My Gen X Playlist: Forgotten Years – Midnight Oil

We passed by a gas station and shocked to see gas at $6.50 per gallon. WTF? Thankfully we gas up at Costco where the prices are cheaper. The last time I gassed up it was under six. It’s crazy thinking anything sub $6 sounds like a good deal.

Southern California is pretty spread out and public transportation doesn’t work for most. Thank goodness I work from home 99% of the time, otherwise I’d be paying a pretty penny commuting. It’s times like this that I miss the train system in Japan.

The other day I mentioned to someone that I remember when gas prices were under a buck. They just looked at me and must have thought I’m old as f*ck. As I replay that conversation in my head, they’re right. I am.

Gasoline made me think about Midnight Oil. I initially could recall only a few songs until I dug a little deeper and was reminded of far more music from their catalogue. Forgotten Years was one of those songs that completely slipped my mind.

Midnight Oil vocalist Peter Garrett told The Washington Post this anthem about the painful consequences of war “credits those who served, remembering that at times it was folly, as in Vietnam, and that at times it was survival, which is what World War II was.”

Songfacts

Painful consequences of war. A topic so apropos right now.

The only somewhat good thing about these gas prices is it reminded me about Midnight Oil’s music. I’ll take any silver lining no matter how thin…

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For a complete playlist, please click here.

For the Spotify playlist, please click here.

Few of the sins of the father are visited upon the son
Hearts have been hard our hands have been clenched in a fist too long
Our sons will never be soldiers our daughters will never need guns
These are the years between
These are the years that were hard fought and won
Contracts torn at the edges old signatures stained with tears
Seasons of war and grace these should not be forgotten years
Still it aches like tetanus it reeks of politics
How many dreams remain? This is a feeling too strong to contain

The hardest years the darkest years the roarin' years the fallen years
These should not be forgotten years

The hardest years the wildest years the desperate and divided years
We will remember these should not be forgotten years

Our shoreline was never invaded our country was never in flames
This is the calm we breathe this is a feeling too strong to contain

Still it aches like tetanus it reeks of politics
Signatures stained with tears who can remember
We've got to remember

The hardest years the darkest years..
Forsaking aching breaking years the time and tested heartbreak years
These should not be forgotten years
The blinded years the binded years the desperate and divided years
These should not be forgotten years remember