Adult Education

Album: Rock 'n Soul Part 1 (1984)
Charted: 94 8
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • In our 2015 interview with Daryl Hall, he explained: "That song is about something I still believe: That one of the big problems with the world is people never grow up – no matter how old they get. And the song is a reminder that there is life after high school. That there's another way of looking at the world, and that other world is a false world and a meaningless world. So that's really what that's about."

    Daryl Hall's career is one of evolution and reinvention. Hall & Oates were huge stars in 1984, but even then the duo had amassed a huge catalog of material in a range of styles. They adapted to the video age with popular clips on MTV, and when broadband made video streaming practical, Hall launched Live From Daryl's House, a music show that was later picked up by the Palladia network. In addition, Hall has released several solo albums and worked on various side projects, including co-writing the title track for the film Ruthless People. He certainly didn't peak in high school.
  • Along with "Say It Isn't So," this was one of two original songs included on the Hall & Oates compilation album Rock 'n' Soul: Part 1, which was released in 1984 ahead of their very popular Big Bam Boom album.
  • Hall did most of the songwriting on this track, but John Oates and Hall's girlfriend/writing partner Sara Allen are also on the credits. When we spoke with Hall, he said that Oates came up with the "Doesn't rev your heart" line, and he wasn't sure what Allen contributed.
  • The music video was directed by Tim Pope, who was known for his outlandish conceptual work - he had previously done videos for The Cure, Soft Cell and Style Council. Hall & Oates had little interest in videos, but their record company hired Pope to do his thing on this one, and he came up with something that looked like an Indiana Jones movie. In The Golden Age of Music Video, John Oates said, "That was a mistake from the beginning. That was stupid... We literally showed up at the shoot and saw this enormous post-apocalyptic New York set, all these extras with torn clothes and crazy s--t, and we just went along for the ride. But as we were doing it, we were thinking, this is really stupid. That’s one of the dumbest things we’ve ever done."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat World

Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat WorldSongwriter Interviews

Jim talks about the impact of "The Middle" and uses a tree metaphor to describe his songwriting philosophy.

Song Titles That Inspired Movies

Song Titles That Inspired MoviesSong Writing

Famous songs that lent their titles - and in some cases storylines - to movies.

Jim McCarty of The Yardbirds

Jim McCarty of The YardbirdsSongwriter Interviews

The Yardbirds drummer explains how they created their sound and talks about working with their famous guitarists.

Ian Gillan of Deep Purple

Ian Gillan of Deep PurpleSongwriter Interviews

Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillan explains the "few red lights" in "Smoke On The Water" and talks about songs from their 2020 album Whoosh!

Superman in Song

Superman in SongSong Writing

Not everyone can be a superhero, but that hasn't stopped generations of musicians from trying to be Superman.

Rick Astley

Rick AstleySongwriter Interviews

Rick Astley on "Never Gonna Give You Up," "Cry For Help," and his remarkable resurgence that gave him another #1 UK album.