It's Amazing To Be Young

Album: Romance (2025)
Charted: 39
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song was inspired by the birth of Fontaines D.C. guitarist Carlos O'Connell's baby, a momentous occasion that reportedly softened the band's collective cynicism for at least the duration of the songwriting process. Bassist Conor Deegan III explained:

    "'It's Amazing To Be Young' is a song that was written in the presence of a newborn child - Carlos' child. It sounded more like a lullaby or a music box then, but with the same lyric - 'it's amazing to be young.' The feeling of hope a child can give is profound and moving, especially for young men like us.

    That sense of wanting to create a world for them to grow up in happily. It's a feeling that fights against the cynicism that can often overtake us in the modern world. So we wanted to declare which side we were on – it really is amazing to be young. We are still free, and want to make that feeling spread. We want to protect it for the others around us, and maybe in doing that, can also help protect it for ourselves."
  • The song's music video, directed by Luna Carmoon, forms the final installment of a loose trilogy that began with "Here's The Thing" and "In The Modern World." This final chapter brings together two previously introduced characters - Martin (played by Ewan Mitchell) and Spider (Grace Collender) - in what Carmoon describes as an "unlikely but beautifully surreal love story."

    Rather than being meticulously planned, the trilogy came together organically. As she mused on the current state of romantic love in culture, Carmoon lamented how it is being pushed to the side, no longer what people want to see. She saw in these characters an opportunity to resist that trend, saying, "I love that these two people have fallen in love with themselves, and I wanted to see them fall in love with each other."
  • Fontaines D.C. released "It's Amazing To Be Young" as a standalone single on February 21, 2025. It was written by the band and produced by James Ford, who helmed their Romance album. The band's bassist, Conor Deegan III, revealed to NME that the song was penned around the same as Romance but was simply left off the record because they wanted to keep the album "concise."
  • Fontaines D.C. played "It's Amazing To Be Young" live for the first time on February 22, 2025 during their set at the Toyosu PIT, in Tokyo, Japan.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Gary Brooker of Procol Harum

Gary Brooker of Procol HarumSongwriter Interviews

The lead singer and pianist for Procol Harum, Gary talks about finding the musical ideas to match the words.

Don Felder

Don FelderSongwriter Interviews

Don breaks down "Hotel California" and other songs he wrote as a member of the Eagles. Now we know where the "warm smell of colitas" came from.

Allen Toussaint - "Southern Nights"

Allen Toussaint - "Southern Nights"They're Playing My Song

A song he wrote and recorded from "sheer spiritual inspiration," Allen's didn't think "Southern Nights" had hit potential until Glen Campbell took it to #1 two years later.

Donnie Iris (Ah! Leah!, The Rapper)

Donnie Iris (Ah! Leah!, The Rapper)Songwriter Interviews

Before "Rap" was a form of music, it was something guys did to pick up girls in nightclubs. Donnie talks about "The Rapper" and reveals the identity of Leah.

Al Kooper

Al KooperSongwriter Interviews

Kooper produced Lynyrd Skynyrd, played with Dylan and the Stones, and formed BS&T.

Emilio Castillo from Tower of Power

Emilio Castillo from Tower of PowerSongwriter Interviews

Emilio talks about what it's like to write and perform with the Tower of Power horns, and why every struggling band should have a friend like Huey Lewis.