From the recording Gen X Kids
Lyrics
Intro
This is for my Gen X kids
Barefoot on a blacktop street,
Heat waves rising from our feet.
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Verse 1
No babysitters,
no bedtime rules,
We learned fast
as we ruled our schools
Locked out of the house
All day long
Riding bikes and
Meeting at the playground
My best friends flirting on payphones.
Sneaking out
Of roller rinks
getting caught—Gen X
still came back for more.
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Pre-Chorus
Mom said
“I’ll give you something to cry about.”
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Chorus
Gen X kids
Barefoot and wild,
with scraped-up knees,
And gas station memories.
We were Home by dark
No GPS—just thick skin.
Gen X kids knew how to live
Friday nights,
We were Sneaking out - Making out
At movies, back seats or trusty woods
Gen X kids with no one to please,
Raised by guts and common sense
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Verse 2
Hitching rides in beatup trucks
Not afraid, made real tough
Pockets full of change and beat-up sweets.
Smoking cigarettes racing down the streets
No cell phones, just hope they’d be home,
When the music screamed that downtown sound.
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Pre-Chorus
We learned trust from second chances,
Taught love in backward glances.
Gen X kids raised themselves
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Chorus
Gen X kids
Barefoot and wild,
with bruised-up pride,
Chasing dreams with friends by our side.
Home by dark
when the streetlights blinked,
We were tougher than you think.
Friday nights, we circled the blocks,
Passing notes and sneaking shots.
Gen X hearts we never forgot,
Raised by friends and burned CDs.
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Bridge
We grew up in the in-between,
Being Half heard, half seen.
But we made it loud—
And we made it ours.
Gen X kids survived it all
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Final Chorus
Gen X kids
Barefoot and wild,
Home by dark, or not at all,
We learned to rise every time we’d fall.
Friday nights in a world half-missed,
Lit by friends and a rebel kiss.
Gen X girls with untamed grace—
We ran free… and we left no trace.
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Outro
Gen X kids
Barefoot and wild
We are still wild
We are Still loud.
Still tough…
Don’t mess with us
Gen X is still tough….