To Be Young (Is To Be Sad, Is To Be High)

Album: Heartbreaker (2000)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song's title leaves little to the imagination. "To Be Young (Is To Be Sad, Is To Be High)" is about people doing young Ryan Adams wrong, driving him to get sad and stoned.
  • This is the only song on Heartbreaker, Adams' debut solo album, cowritten with guitarist David Rawlings, best known for "When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings."
  • "To Be Young (Is To Be Sad, Is To Be High)" was featured in the 2003 comedy Old School, starring Will Ferrell, Luke Wilson, and Vince Vaughn. The song plays during the opening sequence as Mitch Martin (played by Wilson) rushes to catch a flight home, where a disturbing surprise awaits him.

    It's also been featured in The Slaughter Rule (2002) and Accepted (2006).
  • This is the first song on the Heartbreaker album, but it's preceded by a 37-second track called "(Argument with David Rawlings Concerning Morrissey)," which is some studio banter where Adams and Rawlings debate which album contains the Morrissey song "Suedehead."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Randy Houser

Randy HouserSongwriter Interviews

The "How Country Feels" singer talks Skynyrd and songwriting.

Gilby Clarke

Gilby ClarkeSongwriter Interviews

The Guns N' Roses rhythm guitarist in the early '90s, Gilby talks about the band's implosion and the side projects it spawned.

Subversive Songs Used To Sell

Subversive Songs Used To SellSong Writing

Songs about drugs, revolution and greed that have been used in commercials for sneakers, jeans, fast food, cruises and cars.

Tom Bailey of Thompson Twins

Tom Bailey of Thompson TwinsSongwriter Interviews

Tom stopped performing Thompson Twins songs in 1987, in part because of their personal nature: "Hold Me Now" came after an argument with his bandmate/girlfriend Alannah Currie.

Krishna Das

Krishna DasSongwriter Interviews

The top chant artist in the Western world, Krishna Das talks about how these Hindu mantras compare to Christian worship songs.

What Musicians Are Related to Other Musicians?

What Musicians Are Related to Other Musicians?Song Writing

A big list of musical marriages and family relations ranging from the simple to the truly dysfunctional.