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Shakedown 1979, cool kids never have the time
On a live wire right up off the street
You and I should meet
June bug skipping like a stone
With the headlights pointed at the dawn
We were sure we'd never see an end to it all
And I don't even care to shake these zipper blues
And we don't know just where our bones will rest
To dust I guess
Forgotten and absorbed into the earth below
Double cross the vacant and the bored
They're not sure just what we have in store
Morphine city slippin' dues, down to see
That we don't even care, as restless as we are
We feel the pull in the land of a thousand guilts
And poured cement, lamented and assured
To the lights and towns below
Faster than the speed of sound
Faster than we thought we'd go, beneath the sound of hope
Justine never knew the rules
Hung down with the freaks and ghouls
No apologies ever need be made
I know you better than you fake it, to see
That we don't even care to shake these zipper blues
And we don't know just where our bones will rest
To dust I guess
Forgotten and absorbed into the earth below
The street heats the urgency of now
As you see there's no one around
On a live wire right up off the street
You and I should meet
June bug skipping like a stone
With the headlights pointed at the dawn
We were sure we'd never see an end to it all
And I don't even care to shake these zipper blues
And we don't know just where our bones will rest
To dust I guess
Forgotten and absorbed into the earth below
Double cross the vacant and the bored
They're not sure just what we have in store
Morphine city slippin' dues, down to see
That we don't even care, as restless as we are
We feel the pull in the land of a thousand guilts
And poured cement, lamented and assured
To the lights and towns below
Faster than the speed of sound
Faster than we thought we'd go, beneath the sound of hope
Justine never knew the rules
Hung down with the freaks and ghouls
No apologies ever need be made
I know you better than you fake it, to see
That we don't even care to shake these zipper blues
And we don't know just where our bones will rest
To dust I guess
Forgotten and absorbed into the earth below
The street heats the urgency of now
As you see there's no one around
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This song means so much. It brings something out in me that I dont think I have seen from any other song. Might help that I'm a disillusioned teenager, just like Billy is singing about here, but I guess that's what 90's alternative rock is all about.
This song makes me think of where I am now. Being a teenager is a strange time... it's the prime of our youth, when we get out and see the world. We learn so much about ourselves during this time. Like Eddie Vedder said... all that's sacred comes from youth... but it's more than that. Not only is it the prime and the epitome of our youth, but it's also when the prospect of being an adult really dawns on us. It's a very exciting, magical time, but it's also a very sad, fleeting one. To realize that here we are, old enough to drive and stay out late and fall in love and everything, but we gotta make the best of it while we can. Because tomorrow, we may be putting on a suit and tie every day, paying bills, sitting at a desk. It's like we only get a tiny window to learn who we really are as mature people, before the burden of modern life crushes who we wished to become. This is my favorite verse, it almost chokes me up
"And we don't know Just where our bones will rest to dust I guess forgotten and absorbed Into the earth below"
Getting old is inevitable, but for a teenager, it feels so far away... we're safe from all that noise and despair in our little bubble of rebellion.
"And we dont even care as restless as we are"
Rare indeed is the teen who is content with sitting at home with themselves. We all want love and fulfillment and happiness and our own space. It's hard to find sometimes. But the trip is half the fun.
Not sure why I just wrote all that, I guess I'm in a very shapable mood and this song caught me in the right way. So remember, you're never too young for love and fulfillment and you're never too old for rebellion and change. And if you're a teenager trying to find your way, do it, no matter what holds you back. Smoke a joint, sneak out, stay out with your friends until 4 AM, tell the person you love that you love them, see the world, tell people you hate to fuck off, listen to music that makes you happy to be alive, or okay with wishing you werent. Some day we'll be old and gray and we'll look back on the 5 years or so from when you come into your own and when you get real world responsibilities, and we'll wish we'd have done these things. Or, we'll be glad we did. Enjoy the ups and downs of teenage life while you can. Dont worry too much about the future, because tomorrow may never come, but today is here for sure.
good grief are you really a disallusionedteenager? very impressive that you are so aware of your blessing/plight. I think it took me until college to realize the magical time I was living in. but all you lucky moter fuckers living it right now... soak it up and suck it in! it's the most fun you'll ever have, and the best friends you'll ever make. and of course the prettiest girls you'll EVER ___.<br /> <br /> sorry to crass up your dad on balls analysis. you are wise beyond your years. enjoy. have fun : )
Older, rebellious change-seeker here^_^<br /> I have so much respect for your analysis of this song....<br /> "Disillusioned teenager"?! ....no....<br /> Wise, insightful person* is more like it! Man, I wish there were more people like you in the world! ....I'm hoping that life hasn't driven you crazy in the years since you posted your comment, because each injustice we experience in life kills a little piece of us and if we're not strong enough, recapturing the optimism and desire to chase joy that we had in our younger years becomes so much more difficult. For some reason, I feel as though you'll be ok though, kid:)<br />
The way you've stated your opinion about the song, and well, life in general, is very moving. Thanks for that. :)
What an absolutely brilliant and moving reply/interpretation of the song.<br /> It was hard to believe you were a teenager writing this.<br /> I recently turned 27 and honestly the last 10 years have flown by and I've done nothing but plod along. Not to say I'm in a bad place but there are a lot of "mature" things I haven't done like buying houses and getting married and whatever most people do and I'm ok with that because amongst not doing all that I did a lot of things that the "child within myself" wanted to do.<br /> <br /> There aren't many comments on the internet I remember but now whenever I hear 1979 again I will ALWAYS remember your comment and I may come back to read it from time to time. Good luck to you mate, stay the person you are because we need more of that in this world.
