I Was A Teenage Anarchist lyrics by Against Me!, 8 meanings. I Was A Teenage Anarchist explained, official 2024 song lyrics | LyricsMode.com
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Against Me! – I Was A Teenage Anarchist lyrics

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Against Me! – I Was A Teenage Anarchist lyrics
I was a teenage anarchist, looking for a revolution.
I had the style, I had the ambition.
I read all the authors, I knew the right slogans.
There was no war but the class war.
I was ready to set the world on fire.
I was a teenage anarchist, looking for a revolution.

Do you remember when you were young and you wanted to set the world on fire?

I was a teenage anarchist, but the politics were too convenient.
In the depths of their humanity all I saw was bloodless ideology.
And with freedom as the doctrine, guess who was the new authority?
I was a teenage anarchist, but the politics were too convenient.

Do you remember when you were young and you wanted to set the world on fire?

I was a teenage anarchist, but then the scene got too rigid.
It was a mob mentality, they set their rifle sights on me.
Narrow visions of autonomy, you want me to surrender my identity.
I was a teenage anarchist, the revolution was a lie.

Do you remember when you were young and you wanted to set the world on fire?

I was a teenage anarchist.
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I Was A Teenage Anarchist meanings Post my meaning

  • c
    + 3
    CamiCami 2014-12-08 22:46:44
    As I see it, it doesn't have to be about anarchy specifically. You can apply this to all those things you believed when you were young. You used to think you could achieve anything, even "set the world on fire" because of your beliefs or discontents and change the system. As we grow up we get used to the things that used to bother us and wanted to change. So "don't you remember..." is a way of calling that young you and try to revive those feelings of unsettled, anxious, revolutionary teenager that wanted to change the world.
    Sorry for the bad English.
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  • U
    + 3
    Unregistered 2012-07-17 11:25:46
    Anarchism is so broad, I consider myself an anarchist thinker yet I'm not really involved in any forms of activism nor do I live autonomously. I'm sure the singer still believes in the books he used to read, I'm sure from a thinking perspective he probably still is an anarchist, the problems arise from some of the anarchist scenes that are hypocritical in their nature and turn people into something that their not, the real challenge is having beliefs that go against the system but finding the balance inside your self to live a happy life.
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  • f
    + 3
    Feedbag79 2011-01-12 21:08:26
    Meow93,
    Don't you think it's possible that "when you were you and you wanted to set the world on fire" could mean a lot of different things to different people? It's very possible that the entire song could be a metaphor. Tom Gabel writes the most beautiful lyrics which are such a contrast to his rugged and almost violent singing voice that instead of complaining about what you might think is an uneducated take on "anarchy" you should listen again and again and try to think about what those words might mean to him, or other listeners. I get chills when he cries out "do you remember" because I surely remember what it felt like to be young.
    Add your reply
  • U
    + 2
    Unregistered 2012-05-04 23:34:00
    Even though I have many idealistic views about how great anarchism could be, I really identify with this song. I often feel as though the system's on autopilot, and that we'll never really be able to change it. Too few in america really care for or know the deep flaws and injustices in the system even as they experience the injustice themselves.
    The minority of people who are willing to do something drastic to change the system would be branded terrorists and their dissent would be crushed, I feel as though there is no way to make enough of the populous aware of the widespread injustice for our numbers to ever be a true threat to the status quo, and so I refuse to call myself an anarchist outright. I wish the world could be that way, but I have no hope and no reality-based reason to believe that it really could be that way in my lifetime, or possibly ever.
    -captainegypt.
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  • U
    + 1
    Unregistered 2011-12-08 19:03:06
    No anarchists follow the real meaning of anarchy. It's a bogus ideology if it can even be called that, and the occupy movement is a perfect example. As things progressed, leaders emerged, even if they refused to be called leaders. Order and structure emerged, because without it, it's impossible to get anything done. The song is about a man growing up who realizes that anarchy is bullshit, and that those who 'lead' such movements are no better than anyone else who demands conformity or obedience. The revolution was a lie because even those who proclaim themselves to be anarchists are not. They're just more egomaniacs and control freaks who use so-called 'anarchy' as their method of control.
    If tom was able to grab his piece of the pie by 'selling out' to warner, good for him.
    Add your reply
  • U
    + 1
    Unregistered 2011-12-07 16:23:53
    The metaphor is clear - anarchists did want to set the world a'fire as they wanted to break down the establishment - redesign it with what? Anarchy? No government? Any redesign was subverted by materialism, which always gets int he way - remember the wtc protests in washington state? Where did that force go? We need $$ to live, we need services to continue - anarchy does not solve the means of production. - for music everyone needs a deal to keep the movement going - you need the money to make it happen - the real sellout is to pump an ideology of class warfare and dismiss the notion that you can exist outside of a capitalist system at this stage of the game - the mob is just about who controls the strings of power - it's a lot more complex than we knew - the real punks today are the occupy wallstreeters who are challenging the system and indicting the hierarchal norms of capitalism - so set the fires in motion again and let the phoenix rise from the ashes of greed and put forward a new form of capitalism that allows for less disparities and greater protections for the 99%.
    1 reply
  • m
    + 1
    meow93 2010-12-17 03:47:43
    This song is a completely inaccurate representation of what anarchist think and do. Anarchist do not want to set the world on fire, they're just against enforced hierarchy. This song was kind of pointless considering it says that "the revolution was a lie" when he certainly wasn't doing anything that's actually anarchistic. When I was a teenager I certainly did not want to set the world on fire, lol stereotypes.
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  • U
    0
    Unregistered 2015-04-24 14:45:33
    Every young anarchist will become saddened and disillusioned when he comes to the realization that his dream of someday living in an anarchist state is totally impossible in the world of government control that we live in today. He/she will also learn that many in the mob weren't who or what you thought they were. If the goal is not clear and unified the group will become fragmented and eventually break apart! Thus you come to the conclusion that it was all a lie. When he says things like" there is no war but the class war" I think there may have been something else besides anarchism going on here? Perhaps a little communism mixed in with your anarchy? So as an ancom he was doomed from the start!
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    • c
      + 3
      CamiCami
      As I see it, it doesn't have to be about anarchy specifically. You can apply this to all those... Read more →
    • U
      + 3
      Unregistered
      Anarchism is so broad, I consider myself an anarchist thinker yet I'm not really involved in any... Read more →
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