Shine the headlight
Straight into my eyes
Like the roadkill
I'm paralyzed
You see through my disguise

At the drive in
Double feature
Pull the lever
Break the fever
And say your last goodbyes

Since I was born I started to decay
Now nothing ever ever goes my way

One fluid gesture
Like stepping back in time
Trapped in amber
Petrified
And still not satisfied

Airs and social graces
Elocution so divine
I'll stick to my needle
And my favorite waste of time
Both spineless and sublime

Since I was born I started to decay
Now nothing ever ever goes my way



Lyrics submitted by Ice

"Teenage Angst" as written by Molko/olsdal/schultzberg

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

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Teenage Angst song meanings
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28 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:One of my favourite songs by one of my favourite bands!
    Just sums up everything you feel growing up......trying to fit in, wanting to be cool. You're young, you got your whole life ahead of you........you want things to work out, but sometimes they just DON'T.
    And all the disapointments in life just slowly chip away at you.
    Flag weenerboyon July 14, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Shine the headlight, straight into my eyes.
    Like the roadkill, I'm paralysed.

    I think it has some self-distructive meaning. When you shine straingt into the eyes of an animal on the road the animal doesnt actually see anything, its becomes kind of blind, thats why it stops in the middle of the road like paralysed. So the singer kind of povokes the world to "kill" him. and he knows that everyone sees it through his disguise that he is helpless like a roadkill (like all actually teens are).

    Since I was born I started to decay.
    Now nothing ever ever goes my way

    I like to interpret it like "scince I was born i started to get more and more decadent, spoit, scinical. thats why i dont care about anything now"
    Flag fireenergy2005on July 01, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Yes agree with a lot of the comments. It's about (you guessed it) "teenage angst." And the false image a lot of teenagers give off, and of course how "nothing ever ever goes my way."

    Classic Placebo.
    Flag musefanon November 21, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:I would imagine this line

    "I'll stick to my needle, and my favourite waste of time,
    both spineless and sublime."

    Is actually referring to the needle of a record player and his favourite waste of time is staying at home listening to music.

    Also its been written in such a way to also invoke images of drug taking. Therefore invoking images of lazing around in a daze listening to music.
    Flag scu98rkron September 24, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:to darkeyes..i have the piano version,if you know of a way for me to send it to yah email me homeslice graham_rules@hotmail.com
    Flag greyhamrulzon June 08, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This song is absolutely SUBLIME. The video is also great, Brian's really adorable back then... It's about the strange fact that as soon as you pop out of the womb you start getting older (decay), that birth also means the beginning of getting older... Phew
    Flag teenagewifeon May 16, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:awesome song =]
    Flag Shes-Like-Heroinon August 21, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:i fucking love this song.
    Flag bleedthecoloursopenon March 01, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment::'( favourite song. its true. We don't flourish, we decay, we are not getting any younger. poor old needle-favourite waste of time. this song is so sad:'(
    Flag rosebrowneyeson January 04, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:The piano version: youtube.com/…

    I love both versions, it doesn't matter where in life you are, one of them always fits in. Right now I'm at the piano, the hopelessly hopeless, but I bet the upbeat one is coming.
    Flag Felison September 30, 2006   Link

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