is for the making eyes, it's "Paradise By The Dashboard Light"
B-12 is for the speeders and D-4 is for the lovers
And the hard drugs are for the bartenders
And the kitchen workers and the bartender's friends
And they're playing it again
And Ellen Foley gives 'em hope
And certain songs they get scratched into our souls
Guess you're old enough to know
Kids out on the west coast are taking off their clothes
Screwing in the surf and going out to shows
They get high and they ride around in GTOs
Certain songs they get so scratched into our souls
Certain songs they get so scratched into our souls
The kids out on the east coast
Roughly twenty years old
They got coaxed out by a certain perfect ratio
Warm beer to the summer smoke
And the Meat Loaf to the Billy Joel
Certain songs they get so scratched into our souls
She goes low on the seats when she gets high in her car
She looks shallow
But she's neck deep in the steamy dreams of the guys along the harbor bars
She's pulling out her shirttails and she's jacking up her socks
Stern and stoned and confident, coming up towards the jukebox
Born into the only songs that everybody finally sings along
B-1 is for the good girls and it's "Only The Good Die Young"
C-9 is for the making eyes, it's "Paradise By The Dashboard Light"
B-12 is for the speeders and D-4 is for the lovers
And the hard drugs are for the bartenders
And the kitchen workers and the bartender's friends
And they're playing it again
And Ellen Foley gives 'em hope
And certain songs they get scratched into our souls
Guess you're old enough to know
Kids out on the west coast are taking off their clothes
Screwing in the surf and going out to shows
They get high and they ride around in GTOs
Certain songs they get so scratched into our souls
Certain songs they get so scratched into our souls
Lyrics submitted by leonperkin
Certain Songs Lyrics as written by Craig Finn
Lyrics © Reservoir Media Management, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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i think this song is lyrically the best hold steady song. its pretty self explanatory, basically how songs become engrained into everyone's life. when you hear a song it reminds you of a certain time in your life, certain people and senses. simple and brilliant.
here is what craig finn (the lead singer of the hold steady) said about this song:
"Tad called this song Kramer vs. Kramer rock. It's what you listen to in your mid-life-crisis sports car while you are driving through Long Island to your divorce proceedings. Ellen Foley is the woman who duets with Meat Loaf on "Paradise by the Dashboard Light". She also dated Mick Jones from the Clash. And when I say, "D4 is for lovers," I mean Dillinger Four, not that embarassing band from New Zealand."
craig finn, our saint of the weary and the beaten. the kerouac comparisons are impossible to deny, especially in songs like this.