I think it's pretty obvious that this song is about growing up.
Maybe it's a harsh word, but until we can think responsibly for ourselves, we're essentially slaves to our parents. So we do what our parents want. We dress with the clothes they buy us, we eat the food they make us, we worship the religion they teach us, we live under the roof they provide for us, and WE DO NOT have a choice in any major decision. Simply put, we do not have an identity. We are extensions of our parents until we begin to rebel or until they let us figure life out on our own, whichever comes first.
The first four lines of the song I think reflect the narrator's struggle to find his own identity. To find out who he is. Is he going to be a singer? Is he going to be a business owner? What's his role in life? When you're young, so many dreams are shot down by comments such as, "No. You can't do that. You'll never make it" or "You'll get hurt" or "You're too good for that" or whatever. I wanted to play football when I was in high school, but my parents were afraid I would get hurt, so they did not let me. I wanted to join the military when I was 18, but my dad did not want me to, so I was guilted into staying home. Etc. "They all say I don't know what I'm doing, but I say they don't hardly understand." I feel these lyrics. My early adult life was marked by my parents telling me what I could and couldn't do. They thought I was stupid/suicidal for wanting to serve my country. But I would tell myself, they just don't get it.
The second stanza, "Why can't they remember..." etc, I believe he's talking about his parents. He's saying why can't they remember when they had dreams of their own? Why did they ruin my childhood dreams?
The third stanza, part of the chorus, "You give what you give..." This relates to my first paragraph. Everything you do as a kid, you do it because your parents told you do. Don't talk during the movie. Don't jump on the bed. etc. The line "They want you to be what they make you" refers to his parents shooting down his dreams again. He's saying 'they'(parents) don't want you to follow your own nose--they want you to follow their advice. They want you to dress like them, think like them, etc. I know this in my personal life all too well. "It's already over and done when you're young." He's just reiterating that while trying to shape you in their image, your parents are suppressing your own identity, thereby shattering your chances at living your own dreams.
"Trapped in a place that won't take you" I assume this means the "REAL" you. The you whose dreams have been suppressed. The world or perhaps the household won't take "you", so you pretend to be this other person that your parents want you to be...
"Everything seems perfect..." I think this stanza just refers to the care-free lives we live as children. You are sort of OK with your parents making your decisions for you because they make your life so easy. They provide everything. but even though they said things would get better, things only get more complicated as you age.
"Days really just seem longer..." I think he's saying he's not living the life he wants to live. He's saying the days (probably at work) are dragging, on and on, and they seem to take forever. And he hopes that it gets better.
Thanks for reading. This song speaks to me on a pretty personal level.
I dont know how old you are, but I can tell you that later you will understand. As you describe it, I felt when I was a child/ teenager, but now that I am a little older I understand parents more than I used to. They love you, want you to be save, happy, unharmed. It is not easy to provide all this and sometimes they make mistakes. My point is: "slave" is the completely wrong word. And therefore I reckon the lyrics arent about a child-parents relationship, but more a young person-grown-ups relationship. Parents can be part of that...
I dont know how old you are, but I can tell you that later you will understand. As you describe it, I felt when I was a child/ teenager, but now that I am a little older I understand parents more than I used to. They love you, want you to be save, happy, unharmed. It is not easy to provide all this and sometimes they make mistakes. My point is: "slave" is the completely wrong word. And therefore I reckon the lyrics arent about a child-parents relationship, but more a young person-grown-ups relationship. Parents can be part of that interpretation. Good thoughts though you have there.
I agree with Phelly2. I'm still a slave to my parents in some ways, even though I'm 25. I know that they want me to be "safe, happy, and unharmed". However, the ways in which they think that is achievable are usually misguided and sometimes terribly wrong. If I hadn't defied them, I wouldn't have gone to college at the University of Texas, or done other things that I wouldn't have done had I listened to them. There are lots of things they wouldn't let me do as a child/teenager (play sports, for example), and I wasn't going to let...
