This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Billy left his home with a dollar in his pocket and a head full of dreams
He said somehow, some way, it's gotta get better than this
Patti packed her bags, left a note for her mama, she was just seventeen
There were tears in her eyes when she kissed her little sister goodbye
They held each other tight as they drove on through the night, they were so excited
We got but one shot at life, let's take it while we're still not afraid
Because life is so brief and time is a thief when you're undecided
And like a fistful of sand, it can slip right through your hands
Young hearts be free tonight
Time is on your side
Don't let 'em put you down, don't let 'em push you around
Don't let 'em ever change your point of view
Paradise was closed so they headed for the coast in a blissful manner
They took a two room apartment that was jumping every night of the week
Happiness was found in each other's arms as expected, yeah
Billy pierced his ears, drove a pickup like a lunatic, ooh
Young hearts be free tonight
Time is on your side
Don't let 'em put you down, don't let 'em push you around
Don't let 'em ever change your point of view
Come on Billy
Woo
Young heart, be free tonight
Time is on, on your side
Billy wrote a letter back home to Patti's parents tryin' to explain
He said we're both real sorry that it had to turn out this way
But there ain't no point in talking when there's nobody listening, so we just ran away
Patti gave birth to a ten pound baby boy, yeah
Young hearts be free tonight
Time is on your side
Young hearts be free tonight
Time is on your side
Young hearts be free tonight
Time in on your side
Young hearts gotta run free, be free, live free
Time is on, time is on your side
Time, time, time, time is on your side
Is on your side, is on your side
Young heart be free tonight
Tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight, yeah
Ooh, ooh, ooh
He said somehow, some way, it's gotta get better than this
Patti packed her bags, left a note for her mama, she was just seventeen
There were tears in her eyes when she kissed her little sister goodbye
They held each other tight as they drove on through the night, they were so excited
We got but one shot at life, let's take it while we're still not afraid
Because life is so brief and time is a thief when you're undecided
And like a fistful of sand, it can slip right through your hands
Young hearts be free tonight
Time is on your side
Don't let 'em put you down, don't let 'em push you around
Don't let 'em ever change your point of view
Paradise was closed so they headed for the coast in a blissful manner
They took a two room apartment that was jumping every night of the week
Happiness was found in each other's arms as expected, yeah
Billy pierced his ears, drove a pickup like a lunatic, ooh
Young hearts be free tonight
Time is on your side
Don't let 'em put you down, don't let 'em push you around
Don't let 'em ever change your point of view
Come on Billy
Woo
Young heart, be free tonight
Time is on, on your side
Billy wrote a letter back home to Patti's parents tryin' to explain
He said we're both real sorry that it had to turn out this way
But there ain't no point in talking when there's nobody listening, so we just ran away
Patti gave birth to a ten pound baby boy, yeah
Young hearts be free tonight
Time is on your side
Young hearts be free tonight
Time is on your side
Young hearts be free tonight
Time in on your side
Young hearts gotta run free, be free, live free
Time is on, time is on your side
Time, time, time, time is on your side
Is on your side, is on your side
Young heart be free tonight
Tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight, yeah
Ooh, ooh, ooh
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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Great version of a great song,
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Not exactly the most original story, bust still a flat out amazing song.
Very clear as far as the meaning- Just the story of a young couple leaving home because their romance couldn't be accepted by their parents.
about two kids that run away too live thier life to the fullest
this is why constantinople got the works...
cheezy lyrics...impeccable melody...one of the most luscious hooks ever contrived...cheezy lyrics, a storyline that could hav been contrived in the mind of my pet turtle...<i>but that fucking riff gets me every time</i> i don't care <i><b>IT GET'S A TEN IN BY BOOK!!!</i></b>
But the "gave birth to a ten pound baby boy" --yeah. Doesn't sound like ol' Patti & Billy are going to be living too free anymore. Or that time is on their side. ...What do you say, Rod?
That "Woo!" gets me every time.
LOL. :) That is a big baby.
@yellowstar Exactly. I keep thinking about how they’re gonna have the money to feed and clothe the kid & keep a roof over their heads. Made me laugh that they could find a 2-room apartment that they could afford—what a fantasy. What was Rod smoking when he wrote that? It would be amazing if the two of them could even find a studio apartment they could afford. So is Billy gonna be a stand up guy and get a job to support this kid, or is he gonna bail & she goes back to Mom & Dad with their “love child”? Or worse, does she end up on the boulevard, becomes a junkie and has to turn tricks to support her habit & the kid? Not such a rosy, free-wheeling life when their current reality hits them in the face. Even if he stays—he’s 17. What kind of work is he gonna be able to get beyond “Do you want fries 🍟 with that?” to support all their “free living” mistakes?
No, I'm not a minister, I just don't think it's a good idea to be so "free" that you wind up with a kid when you're 17 and then to glorify that in song. I didn't get the impression from the song that the kids learned any lesson or that the song was any kind of warning. It sounds like it's mindlessly praising them.
@Reynard Muldrake 💯💯💯 Yup. Not so fun & freewheeling when you all of a sudden are an adult because you were stupid and got knocked up while being “free”, and now you have a kid that’s your responsibility that you can’t afford to feed, clothe, etc. Yeah—young hearts, be free tonight... LOL. 😂 Stupid.
I always thought it was sort of a sarcastic song, actually-- it keeps saying time's on your side, but by the end it's clear it definitely isn't.
yeaah
While the music is generally about young lovers, wanting to be free:
"Young hearts be free tonight"
I tend to think of this as aimed at everyone.
"Don't let them put you down, don't let 'em push you around Don't let 'em ever change your point of view."
This can be applied to everyone because it's basically saying to be strong, and don't let anyone push you around.
So overall, I think it has mixed meanings.
This is a song about completing a cycle. Their own kid has just been born into the same situation that they came from, so the cycle may - or may not - start again.
@rocker115 Of course it will. Didn’t realize they came from a similar situation...sucks all the way around.
great interpretation of the lyrics