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My father was a soldier then
And times were very hard
When I was young
I smoked my first cigarette at ten
And for girls, I had a bad yen
And I had quite a ball
When I was young
When I was young, it was more important
Pain more painful
Laughter much louder
Yeah, when I was young
When I was young
I met my first love at thirteen
She was brown and I was pretty green
And I learned quite a lot when I was young
When I was young
When I was young, it was more important
Pain more painful
Laughter much louder
Yeah, when I was young
When I was young
My faith was so much stronger then
I believed in fellow man
And I was so much older then
When I was young
When I was young
When I was young
i turn this song down to -11
Are you Gary Busey by any chance?
I smoked my first cigarette at ten
And for girls, I had a bad yen
Yikes
Yoda wrote that line.
From the British perspective, that lyric was a natural..........
Fr'instance, I sold my first cigarette at 10 (I had an uncle who ran a cigarette kiosk)
And for girls I had a definite yearning......just a little later.
Yer can keep yer Yikes but do watch "Hope and Glory "
I would guess the "yikes" refers more to the appalling lyrics ... I recall getting stoned in Manchester (UK) to this LP around 1972 and although the music was fine we were creased up in giggles at the tortuous words e.g. Yen to rhyme with Ten... oh dear....
Love the raw guitar tone. Very influential on Tony Iommi, BomBiNo etc...
" I met my first love at thirteen
She was brown and I was pretty green"
I like the song, but then there is this
I smoked my first cigarette at ten
And for girls, I had a bad yen
Yikes
From the British perspective, that lyric was a natural..........
Fr'instance, I sold my first cigarette at 10 (I had an uncle who ran a cigarette kiosk)
And for girls I had a definite yearning......just a little later.
Yer can keep yer Yikes but do watch "Hope and Glory "
"I smoked my first cigarette at ten
And for girls, I had a bad yen"
I guess if he had smoked his first cigarette at nine instead of ten he could've had more choices for a rhyme in the next line (pine, time, crime, Newcastle upon Tyne, serpentine, etc.) . At least he didn't wait until eleven or twelve to smoke - he really would've been hard-pressed for a rhyme. Anyhow, great tune; I'm surprised there aren't more Animals' tunes on the playlist.
That analysis is too hilarious! Thanks for sharing.
"I smoked my first cigarette at ten
And for girls, I had a bad yen"
I guess if he had smoked his first cigarette at nine instead of ten he could've had more choices for a rhyme in the next line (pine, time, crime, Newcastle upon Tyne, serpentine, etc.) . At least he didn't wait until eleven or twelve to smoke - he really would've been hard-pressed for a rhyme. Anyhow, great tune; I'm surprised there aren't more Animals' tunes on the playlist.
Didn't notice the prior mentions, but great line above.
I like the song, but then there is this
I smoked my first cigarette at ten
And for girls, I had a bad yen
Yikes
Yes, that awkward lyric was mentioned a couple of times earlier in this thread.
Isn’t a bad yen what Japanese counterfeiter makes?
My faith was so much stronger then
I believed in fellow man
And I was so much older then
When I was young
Now Dylan:
Romantic facts of musketeers
Foundationed deep, somehow.
Ah, but I was so much older then,
I'm younger than that now.
I like the song, but then there is this
I smoked my first cigarette at ten
And for girls, I had a bad yen
Yikes
My faith was so much stronger then
I believed in fellow man
And I was so much older then
When I was young
Now Dylan:
Romantic facts of musketeers
Foundationed deep, somehow.
Ah, but I was so much older then,
I'm younger than that now.
I think your comment is crap
big hit in my area
i liked it a lot
Isn’t a bad yen what Japanese counterfeiter makes?
Hardly. These were my teen years, and they were good years, especially the music. The Animals were one of the first to bring in a blues orientation, along with the Stones. Sure, there have been huge steps made in technology and guitar musicianship, but you have to put things into historical perspective. For that time, they were a very good group. YMMV.
The British are coming the British are coming! Paul Rev circa 1776
1960's they invaded us with rock and roll. They had heard music from some of our great Black (African American) Jazz and blues men.
Rock on
"I smoked my first cigarette at ten
And for girls, I had a bad yen"
I guess if he had smoked his first cigarette at nine instead of ten he could've had more choices for a rhyme in the next line (pine, time, crime, Newcastle upon Tyne, serpentine, etc.) . At least he didn't wait until eleven or twelve to smoke - he really would've been hard-pressed for a rhyme. Anyhow, great tune; I'm surprised there aren't more Animals' tunes on the playlist.
Well it is either as Fred says or possibly (being really charitable here) that as the band hailed from the north east of England, an area known even today, for it's inability to speak the English language, it's simply some quirk of their local dialect, a mix of Scottish, Norse and Yorkshire. Then again, maybe not.
LOL! Now that you mention it, yeah.
this song's not so good but I do disagree that the Animals gave the 60's a bad name.
Maybe they talked that way in the 60's.
