Why don't you meet me down behind the old school?

"Don't believe everything happiness says
Nothing feels better than hiding these days
We bury our fears in the drinks, in these tears
For the days we believed we could fly"

That's how the Hedley's song Old School starts. Do you remember Hedley? I have already talked about this Canadian band. It is one of favorite. 

Old School is a song about growing up and about how freely we behave when we are young. And most important how we do miss this when we have grown up, how we miss our old friends and how sad this can make us. The verse I wrote above is about the former and I think is very poethic and beautiful. I cannot really tell about that kind of feeling, because I am just 19, but I can already feel nostalgic about my chilhood, even my adolescence. But not my youth! Well, what I wanted to say is that even if I am young I can relate to this song and appreciate its soul. I suppose it may be sad when you look back and think that everything was better then, as the first verse says.

Not only the lyrics are nostalgic, a bit sad (but happy for the memories) and emotional, but the music also contributes to this emotion with a nice guitar tune and makes the listener feel what the writer felt. As you can see, I really like this song.

The lyrics follow talking about calling your old friends, going together to the place you used to go and where you used to stay all night long and of course, remembering together the old times and wondering how the time passed so fast:

Call up your brothers and sisters and friends,
We'll go back to the place where the night never ends,
We'll remember the fires, the burning car tires,
Boy how in the hell did we get here?

Then it comes the chorus. The writer suggests going to their old school and, again, remember their youth and how they behaved: carelessly, with no responsibilities, but with regard for how they were with girls. And at the same they remember they will feel that if they forget all those memories his true soul, or his young soul, will fade away. My favorite part in the chorus is when he says "that beautiful insanity". It is true, when we are young, we act stupid and crazy but withouth going too far (usually) but it is beautiful because we are young.

So why don't you meet me, down behind our old school,
We'll waste away the weekend with perfect regard for how cavalier we used to be,
That beautiful insanity, the apathy's surrounding me,
Don't close your eyes or we'll fade, away.

Then he explains that everything has gone fast, he has grown up so fast, or at least it seems to him. He makes a connection between the line that says "we'll remember the fires, the burning car tires" and another line that says "now we're putting out fires and changing car tires". And he asks himself again how time passed so fast.

Over and over and over again,
We sat down for a minute grew up into men,
Now we're putting out fires and changing car tires.
Man how in the hell did we get here?

After the chorus is repeted, comes my favorite and final part of the song. In this part, he remembers things of his youth and things he did, and says that he is never going to have those things again because he has grown up. But those things and those feelings he felt were real, were intense. And I guess he is remembering with joy.

And we'll never get back what we gave away
When we still had that fire in our eyes.

Don't believe everything happiness says,
Nothings as real as our old reckless ways,
When we'd drink by the fires, the burning car tires,
Bad girls and good liars, the dreams we conspired,
The days we went crazy, the nights wild and hazy.
Man how in the hell did we get here?

I can't really explain what he means with the happiness thing here, besides from what I said in the begining about being sad.

I would like to say something else before finishing this. When I first listened to this song I was in Canada and I used to listen to it a lot. That's why now when I listen to it it reminds me of my year in Canada and of my friends from there. I can also relate to some things that the songwriter remembers: "we'll remember the fires", "waste away the weekend",  "with perfect regard for how cavalier we used to be" ( not me), "beautiful insanity", "when we'd drink by the fires", "bad girls and good liars" (not me :) ), and of course! "the dreams we conspired, the days we went crazy, the nights wild and hazy".

I have good memories of it, don't I? :) 

Lyrics: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/hedley/oldschool.html

Song in YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9AXKkJF1sM

If anyone wants, I recomend this video of the song in live: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CF_VJ3VUU_0&feature=related