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Born a Wise Man Lyrics
On the Acushnet River where I grew up
Cut my teeth on the beach, the dirty needles in the mud
Got wasted in Fairhaven every 4th of July
At the fireworks, on the grass, in the wine
Well I was born a wise man but I've lost my memory
Keep your eye out for the real thing
It's all just "money, money" these days
You gotta hold tight to the real thing
You can search far and wide for the real thing
And you'll find
When you got no one, you've got someone in me
It was the band's first gig at the Exit Club
Our singer asked 'em to mosh, but nobody was
Monday at school, he quit the band at lunch
But you keep your eye out for the real thing
It's all just "money, money" these days
Stick up for your friends 'til you die
You gotta hold tight to the real thing
And with your life
I've been hurtful, talked my shit
I've been working on it, I used to just love nothing
Oh yeah, I hated everything
So lucky I got the world in my pocket
Do I remember who I thought I was?
Practiced for weeks, we three, in our parents' basement
Those looks weren't deceiving, we were shaken to the core
What takes the fire from my eyes will leave me dead to rights
I was born a wise man, I've not forgotten everything
Still committed to forgiving every damned thing
Still making friends of an enemy
This ain't no resignation, but your mercy I applaud
Now move along
Keep your eye out for the real thing
It's all just "money, money" these days
To live the dream we've been working since we were fifteen
It's a pretty sick job for no pay and you're right
There is no one can get it done like us
Cut my teeth on the beach, the dirty needles in the mud
Got wasted in Fairhaven every 4th of July
At the fireworks, on the grass, in the wine
Well I was born a wise man but I've lost my memory
It's all just "money, money" these days
You gotta hold tight to the real thing
You can search far and wide for the real thing
And you'll find
When you got no one, you've got someone in me
Our singer asked 'em to mosh, but nobody was
Monday at school, he quit the band at lunch
It's all just "money, money" these days
Stick up for your friends 'til you die
You gotta hold tight to the real thing
And with your life
I've been working on it, I used to just love nothing
Oh yeah, I hated everything
So lucky I got the world in my pocket
Do I remember who I thought I was?
Those looks weren't deceiving, we were shaken to the core
What takes the fire from my eyes will leave me dead to rights
I was born a wise man, I've not forgotten everything
Still making friends of an enemy
This ain't no resignation, but your mercy I applaud
Now move along
It's all just "money, money" these days
To live the dream we've been working since we were fifteen
It's a pretty sick job for no pay and you're right
There is no one can get it done like us
Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.
The band mentioned when they played this song live in the Maida Vale studio on The Punk Rock Show on BBC Radio 1 that it's about the beginnings of their band. How they started out and all.
It makes sense and I interpret it as also being about staying true to those original beliefs as well as thoughts and feelings you have as a teenager. Not forgetting that punk mentality when you grow up both in the sense of "being an adult and getting a serious job" as well as the fact that they probably could have made their music more radio friendly to earn them more money. My two cents.
From Nuno in an interview on Punknews.org: (see the full interview here: https://www.punknews.org/article/53778/interviews-nuno-pereira-a-wilhelm-scream)
It reads like a story. The Acushnet River is the river that runs through New Bedford. Trevor used to get high and watch the fireworks on Fourth of July all the time and tell stories about it. My favorite part of the story is how I came to join the band. He talks about his band's first gig at this place called The Exit Club, kind of a rat hole, kind of an awesome dive in New Bedford. His band had their first show there and the singer was like "Why isn't anyone moshing?" It was their first show, the crowd didn't know any of their songs. He basically said "You guys suck," and that next Monday he quit the band. I moved back to New Bedford, a few months after that I met the guys and that's how I ended up singing for them. That kid quit because no one ended up moshing for their songs. There's much more but I think some of those questions are better off left for Trevor. Also everyone practices in their mom's basement for as long as they can. We did it for YEARS. The Reilly's should be sainted or whatever the equivalent to that. They were definitely the martyrs for our cause. Every Monday night their house would be shaking, rattling, and very loud. Thanks Mr. and Mrs. Reilly.