I actually disagree with the older man/young girl thing. Everything about the song suggests more of an innocent, middle school crush sort of thing. The title, I think, means that's they're both thirteen. I don't think there's really anything perverse about the lyrics, save possibly one... and I actually think that line was only thrown in there cause it fit the rhyme scheme.
But getting tickets for the dance- the school dance I assumed, talking about music... I assumed the outlaw line was more wanting to be like Bonnie and Clyde, which also strikes me as a very middle school romantic fantasy.
Plus, as allmusic was so kind to point out, the way the tempo quickens in the third verse, to me, suggests a very thirteen year old kind of nervousness.
Plus, as the other guy said, Chilton says on the live CD it was written when he was 13. Though I don't have the CD to confirm this myself.
I was going to post my own comment disagreeing with the paedophilia-related comments, but this one was pretty much spot-on. The only thing I would add is that, yes, Alex does say on the live CD that he wrote it when he was "about 13" but that can't possibly be true since "Paint It, Black" didn't come out until he was 15.
I was going to post my own comment disagreeing with the paedophilia-related comments, but this one was pretty much spot-on. The only thing I would add is that, yes, Alex does say on the live CD that he wrote it when he was "about 13" but that can't possibly be true since "Paint It, Black" didn't come out until he was 15.
That being said, I do believe that Alex wrote the song, or at least the germ of it, when he was a young adolescent, and that this song is not about an older man falling for a young girl, but rather about two young teenagers in love. That's it. Pure, simple and completely innocent.
I actually disagree with the older man/young girl thing. Everything about the song suggests more of an innocent, middle school crush sort of thing. The title, I think, means that's they're both thirteen. I don't think there's really anything perverse about the lyrics, save possibly one... and I actually think that line was only thrown in there cause it fit the rhyme scheme. But getting tickets for the dance- the school dance I assumed, talking about music... I assumed the outlaw line was more wanting to be like Bonnie and Clyde, which also strikes me as a very middle school romantic fantasy. Plus, as allmusic was so kind to point out, the way the tempo quickens in the third verse, to me, suggests a very thirteen year old kind of nervousness. Plus, as the other guy said, Chilton says on the live CD it was written when he was 13. Though I don't have the CD to confirm this myself.
I was going to post my own comment disagreeing with the paedophilia-related comments, but this one was pretty much spot-on. The only thing I would add is that, yes, Alex does say on the live CD that he wrote it when he was "about 13" but that can't possibly be true since "Paint It, Black" didn't come out until he was 15.
I was going to post my own comment disagreeing with the paedophilia-related comments, but this one was pretty much spot-on. The only thing I would add is that, yes, Alex does say on the live CD that he wrote it when he was "about 13" but that can't possibly be true since "Paint It, Black" didn't come out until he was 15.
That being said, I do believe that Alex wrote the song, or at least the germ of it, when he was a young adolescent, and that this song is not about an older man falling for a young girl, but rather about two young teenagers in love. That's it. Pure, simple and completely innocent.
Completely agree--this is written in the voice of a thirteen year-old.
Completely agree--this is written in the voice of a thirteen year-old.