New Rhetoric – When I Was Young lyrics

Verse 1A
When I was young
We fought a hated Southeast Asian war
When I was young
We didn’t know what we were fighting for
When I was young
Our phones were all connected to the wall

Verse 1B
When I was young
We bought our sneakers at the 5 and dime
It meant to dry your clothes to work on line
When I was young
We never heard the word paradigm
When I was young, when I was young
When I was young, when I was young

Chorus 1A
And now I’m creaky
My bones they ache and I’m sleepy
My co-morbidities beat me
This didn’t happen when I was young

Chorus 1B
I’m also jaded
My face is worn and I’ve faded
My dues I’ve paid it
It was not a factor when I was young

Verse 2A
When I was young
We read our books in the library
We walked to change the channel on the TV
We thought the 60’s was our destiny
When I was young, when I was young
When I was young, when I was young

Verse 2B
When I was young
We pla-a-a-yed our records on a stereo
When I was young
My ca-a-a-r-r-r could never tell me where to go
When I was young
We didn’t care which way the wind would blow

Chorus 2A
With qualms I’m dealing
My skin is dry and I’m peeling
My nerves are shot and I’m feeling
This was unexpected when I was young

Chorus 2B
My days are taken
Up with music and medicine
For this oppressive shape that I’ve been in
I never saw it coming when I was young

Long Version
Chorus 2C
I’m also squeamish
About red meat so I eat fish
How much of the world will we miss
I never worried when I was young

Chorus 2D
My prime I’m passed it
My muscles ache and they’re flaccid
It’s raining acid
Never thought about it when I was young

Guitar and Tin Whistle Solos (Instrumental)

Verse 3A
When I was young
Our music came on vinyl discs and tape
When I was young
Atari pong was our only video game
When I was young
For fun we slid in mud in the pouring rain

Verse 3B
When I was young
We also panicked about the price of gas
A-a-and
50 cents a gallon would never last
When I was young
We rarely reminisced about the past
When I was young, when I was young
When I was young, when I was young

Verse 3C
When I was young
Google was a mathematics term
When I was young
We walked to school and never got concerned
When I was young
We also passed the tests but never learned

Verse 3D
When I was young
We didn’t do the same drugs as you
When I was young
I felt so old when I was 22
When I was young
We didn’t know we had the right to sue
When I was young

Chorus 3A
As ageing takes its toll
Diabetes, baldness, cholesterol
When did I get so damn old?
Nary a thought when I was young

Chorus 3B
My bed I’ve made it
My expressions are outdated
I’m over-medicated
It was not in my cards when I was young

Bridge
When I was young, when I was young
Things were changed, a bit more fun

Chorus 3C
Will I get creepy?
I worry a lot and I’m weepy
My co-morbidities beat me
This didn’t happen when I was young

Long Version
Chorus 3D
The world sounds a warning
Nuclear fission, global warming
El Nino clouds are forming
That all got started when I was young

Bridge
When I was young, when I was young
When I was young, when I was young

Chorus 3E
My days are taken
Up with music it’s medicine
For the depressing state that I’ve been in
I never saw it coming when I was young

Ending
When I was young, when I was young
Life was transformed, a bit more fun
When I was young, when I was young
When I was young, when I was young

Long Version
Chorus 4F
World Book Encyclopedia
Replaced by social media
Look it up on Wikipedia
That couldn’t happen when I was young

Chrous 4G
Social network amenities
Are you Twitter, Facebook friendly?
They’ll steal my identity
That no one wanted when I was young

Ending
When I was young, when I was young
When I was young, when I was young
When I was young, when I was young
When I was young, when I was young

Guitar Solo (Instrumental)