By Tess
Adam’s song is written by Singer, songwriters; Tom Delonge and Mark Hoppus and performed by their band Blink 182.
Originally they were just called blink, they were forced to change their name when an Irish techno band (also called blink) threatened to sue them. Although there are countless rumours of what the 182 stands for, the truth is that it is really just a number that they choose pretty much at random and thought sounded good.
There are lots of theories on what the song is about. This includes that the songwriters hated the tour and wanted to commit suicide. Others thought that they wrote about a boy who emailed Mark and committed suicide shortly afterwards.
Personally the second theory sounds more realistic and the lines:
‘The choice was mine I didn’t think enough
I’m too depressed to go on
You’ll be sorry when I’m gone,’ refers more to someone committing suicide rather than wanting to do so.
Verse 1:
The first two lines of verse 1 are: I never thought Id die alone. I laughed the loudest whod have known? I think these are quite literal and just means that he never thought he would leave this world alone he had had fun doing so.
The lines: I traced the cord back to the wall. No wonder it was never plugged in at all probably just refer to the possibility that his brain never functioning properly.
Chorus:
The first two line of the chorus: ‘I never conquered, rarely came. 16 just held such better days,’ probably refers to him never being able to do anything with his life and was happier when he was 16. ‘Days when I still felt alive. We couldnt wait to get outside,’ could mean that when he was younger he had had a meaning for life. The next lines: ‘The world was wide, too late to try, could mean that the world is a large place and to have no purpose on it is very frustrating. The next lines: The tour was over, we'd survived. I couldnt wait til I got home. To pass the time in my room alone,’personally still sounds quite literal and to me just means that they were glad that the tour was over so they couldlie on their beds and do absolutely nothing.
Verse 2:
‘I never thought Id die alone. Another six months Ill be unknown,’ to me is still quite literal and means that after all he did he would be forgotten about.
‘Give all my things to my friends. Youll never set foot in my room again.’ Youll close it off, board it up. Remember the time I spilled the cup, Of apple juice in the hall. Please tell mom this is not her fault, is just telling a story of the when the boy was dead his mum gave away all his stuff and never wanted to see his room again or to be reminded of that terrible day when her ‘darling’ son died.
The chorus is then repeated twice.
Adams song was a huge hit in 2000 reaching number 6 on the top 200 chart in the United States. Unfortunately many people sing along to it and think to them selves, what a great song. But have any of them ever stopped to think about the dreadful history and the meaning behind Adam’s song?
I chose this song because someone told me about its history. I also thought it sounded sad and would make the perfect song of social commentary and it sounded like there was a lot to it.