I agree with Phelly2. I'm still a slave to my parents in some ways, even though I'm 25. I know that they want me to be "safe, happy, and unharmed". However, the ways in which they think that is achievable are usually misguided and sometimes terribly wrong. If I hadn't defied them, I wouldn't have gone to college at the University of Texas, or done other things that I wouldn't have done had I listened to them. There are lots of things they wouldn't let me do as a child/teenager (play sports, for example), and I wasn't going to let them tell me I couldn't go away to college, too. Now I'm stuck in a city I hate and the days do seem longer (at work), but my parents say it's better this way. Exactly like the song says.
Your thoughts in general match my feelings as I listen to the song. But I do not think that a parent's control over their child is what is being referred to. Instead, I think it is much broader than that. The song is about society's hold on the individual. Your parents are the ones that show you what society wants and have the most influence on you in the early years, so I can see why you would place the blame on them. But, if you look at the world and specifically these modern day things called advertisements, we are...
Your thoughts in general match my feelings as I listen to the song. But I do not think that a parent's control over their child is what is being referred to. Instead, I think it is much broader than that. The song is about society's hold on the individual. Your parents are the ones that show you what society wants and have the most influence on you in the early years, so I can see why you would place the blame on them. But, if you look at the world and specifically these modern day things called advertisements, we are told to want certain things. We are taught to be consumers. In order to consume, we need to have the jobs we hate. "You aren't supposed to like your job. That's why they call it 'work' and not 'play'". I'm sure you've heard that before. Well, I for one don't want to hate 40+ hours of my week. Anyway, another reason I believe the artist is referring to society and not just parents is that the music video shows someone literally going against the crowd. Parents are not a crowd, but society definitely is. I think of Christopher McCandless and others like him when I hear this song. If you like this song, try checking out the movie Into the Wild and the song "Society" by Eddie Vedder (part of the movie's soundtrack). You may not be into nature, but it has the spirit of screwing and escaping society.
Shut Up And read the lyrics . If your here to BS about your parents then Don't come back. Damn Almost everyone has to deal with Strict parents But the whole world does not come online to tell the world that children are slaves .
Shut Up And read the lyrics . If your here to BS about your parents then Don't come back. Damn Almost everyone has to deal with Strict parents But the whole world does not come online to tell the world that children are slaves .
I think it's pretty obvious that this song is about growing up.
Maybe it's a harsh word, but until we can think responsibly for ourselves, we're essentially slaves to our parents. So we do what our parents want. We dress with the clothes they buy us, we eat the food they make us, we worship the religion they teach us, we live under the roof they provide for us, and WE DO NOT have a choice in any major decision. Simply put, we do not have an identity. We are extensions of our parents until we begin to rebel or until they let us figure life out on our own, whichever comes first.
The first four lines of the song I think reflect the narrator's struggle to find his own identity. To find out who he is. Is he going to be a singer? Is he going to be a business owner? What's his role in life? When you're young, so many dreams are shot down by comments such as, "No. You can't do that. You'll never make it" or "You'll get hurt" or "You're too good for that" or whatever. I wanted to play football when I was in high school, but my parents were afraid I would get hurt, so they did not let me. I wanted to join the military when I was 18, but my dad did not want me to, so I was guilted into staying home. Etc. "They all say I don't know what I'm doing, but I say they don't hardly understand." I feel these lyrics. My early adult life was marked by my parents telling me what I could and couldn't do. They thought I was stupid/suicidal for wanting to serve my country. But I would tell myself, they just don't get it.
The second stanza, "Why can't they remember..." etc, I believe he's talking about his parents. He's saying why can't they remember when they had dreams of their own? Why did they ruin my childhood dreams?
The third stanza, part of the chorus, "You give what you give..." This relates to my first paragraph. Everything you do as a kid, you do it because your parents told you do. Don't talk during the movie. Don't jump on the bed. etc. The line "They want you to be what they make you" refers to his parents shooting down his dreams again. He's saying 'they'(parents) don't want you to follow your own nose--they want you to follow their advice. They want you to dress like them, think like them, etc. I know this in my personal life all too well. "It's already over and done when you're young." He's just reiterating that while trying to shape you in their image, your parents are suppressing your own identity, thereby shattering your chances at living your own dreams.
"Trapped in a place that won't take you" I assume this means the "REAL" you. The you whose dreams have been suppressed. The world or perhaps the household won't take "you", so you pretend to be this other person that your parents want you to be...
