I was fighting the mold in the bowl with my pee
When a thought popped in through my brain
If all of us hated high school so much
Why was nothing ever changed?
So I called Brian up with my plan that's red hot
Got a private institution in the name of punk-rock
We got some government funding & our own
Private road & 666 for our radio snow code.

I had a dream when I was in high school
That I attended the Punk Rock Academy
I had a dream when I was in high school
I attended the Punk Rock Academy.

Chris Jensen's teaching science
& he's still running mountain.
We fired the guy from Bad Religion 'cause he
Sold punk rock out & we'll give the dirty punks a
Dip & get rid of all their fleas.
And we'll never buy anything with a UPC.

I had a dream when I was in high school,
I attended the Punk Rock Academy
I had a dream when I was in high school,
That at the Punk Rock Academy no one made fun of me

At the punk rock academy
Where all the students, they're diagnosed with A.D.D.
Take me home tonight,
I don't want to let you go 'til the feeling's right,
Take me home tonight,
I don't want to let you go 'til the feelings right

We'll import a token jock & then we'll
Kick his token ass & there will never ever be
A physical education class.
Think about, you'll agree. It's the bizzity
Bizzity bomb & maybe we can get the F-bombs to
Play the senior prom.

I had a dream when I was in high school,
I attended the Punk Rock Academy
I had a dream when I was in high school,
That at the Punk Rock Academy no one made fun of me

Overall Meaning

The song "Punk Rock Academy" by Atom and His Package is a satire on the traditional education system and its tight grip on conformism. It starts with an image of the singer (who might be Atom) fighting the mold in the toilet bowl while wondering why high school is so despised, yet nothing seems to change about it. This leads him to call up his friend Brian to launch a punk-rock private school complete with government funding, our own private road, and a 666 radio snow code. The lyrics then mention that Chris Jensen is teaching science, and he's still running mountain, while the guy from Bad Religion was fired because he sold punk rock out. The institution is designed to cater to the non-conforming nature of punk rockers and rid them of any constraints of conformity, such as fleas, the UPC codes or physical education classes.

The song centers around the singer's dream of attending the Punk Rock Academy rather than traditional high school. At Punk Rock Academy, no one makes fun of him, and all the students are diagnosed with A.D.D., which implies that the Academy teaches them how to harness their energy in a positive way. They are allowed to be who they want to be, and there's no place for social ridicule, conformity, or any form of discrimination. This could be the dream of every high school student who longs to be accepted for who they are without any pressure of fitting into conformity.

Line by Line Meaning

I was fighting the mold in the bowl with my pee
I was doing my business in the bathroom and noticed mold in the toilet so I started to clean it.

When a thought popped in through my brain
A sudden idea came to mind.

If all of us hated high school so much
Many of us did not enjoy high school.

Why was nothing ever changed?
Despite the popular hatred of high school, nothing was ever done to adjust or update it.

So I called Brian up with my plan that's red hot
I shared my idea with Brian, who I think would support it.

Got a private institution in the name of punk-rock
We founded our very own school that promotes and celebrates punk rock culture.

We got some government funding & our own
We received some financial assistance from the government and set up our own school.

Private road & 666 for our radio snow code.
We made arrangements for a private road to reach our building and set up a radio station with the code number 666.

Chris Jensen's teaching science & he's still running mountain.
Chris Jensen is teaching science courses and he continues to enjoy mountain running as one of his hobbies.

We fired the guy from Bad Religion 'cause he sold punk rock out & we'll give the dirty punks a Dip & get rid of all their fleas.
We fired someone from Bad Religion for going against punk rock ideals and will help those who are unaccepted elsewhere to fit in and thrive without negative influences.

And we'll never buy anything with a UPC.
We will not purchase anything identified by a Uniform Product Code, which is a barcode for product recognition.

Where all the students, they're diagnosed with A.D.D.
All of the students at the Punk Rock Academy have been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder (A.D.D.).

Take me home tonight, I don't want to let you go 'til the feeling's right
I want to go home with you tonight and stay until we feel the moment has passed and it's okay to leave.

We'll import a token jock & then we'll kick his token ass & there will never ever be a physical education class.
We will bring in a sports jock to satisfy the need for sports and then defeat him in a symbolic way, and there won't be any more need for Physical Education classes.

Think about, you'll agree. It's the bizzity Bizzity bomb & maybe we can get the F-bombs to Play the senior prom.
Think about my plan and you'll see how it's amazing and perfect for our needs, so we can bring in the 'F-bombs' musical group to play for the senior prom.

That at the Punk Rock Academy no one made fun of me
I dreamt of attending a school where I wouldn't be bullied or made fun of for being different, which is the Punk Rock Academy.

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