@Tig45 I agree with every last word, and everyone else that agreed with you haha. I myself am 22 right now, and I used to think all the time about regrets and mistakes I've made. I realized that reveling in the past like that not only makes you miserable, but it makes you blind to what you're missing right now and all the possibilities the future has. As that one guy said, I hope the world hasn't changed you and that you have enjoyed the years since you have written this. You truly have a brilliant mind that EVERYONE in the world especially your younger peers could learn from. As @Daniel5119 said, I will always think of this post now when I hear 1979 :)
@Tig45 I think of your explanation every time i hear this song.
@Tig45 I loved every single word you wrote in here.I just turned 24 and realized that I'm getting older. What you wrote sent me back to my teenager years. If I could go back I would say to my teenage me to chill out a little bit more and have more self-confident because things turned out to be very good. I see you wrote this 4 years ago. Hope everything is going well. This song is amazing. Here is a cover I was listening earlier youtube.com/watch
@Tig45 reading this is catharsis-- much love
@Tig45 that's a brilliant analysis. On a personal level, going back to when I was that age and even now (some 20 years later) this song has always evoked a strange mixture of feelings; a sort of fear trepidation, melancholy. But also an excitement. The dark rush of being alive and yet unsure of what the world your alive in really is. <br /> <br /> And then I thought to myself, well yeah, as you said, that's the feeling of being young. A feeling of reaching out into the dark, never knowing what might grab your hand.
@Tig45 one of the greatest analysis I've ever read to any song, and as a teenager about to hit my peak summer - your message to this song will be how I live my summer. Thank you man.
I was thinking that the "thread starter" posted this on 2012. People replied until now. Five years passed and Tig45 is not a teenager anymore, I wonder how his life was in this frametime. However, the thoughts expressed are brilliant and I was very moved by his song interpretation. Thanks.
@Tig45 You wrote this comment when i was twelve years old, the same year i began to come of age. I'm eighteen now, and boy can i relate to everything you wrote. I feel like every single teen understands what you put forth, though some may not know it up front. As Bowie said “…and these children that you spit on as they try to change their worlds are immune to your consultations. They're quite aware of what they're going through…” Growing up is sad and happy and weird all at the same time and I am really seeing that properly now that I am entering adulthood. Thank you for this comment on a beautiful song.
@Tig45 You wrote this comment when i was twelve years old, the same year i began to come of age. I'm eighteen now, and boy can i relate to everything you wrote. I feel like every single teen understands what you put forth, though some may not know it up front. As Bowie said “…and these children that you spit on as they try to change their worlds are immune to your consultations. They're quite aware of what they're going through…” Growing up is sad and happy and weird all at the same time and I am really seeing that properly now that I am entering adulthood. Thank you for this comment on a beautiful song.
@Tig45 you're amazing man! Hope you had a wonderful teenage years. Hope to hear updates on your journey! And to all teenagers out there, just savour every single moment of being in that age. This is only once in a lifetime. Also, what a wonderful song of Smashing Pumpkins, this song is indeed immortal.
@Tig45 It´s been ages. Dont even know, if you receive this. if you re alive even... you nailed it. been there too, lived like it, still regret the past. never it is perfect. nor the present. but the urge... uhh the urge pushes us forward. unknown territories - even if the responsibilities pile up. So: you re never to old for love and fulfillment also! Hugs.
@Tig45 I feel like everything you said comes straight from a powerful monologue in a non existent movie.
@Tig45 9 years later and depressed, quarantined 15 yo me is reading your comment while listenning to this song for the 3rd time. I love it and after all these years when everything is different im here almost crying because of the feeling like my teenage years are getting wasted. Because of the quarantine i have some time to listen to this, learn how to play this song on guitar and sharing my thoughts with random strangers on the internet, because by the time it ends i wont have this amount of time anymore. By now youre probably this grey adult you were talking about in the comment. I dont know if you remember writing this, and if you will even read it, but i just wanna say thank you for the advice and for making my day just a little bit better. I hope you're doing good if you are still alive :')
@Tig45 thank you so much for this. I read this years ago, when you posted it. And now, years later as I relished to this brilliant album and prepare to see the Pumpkins again (or what’s left of them) at the Hollywood Bowl this month I re-read your beautiful words along with the song. So profound. I’m 59 years old, was a teen in 1979, which gives this song special meaning to me. I feel like it’s describing that actual year of my life, with all the stupid, exciting, hopelessly romantic things my friends and I were all doing back then every day. Trying to LIVE to the fullest. Trying to grab the stars. I still am now. Even though I’m far removed from my teens, I try hard not to lose that sense of excitement to be alive that this song evokes. And that your words inspire. We’re the same people inside, even as our bodies age, as long as we don’t forget who we are. This song help me remember. Rock on, everyone! Embrace it all.
@Tig45 It's 2022 and I loved your comment.
I was 17 in 1979
@Tig45 I literally just made an account in order to reply to this. I was 10 yeard old when this song was released. It quite literally changed my life for a time, and I wouldn't doubt that I listened to it well over 100 times.<br /> <br /> You were a very wise kid, and someone I would have loved to be friends with when I was a teenager. High school was extremely difficult for me for various reasons, one of them being that I didn't know anyone my age who thought the way you did; who was anywhere near as wise and insightful as you were. My friends were all much older than I for this reason. It made me happy to read your comment and see that kids like you existed.<br /> <br /> Wherever you are, I truly hope that you are content, and I hope that this song still moves you.