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Guess who just got back today? Them wild-eyed boys that had been away Haven't changed, had much to say But man, I still think them cats are crazy They were askin' if you were around How you was, where you could be found I told 'em you were livin' downtown Drivin' all the old men crazy
Ugh, those lyrics are even worse than I remembered!
Honestly, considering the genre and the ambition and intent of the song, the lyrics are a notch above the competition at the time. Lynott wrote some really good lyrics at times and while this song is admittedly not the best example of his writing, at least it's got believable characters and setting. I'd rather hear a song about young working class Irish people and their life-affirming ways than what most other hard rock acts were writing about in the 70s and 80s.
Yeah this is better than yet another version of "Let me tell you how hot this teenager is to me, a middle aged rock star"
Songs by Lynott that touch on those themes and other lyrically interesting songs (for others in the thread!):
Black boys on the corner: a song about his experiences being a young black man in Dublin.
Mama nature said: a really early piece of environmentalist music
Got to give it up a really raw piece about drug addiction
What are you about? This isn't supposed to be poetry! I guess I'm biased, having lived in Ireland so long, but still.
Personal preference, I guess.
I'm a big fan of Bruce Springsteen, whose lyrics touch on similar themes but are better 🤷