Once upon a time the kids used to rock and roll. There was a time when every rock song didn't need to have a "message." The parties rolled into the wee hours of the morning with the pounding drums and screaming guitars in the background. We drank and smoked and swore and fucked. Whining wasn't tolerated. You'd either get beat up by someone or sent home. The girls weren't going on about inner beauty and the guys weren't going out of their way to be sensitive and say the right thing. It was all about having a good time and celebrating youth, which we knew we wouldn't have forever. During the day there were things to be worried about like school and parents and terrible part time jobs. Then came the weekend and all we wanted to do was rock. Out came the fast cars and attitude.
Something happened along the way. Teenage drinking became a statistic instead of a rite of passage. Kids who didn't party stopped letting the ones who did do as they would and began railing against it all. Weird things like "personal space" and "second-hand smoke" became sickening slogans for a new generation. Instead of being about having a good time and burning out before you faded away it became about "Just Say No" and easy excuses like "peer pressure." Even these kids today running on the ticker-tape of statistics couldn't have run with us in those days. Sometimes you just have to cut out, free yourself and rock on. We never needed Ritalin and antidepressants in those days. We knew when to leave responsibility at home and have a good fucking time. Teenagers weren't designed to be responsible twenty-four hours a day. Then again, maybe kids are better off on prescription medication...
I took the city 'bout one A.M, loaded, loaded
I'm all geared up to score again, loaded, loaded
I come alive in the neon light
That's when I make my moves right
Living after midnight, rockin' to the dawn
Lovin' 'til the morning, then I'm gone, I'm gone
Lyrics samples from lyrics copyright Judas Priest
British Steel, 1980 CBS Records
Damn straight. They don't mean nothing.