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My Gen X Playlist: Drivers License – Olivia Rodrigo

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I saw something amusing the other night. It reminded me of my younger days. There was a group of young people buying a few bottles of alcohol. They probably were in college but not yet 21. They looked apprehensive and giggled a bit too much to be normal. It looked obvious to me, but I could be wrong. I’m assuming they had fake IDs.

I remember my buddy’s fake ID back in college. He thought he would be funny and chose the name Mike Tyson. His name really was Mike, so it was half correct. But this was back in the heyday of Tyson’s reign as boxing champion. I remember the liquor store guy eyeballing his ID, then side eyeing him as he asked, Mike Tyson, huh? My buddy just grunted, Yeah without skipping a beat. Fortunately he was 6’5” and looked of age. We had a good laugh afterwards.

I guess I had to include Olivia Rodrigo’s Drivers License. This isn’t a Gen X song, but it’s a pretty good one nevertheless. I’ll be honest, this is the only song I know from her and I only hear it occasionally when I see it on YouTube. But I’ve got to give props where props are due. Despite the teeny bopper angst ridden lyrics, it’s not a bad song. Especially in light of the fact that she wrote it at such a young age.

Final thought: A driver’s license reminds her of a heartbreaking break up. It reminds me about buying beer with a fake ID. I wonder who the deep one is between the two of us.

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For a complete playlist, please click here.

For the Spotify playlist, please click here.

I got my driver's license last week
Just like we always talked about
'Cause you were so excited for me
To finally drive up to your house
But today I drove through the suburbs
Cryin' 'cause you weren't around

And you're probably with that blonde girl
Who always made me doubt
She's so much older than me
She's everything I'm insecure about
Yeah, today I drove through the suburbs
'Cause how could I ever love someone else?

And I know we weren't perfect but I've never felt this way for no one
And I just can't imagine how you could be so okay now that I'm gone
Guess you didn't mean what you wrote in that song about me
'Cause you said forever, now I drive alone past your street

And all my friends are tired
Of hearing how much I miss you, but
I kinda feel sorry for them
'Cause they'll never know you the way that I do, yeah
Today I drove through the suburbs
And pictured I was driving home to you

And I know we weren't perfect
But I've never felt this way for no one, oh
And I just can't imagine how you could be so okay now that I'm gone
I guess you didn't mean what you wrote in that song about me
'Cause you said forever, now I drive alone past your street

Red lights, stop signs
I still see your face in the white cars, front yards
Can't drive past the places we used to go to
'Cause I still fuckin' love you, babe (ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh)
Sidewalks we crossed
I still hear your voice in the traffic, we're laughing
Over all the noise
God, I'm so blue, know we're through
But I still fuckin' love you, babe (ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh)

I know we weren't perfect but I've never felt this way for no one
And I just can't imagine how you could be so okay now that I'm gone
'Cause you didn't mean what you wrote in that song about me
'Cause you said forever, now I drive alone past your street
Yeah, you said forever, now I drive alone past your street

17 thoughts on “My Gen X Playlist: Drivers License – Olivia Rodrigo”

  2. Love Olivia Rodrigo – so talented, sorry I won’t be around when she matures to hear where that talent will take her. Funny thing, when I was young you weren’t a legal adult until you were 21 (couldn’t vote or sign a legal contract etc.) but you could drink/drive when you were 18.

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      1. I’m quite old and will be dead by the time some of the young(er) performers flower into their full potential. I’m already hearing, what I consider, positive changes in Miley Cyrus and Billie Eilish. And while she may not be considered ‘young’ I’m betting Beyonce will eventually record the Great American Songbook – something I would love to hear.

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  4. The closest I ever came to faking it was buying cigarettes from the machine in a lobby somewhere when I was sixteen (legal age to buy, 18). Remember cigarette machines? I looked old enough to buy them, so no one questioned me. I didn’t even smoke. I bought them for my sister. My twin sister. Don’t ask me why. I think she was too nervous to try.

    I don’t know that song… thanks for sharing it. 🙂

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  6. 565M views?? Man, unreal.

    Fake IDs, yeah, some were so bad they were laughable. Plan B: wait for 25-ish dude to pull up to 7-11 in a Camaro, Trans-Am, whatever. “Sir, would you buy me and my friend a six?” Not even a second look, guy takes the proffered $5 for a six that was about $2.50. Dude comes back, no change given (understood: “service fee”), hands you the six, blatts off in the muscle car. Ah, simpler times 😎

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  7. Nowadays I may know the song but not the artist because little girl around. I’m astonished when she knows the lyrics and the artist 😬.

    I prefer the fake ID. Maybe after a few years she’ll look back at this song and think, if I could kick myself or not 😅… never know.

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