Something that Lissa forgets is the darker side to this story. These "all night parties" were actually called "American Wakes." The meaning of the party was that, to the people that stayed behind, a lot of these people were dead. They were losing them, and in a very real sense: there was no phone, the post wasn't nearly what it is today (and, considering that it isn't very good now, thats saying a lot). These people were dying. Hence the line in the song "We'll drink and we'll dance / and we'll drown our sorrow."
Something that Lissa forgets is the darker side to this story. These "all night parties" were actually called "American Wakes." The meaning of the party was that, to the people that stayed behind, a lot of these people were dead. They were losing them, and in a very real sense: there was no phone, the post wasn't nearly what it is today (and, considering that it isn't very good now, thats saying a lot). These people were dying. Hence the line in the song "We'll drink and we'll dance / and we'll drown our sorrow."