My Gen X Playlist: The Freshmen – The Verve Pipe

I’ve been involved in various volunteer activities over the years. Habitat for Humanity, assisting at local food banks, engaging in language exchanges to assist others learning English, helping others with interview skills when applying for jobs. While sporadic, I did enjoy them all. But the question posed is about a job that I’d do for free, which is a little different than volunteering. I can think of silly make believe ones that aren’t real life jobs that I’d do. But a real job I’d do for free? I’ve got nothing.

I suppose if money was spilling out of my pockets and I didn’t need to work to live, I wouldn’t mind being a professional student. Why not go back to school and study for another degree. In fact, a friend of mine suggested I do just that right now. Unfortunately, I’m not at the point of retirement yet and I still need to work for a bit longer. It’s food for thought down the road when retirement eventually greets me.

The Verve Pipe released The Freshmen in 1996. I always assumed this tragic story occurred while they were young college students. But sounds like being freshman is more of a figurative state than the actual first year in school.

Brian Vander Ark said of this song: “‘The Freshmen’ was written in 1991. One year before the Verve Pipe was born. I wrote it in a house on Gull Lake, Michigan. I had rented the movie “The Freshmen” with Marlon Brando and Matthew Broderick, and the case was just sitting there the next morning and I found myself staring at it. Then I realized that we are all freshmen at some point in our life – why not write a song for all of us? The song has nothing to do with the movie, though I owe the filmmakers tremendously.

– Songfacts

Powerful tragic song. It sucks me in every single time.

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For a complete playlist, please click here.

For the Spotify playlist, please click here.

When I was young I knew everything
And she, a punk who rarely ever took advice
Now I'm guilt-stricken, sobbin' with my head on the floor
Stopped a baby's breath and a shoe full of rice, no

Can't be held responsible
She was touchin' her face
I won't be held responsible
She fell in love in the first place

For the life of me
I can not remember
What made us think that we were wise and we'd never compromise
For the life of me
I can not believe we'd ever die
For these sins
We were merely freshmen

My best friend took a week's vacation to forget her
His girl took a week's worth of valium and slept
And now he's guilt-stricken, sobbin'
With his head on the floor
Thinks about her now and how he never really wept he said

Can't be held responsible
She was touchin' her face
I won't be held responsible
She fell in love in the first place

For the life of me
I can not remember
What made us think that we were wise and we'd never compromise
For the life of me
I can not believe we'd ever die
For these sins
We were merely freshmen

We tried to wash our hands of all of this
We'd never talk of our lacking relationships
And how we're guilt-stricken sobbin' with our heads on the floor
We fell through the ice when we tried not to slip we'd say

Can't be held responsible
She was touchin' her face
I won't be held responsible
She fell in love in the first place

For the life of me
I can not remember
What made us think that we were wise and we'd never compromise
For the life of me
I can not believe we'd ever die
For these sins
We were merely freshmen

For the life of me 
I can not remember 
What made us think that we were wise and we'd never compromise
For the life of me
I can not believe we'd ever die 
For these sins
We were merely freshmen
We were merely freshmen
We were only freshmen