When Ian wrote this song, the rest of the band was kinda pissed at him, because they felt he was being far too preachy, and was testifying instead of leading. The rest of the band weren't actually straight-edge, but everybody just assumed they were. They felt that Ian's lyrics were just outlining new rules for all his fans, lots of whom would follow whatever Ian said, and they didn't like it. Ian was actually just outlining his own philosophies, but since he IS kinda preachy (not always a bad thing) that's just how it came out. There was a big fight, and he ended up adding in the "(I)" at the beginning as a compromise, so the song wouldn't sound so much like it was telling people how to live their lives.
When Ian wrote this song, the rest of the band was kinda pissed at him, because they felt he was being far too preachy, and was testifying instead of leading. The rest of the band weren't actually straight-edge, but everybody just assumed they were. They felt that Ian's lyrics were just outlining new rules for all his fans, lots of whom would follow whatever Ian said, and they didn't like it. Ian was actually just outlining his own philosophies, but since he IS kinda preachy (not always a bad thing) that's just how it came out. There was a big fight, and he ended up adding in the "(I)" at the beginning as a compromise, so the song wouldn't sound so much like it was telling people how to live their lives.