I have loved this song since it came out and was fortunate enough to see Minor Threat in Charlotte, NC in 1982 or early 1983. I think this song is Ian's lament about the decline of his interest in hardcore music, the hardcore scene in general and his band Minor Threat. He relates the beginning of Minor Threat and the hardcore movement to early childhood with the lyrics "Wishing for the day when I first wore this suit" (meaning a birthday suit as a baby or the beginnings of the band, when everything was fresh and new and fun). He points out that as things have progressed it is not as much fun anymore "Baby has grown older, it's no longer cute."
"But I stay on, I stay on/Where do I get off?/On to greener pastures/The core has gotten soft" Ian relates the hardcore scene to a Merry Go Round or some sort of ride going around and around, saying that although it has gotten old for him, he is still on the ride. He wonders where and when he should exit the genre and go on to something else. "The core has gotten soft" is a play on words, suggesting that what was tight is no longer tight, or what was fun is no longer fun, or what was pure is no longer pure. That's his analysis of what hardcore has become.
"Look at us today/We've gotten soft and fat/Waiting for the moment/ It's just no coming back" He is telling the hardore audience, his band and others to just look at ourselves, what have we become? It used to be great fun, but now it is not. The soft and fat is another reference to hardcore become less "hardcore". He says everyone is waiting for things to be like they used to be, but just as CBGB's in 1977 can never be repeated, the origins of hardcore and Minor Threat cannot be repeated. The great "salad days" of 1980 are just not coming back.
"So serious/About the stuff we lack/Dwell upon our memories/But there are no facts"
Don't really know what this verse might mean.
Anyway, I think this song is Ian's homage to what happens in almost every instance where something new comes along. You see it in almost every Behind The Music on VH1. Things are great in the beginning, then people get successful and the original band/scene/person changes, and finally they look back on what used to be, what might have been, and what will never be the same. This takes on even more meaning as Ian was writing this as he was preparing to exit Minor Threat. This was recorded in December 1983 and the band had played their last show that September.
Just my opinion, no inside facts to back it up. Thanks for reading. RLJ
I have loved this song since it came out and was fortunate enough to see Minor Threat in Charlotte, NC in 1982 or early 1983. I think this song is Ian's lament about the decline of his interest in hardcore music, the hardcore scene in general and his band Minor Threat. He relates the beginning of Minor Threat and the hardcore movement to early childhood with the lyrics "Wishing for the day when I first wore this suit" (meaning a birthday suit as a baby or the beginnings of the band, when everything was fresh and new and fun). He points out that as things have progressed it is not as much fun anymore "Baby has grown older, it's no longer cute."
"But I stay on, I stay on/Where do I get off?/On to greener pastures/The core has gotten soft" Ian relates the hardcore scene to a Merry Go Round or some sort of ride going around and around, saying that although it has gotten old for him, he is still on the ride. He wonders where and when he should exit the genre and go on to something else. "The core has gotten soft" is a play on words, suggesting that what was tight is no longer tight, or what was fun is no longer fun, or what was pure is no longer pure. That's his analysis of what hardcore has become.
"Look at us today/We've gotten soft and fat/Waiting for the moment/ It's just no coming back" He is telling the hardore audience, his band and others to just look at ourselves, what have we become? It used to be great fun, but now it is not. The soft and fat is another reference to hardcore become less "hardcore". He says everyone is waiting for things to be like they used to be, but just as CBGB's in 1977 can never be repeated, the origins of hardcore and Minor Threat cannot be repeated. The great "salad days" of 1980 are just not coming back.
"So serious/About the stuff we lack/Dwell upon our memories/But there are no facts" Don't really know what this verse might mean.
Anyway, I think this song is Ian's homage to what happens in almost every instance where something new comes along. You see it in almost every Behind The Music on VH1. Things are great in the beginning, then people get successful and the original band/scene/person changes, and finally they look back on what used to be, what might have been, and what will never be the same. This takes on even more meaning as Ian was writing this as he was preparing to exit Minor Threat. This was recorded in December 1983 and the band had played their last show that September.
Just my opinion, no inside facts to back it up. Thanks for reading. RLJ