Songfacts®:

• Running 40 seconds long, this fast-paced punk rocker makes the point that with all the complicated things in one's life (dates, makeup, money, life and death, wrinkled asses), it's better to sometimes go back to the natural state of things and become a basic animal, hence the bear. That way, among other things, you can s--t in the woods.
• "I Wanna Be A Bear" was written by the group's guitarist, Frank Navetta, and bass player, Tony Lombardo (the Descendents shared songwriting duties). It's part of their first album, Milo Goes To College, named because lead singer Milo Aukerman was heading off to the University of California, San Diego. He ended up launching a parallel career as a biologist at DuPont.
• According to lead singer Milo Aukerman, this song reflects Frank Navetta's frustrations with girls in high school - he couldn't get any. And also with posers.
  
  "His whole thing was what we call bitter resentment towards all living things, or towards all humans," Descendents lead singer Milo Aukerman said in a Songfacts interview. "He especially hated the poser people at his high school, and the fact that he struggled with girls, and that became a target of sorts. Unfortunately, in that early stage when we were all young and full of energy and full of resentment and bitterness, sometimes it gets targeted towards certain groups. It comes across almost incel during this phase of our existence - you could consider it incel, but back then it hadn't been utilized as a term. And if we were incel, I think we were more like harmless incels - not really toxic incels, I hope."