It's better than CHX R GR8 anyway
I agree. This always stood out to me too. It's a funny line that I know is coming, and it always seems a bit odd. Minor criticism for an overall great song though.
"I smoked my first cigarette at ten
And for girls, I had a bad yen"
I guess if he had smoked his first cigarette at nine instead of ten he could've had more choices for a rhyme in the next line (pine, time, crime, Newcastle upon Tyne, serpentine, etc.) . At least he didn't wait until eleven or twelve to smoke - he really would've been hard-pressed for a rhyme. Anyhow, great tune; I'm surprised there aren't more Animals' tunes on the playlist.
yep, GTT....a good comment
I guess you had to be there, as I was ;-)
fredriley wrote:
Yeah, but he was young.
(By the way, I think it's an unintentionally funny lyric, written by some 20-something kid about "when he was young". Yeah, right?)
Reminiscent of Auden:
WHEN I was one-and-twenty
I heard a wise man say,‘
Give crowns and pounds and guineas
But not your heart away;
Give pearls away and rubies 5
But keep your fancy free.’
But I was one-and-twenty,
No use to talk to me.
When I was one-and-twenty
I heard him say again, 10‘
The heart out of the bosom
Was never given in vain;
’Tis paid with sighs a plenty
And sold for endless rue.’
And I am two-and-twenty, 15
And oh, ’tis true, ’tis true.
"And for girls, I had a bad yen"
Awesomely bad.
Yeah, but he was young.
(By the way, I think it's an unintentionally funny lyric, written by some 20-something kid about "when he was young". Yeah, right?)
woo boy! love this song!
"And for girls, I had a bad yen"
Awesomely bad.
Oh boy...are you not kidding...whoa!!! It makes me wince!
Hey there, Black Sabbath's "Iron Man" was released in 1970.
Yeah, you don't here this everyday. It was sure a radical song back then! Animals at their peak.
I was about to hit PSD after the first note.
I think I had this record in the mid 60's? It was my very first album, backed by that San Francisco tune...
Thanks RP for digging this one up!
"And for girls, I had a bad yen"
Awesomely bad.
Yen. Look it up.
Cool, very cool.
Saw them live this summer, in Germany. Nice.
"Smoked my first cigarette at ten
And for girls I had a bad yen."
That terrible rhyme always makes me cringe. Otherwise, it's a decent song.
yen - Noun
(1) A longing or yearning
"She always had a yen to be a writer."
Not a bad rhyme, just arcane. . ."Smoked my first cigarette at ten
And for girls I had a bad yen."
That terrible rhyme always makes me cringe. Otherwise, it's a decent song.
Haha, I always hated that rhyme, too.
I'm over it now, tho. The 60's, it turns out, had LOTS of bad rhyming. It's all good...the point of this song is that we were more passionate stuff in our wild youth, and me not caring so much anymore about the details of lyrics from that era constitutes a perfect example of this.
Eric's still out there singing this song. Its point is truer now now than ever!
WOW!
"Smoked my first cigarette at ten
And for girls I had a bad yen."
That terrible rhyme always makes me cringe. Otherwise, it's a decent song.
Yes! And he made Jagger look like a wimp.
The REAL Eggman!
Yes! And he made Jagger look like a wimp.
Minor point re: album date ...
When I was Young may be "1967" but Retrospective can't be ...
Label says it has Spill the Wine. Heck, that's a War song ...
Yes! And he made Jagger look like a wimp.
Cynaera wrote:
My father was a soldier then
And times were very hard
When I was young
I smoked my first cigarette at ten
And for girls, I had a bad yen
And I had quite a ball
When I was young
When I was young, it was more important
Pain more painful
Laughter much louder
Yeah, when I was young
When I was young
I met my first love at thirteen
She was brown and I was pretty green
And I learned quite a lot when I was young
When I was young
When I was young
Pain more painful
Laughter much louder
Yeah, when I was young
When I was young
My faith was so much stronger then
I believed in fellow man
And I was so much older then
When I was young
When I was young
When I was young
Some pretty powerful lyrics here - I'd forgotten how good this song is...
_________________________________________
One of my favorite late-period Animals tracks.
My father was a soldier then
And times were very hard
When I was young
I smoked my first cigarette at ten
And for girls, I had a bad yen
And I had quite a ball
When I was young
When I was young, it was more important
Pain more painful
Laughter much louder
Yeah, when I was young
When I was young
I met my first love at thirteen
She was brown and I was pretty green
And I learned quite a lot when I was young
When I was young
When I was young
Pain more painful
Laughter much louder
Yeah, when I was young
When I was young
My faith was so much stronger then
I believed in fellow man
And I was so much older then
When I was young
When I was young
When I was young
Some pretty powerful lyrics here - I'd forgotten how good this song is...
I was so much older then...
...I'm younger than that now.
Love it
I was so much older then.
This could have been the anthem for the political activism of the period. Demographics meets the politics of an Empire.
I was so much older then...
I think Tina Turner covered this. I'd like to hear that one!