"Everything seems perfect..." I think this stanza just refers to the care-free lives we live as children. You are sort of OK with your parents making your decisions for you because they make your life so easy. They provide everything. but even though they said things would get better, things only get more complicated as you age.
"Days really just seem longer..." I think he's saying he's not living the life he wants to live. He's saying the days (probably at work) are dragging, on and on, and they seem to take forever. And he hopes that it gets better.
Thanks for reading. This song speaks to me on a pretty personal level.
I dont know how old you are, but I can tell you that later you will understand. As you describe it, I felt when I was a child/ teenager, but now that I am a little older I understand parents more than I used to. They love you, want you to be save, happy, unharmed. It is not easy to provide all this and sometimes they make mistakes. My point is: "slave" is the completely wrong word. And therefore I reckon the lyrics arent about a child-parents relationship, but more a young person-grown-ups relationship. Parents can be part of that...
I dont know how old you are, but I can tell you that later you will understand. As you describe it, I felt when I was a child/ teenager, but now that I am a little older I understand parents more than I used to. They love you, want you to be save, happy, unharmed. It is not easy to provide all this and sometimes they make mistakes. My point is: "slave" is the completely wrong word. And therefore I reckon the lyrics arent about a child-parents relationship, but more a young person-grown-ups relationship. Parents can be part of that interpretation. Good thoughts though you have there.
I agree with Phelly2. I'm still a slave to my parents in some ways, even though I'm 25. I know that they want me to be "safe, happy, and unharmed". However, the ways in which they think that is achievable are usually misguided and sometimes terribly wrong. If I hadn't defied them, I wouldn't have gone to college at the University of Texas, or done other things that I wouldn't have done had I listened to them. There are lots of things they wouldn't let me do as a child/teenager (play sports, for example), and I wasn't going to let...
I agree with Phelly2. I'm still a slave to my parents in some ways, even though I'm 25. I know that they want me to be "safe, happy, and unharmed". However, the ways in which they think that is achievable are usually misguided and sometimes terribly wrong. If I hadn't defied them, I wouldn't have gone to college at the University of Texas, or done other things that I wouldn't have done had I listened to them. There are lots of things they wouldn't let me do as a child/teenager (play sports, for example), and I wasn't going to let them tell me I couldn't go away to college, too. Now I'm stuck in a city I hate and the days do seem longer (at work), but my parents say it's better this way. Exactly like the song says.
Your thoughts in general match my feelings as I listen to the song. But I do not think that a parent's control over their child is what is being referred to. Instead, I think it is much broader than that. The song is about society's hold on the individual. Your parents are the ones that show you what society wants and have the most influence on you in the early years, so I can see why you would place the blame on them. But, if you look at the world and specifically these modern day things called advertisements, we are...
Your thoughts in general match my feelings as I listen to the song. But I do not think that a parent's control over their child is what is being referred to. Instead, I think it is much broader than that. The song is about society's hold on the individual. Your parents are the ones that show you what society wants and have the most influence on you in the early years, so I can see why you would place the blame on them. But, if you look at the world and specifically these modern day things called advertisements, we are told to want certain things. We are taught to be consumers. In order to consume, we need to have the jobs we hate. "You aren't supposed to like your job. That's why they call it 'work' and not 'play'". I'm sure you've heard that before. Well, I for one don't want to hate 40+ hours of my week. Anyway, another reason I believe the artist is referring to society and not just parents is that the music video shows someone literally going against the crowd. Parents are not a crowd, but society definitely is. I think of Christopher McCandless and others like him when I hear this song. If you like this song, try checking out the movie Into the Wild and the song "Society" by Eddie Vedder (part of the movie's soundtrack). You may not be into nature, but it has the spirit of screwing and escaping society.
Shut Up And read the lyrics . If your here to BS about your parents then Don't come back. Damn Almost everyone has to deal with Strict parents But the whole world does not come online to tell the world that children are slaves .
Shut Up And read the lyrics . If your here to BS about your parents then Don't come back. Damn Almost everyone has to deal with Strict parents But the whole world does not come online to tell the world that children are slaves .