The kids aren't alright
| The kids aren't alright | |
|---|---|
| The Offspring | |
| publication | September 21, 1999 |
| length | 3:00 |
| Genre (s) | Punk rock |
| Author (s) | Dexter Holland |
| music | Dave Jerden |
| album | Americana |
The Kids Are not Alright ( English for " The children are not good ") is a song by American punk rock - band The Offspring . The song is the third single from their fifth studio album, Americana, and was released on September 21, 1999.
content
The Kids Aren't Alright is a socially critical song that looks back at the hopeful youth and contrasts them with later reality. So Dexter Holland first sings about the dreams of childhood and the confidence in a successful future. But now the children have grown up, their dreams are broken, many opportunities have been missed and lives have been destroyed. Individual fates are described, such as that of a girl who dropped out of school and became pregnant or that of a boy who is unemployed who still lives with his parents and smokes pot all day . Another boy committed suicide and one died of a drug overdose .
"Chances thrown, nothing's free
longing for what used to be
Still it's hard, hard to see
Fragile lives, shattered dreams"
The title of the song is a reference to the song The Kids Are Alright by the British rock group The Who from 1965.
production
The song was produced by music producer Dave Jerden and the lyrics were written by The Offspring singer Dexter Holland .
Music video
The music video for The Kids Aren't Alright was shot by director Yariv Gaber.
It takes place in a single room in which the camera rotates continuously around the action. The focus is on various people from all walks of life who are constantly changing. In the background you can see some scenes from childhood. Rotoscopy technology was used to depict what was happening . In addition to the band, the punk singer Bif Naked can also be seen in the video.
single
Cover design
The single cover shows the comic drawing of a scarecrow falling into tentacles , losing its hat. To the right and left of the picture are the words The Offspring and The Kids Aren't Alright in white on a black background, each written from top to bottom.
Track list
- The Kids Aren't Alright - 3:00
- Pretty Fly (for a White Guy) (Live) - 3:10
- Why don't you get a job? (Live) - 3:17
- Walla Walla (Live) - 3:18
Chart successes
The Kids Aren't Alright entered the German charts at number 45 on October 4, 1999 and stayed in the top 100 for eight weeks. The song was particularly successful in the UK, where it was ranked 11th. The Kids Aren't Alright also hit the charts in Sweden, the Netherlands, France, New Zealand and Belgium.
| Charts | Top ranking | Weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Chart placements | ||
 Germany (GfK)
|
45 (8 weeks) | 8th |
 United Kingdom (OCC)
|
11 (8 weeks) | 8th |
Sales figures and awards
The Kids Aren't Alright was awarded a Silver Record in 2017 for more than 200,000 sales in the UK .
| Country / Region | Award | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Awards for music sales (country / region, Award, Sales) |
||
 Italy (FIMI)
|
 platinum
|
50,000 |
|
United Kingdom (BPI)
|
 silver
|
200,000 |
| All in all |
1 × silver 1 × platinum |
250,000 |
Main article: The Offspring / Music Sales Awards
Web links
- Lyrics with interpretations on genius.com
- German translation of the lyrics on songtexte.com
- Music video on YouTube
Individual evidence
- ↑ The Offspring - The Kids Aren't Alright - lyrics. genius.com, accessed on August 18, 2019 .
- ^ The Offspring - The Kids Aren't Alright (Official Music Video). youtube.com, accessed August 18, 2019 .
- ↑ The Offspring - The Kids Aren't Alright - single cover. amazon.com, accessed August 18, 2019 .
- ^ The Offspring - The Kids Aren't Alright. officialcharts.de, accessed on August 18, 2019 .
- ^ The Offspring - The Kids Aren't Alright. hitparade.ch, accessed on August 18, 2019 .
- ↑ a b Chart sources: DE AT CH UK US
- ^ BRIT Certified. bpi.co.uk, accessed August 18, 2019 .
