Teen angst will never disappear; it’s just part of being young. And the following classic rock jams captured the feeling of being young and stressed out pretty darn well, in my opinion.
“She’s Leaving Home” by The Beatles from ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ (1967)
“Leaving the note that she hoped would say more / She goes downstairs to the kitchen clutching her handkerchief / Quietly turning the backdoor key / Stepping outside, she is free.”
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This baroque rock tune from The Beatles details the story of a young woman. She is likely a teenager and is very emotionally neglected by her family. There’s a melancholy to this song that anyone who promised themselves to get out of dodge the second they turned 18 would resonate with.
“So You Want To Be A Rock ‘N’ Roll Star” by The Byrds from ‘Younger Than Yesterday’ (1967)
“The price you paid for your riches and fame / Was it all a strange game? / You’re a little insane.”
How about something with a good dose of youthful cynicism? Not every teen had to deal with the unique experience of being very young and also suddenly very famous. But The Byrds captured it pretty well in this classic rock tune. And apparently, “So You Want To Be A Rock ‘N’ Roll Star” was inspired by The Monkees. That band was initially put together as a television group. Davy Jones was just 19 when The Monkees started.
“So You Want To Be A Rock ‘N’ Roll Star” by The Byrds peaked at No. 29 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
“Teach Your Children” by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young from ‘Déjà Vu’ (1970)
“Teach, your children well / Your father’s hell, did slowly go by / And feed, them on your dreams / The one they pick’s the one you’ll know by.”
This song isn’t about teen angst in the traditional sense. But this gorgeous CSNY folk rock jam is about that steep generational divide between teens and adults that still exists today. Though, during the Vietnam War era, that divide seemed more like a whole ocean.
“Teach Your Children” by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young was a respectable hit in 1970. The song peaked at No. 16 on the Hot 100 chart.
(Photo by Ivan Keeman/Redferns)
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