When I first heard this song I thought it was about the urgency and doubts of youth. I feel the song is talking about that time in youth when you feel like you don't really know where you are going but you moving through the motions, outdated as they are.
"I'm wasting my young years
It doesn't matter
I'm chasing old ideas
It doesn't matter"
This part of the song makes me think of the camaraderie of being young. We are all in the same boat, going thorough the same emotions. We may be feeling all of these doubts but we are going to feel it together, with the people we find special in our lives.
"Maybe…
We are
We are
Maybe I'm wasting my young years"
But its also telling us to keep going. To be patient and live without fear, love without fear.
"Don't you know that it's only fear
And I wouldn't worry, you have all your life
I've heard it takes some time to get it right"
The last part of the song almost seems like she's looking at a reflection of herself. She doesn't know who she is but she doesn't want to give up on herself or the hope that she will make it through the struggles she's having right now. Also that she's depending on someone/something from her youth and she doesn't want that person/thing to have a hold on her emotions anymore.
"I don't know what you are
Don't leave me hanging on"
I also read an interview where the band talked about some of the songs from the album and the idea behind "Wasting My Young Years":
Hannah: "...when you are young, you go in and out of feeling like that, you know? Especially, I think, our generation. People coming out of university, trying to find jobs… We really have a fear about direction and where they're going and whether they're going to have a career and where they are going to live. I think that's definitely a part of it."
When I first heard this song I thought it was about the urgency and doubts of youth. I feel the song is talking about that time in youth when you feel like you don't really know where you are going but you moving through the motions, outdated as they are.
"I'm wasting my young years It doesn't matter I'm chasing old ideas It doesn't matter"
This part of the song makes me think of the camaraderie of being young. We are all in the same boat, going thorough the same emotions. We may be feeling all of these doubts but we are going to feel it together, with the people we find special in our lives.
"Maybe… We are We are Maybe I'm wasting my young years"
But its also telling us to keep going. To be patient and live without fear, love without fear.
"Don't you know that it's only fear And I wouldn't worry, you have all your life I've heard it takes some time to get it right"
The last part of the song almost seems like she's looking at a reflection of herself. She doesn't know who she is but she doesn't want to give up on herself or the hope that she will make it through the struggles she's having right now. Also that she's depending on someone/something from her youth and she doesn't want that person/thing to have a hold on her emotions anymore.
"I don't know what you are Don't leave me hanging on"
I also read an interview where the band talked about some of the songs from the album and the idea behind "Wasting My Young Years":
Hannah: "...when you are young, you go in and out of feeling like that, you know? Especially, I think, our generation. People coming out of university, trying to find jobs… We really have a fear about direction and where they're going and whether they're going to have a career and where they are going to live. I think that's definitely a part of it."
(Interview: http://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/celebrity/entertainment/monitor/2013/06/london-grammar-interview-debut-album-details-music)