Tonyage
Descendents Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You were all surfers last year
3 years ago it wasn't cool
You spit on me, but I'm no one
Eh, Bobby Pyn had long hair
But you spit on Darby crash
He had a fucking mohawk man
3 years ago
Forming in 75
I'm a new waver
My girlfriend's a surfer
She's more posed than you are
And she don't fuck you anyways
Eh, it doesn't matter, you all suck
You don't know shit about punk rock
Bunch of fucking drug addicts
Screwing up what we call fun
I hate everything, that means you
I hate you more than, I do
I'm a real punk and she's a drug addict
I have a stick, it doesn't matter
I have a 2" x 2", it doesn't matter
Fake hardcore
You're fake hardcore
You spit on Urinals
The song "Tonyage" by Descendents is a classic example of punk rock's disdain for those who jump on bandwagons for a particular trend. The lyrics don't hold back, as the band takes aim at those who claim to be punk, but were surfers just a year before. The singer mocks their lack of authenticity, pointing out that they wouldn't have been caught dead with a mohawk three years ago, yet now spit on those who have one.
The disdain for these "poseurs" extends to their drug use, with the singer sneering that "you don't know shit about punk rock" and are "screwing up what we call fun." The chorus of the song is a chorus of hatred, with the singer proclaiming "I hate everything, that means you." It's a cathartic punk anthem that captures the genre's spirit of rebellion and shows its disdain for those who try to appropriate its counterculture identity.
Line by Line Meaning
Yean, you beat up Fear's bass player
You physically assaulted a member of the band Fear
You were all surfers last year
Just last year, you all identified as surfers rather than punk rockers
3 years ago it wasn't cool
Three years prior, punk rock was not considered popular or trendy
You spit on me, but I'm no one
You showed contempt and disrespect towards me, despite me being insignificant in your eyes
Eh, Bobby Pyn had long hair
You had a negative opinion of Bobby Pyn's hairstyle
But you spit on Darby crash
You showed disdain towards Darby Crash, possibly for his punk rock style
He had a fucking mohawk man
Darby Crash's hairstyle was a Mohawk, which you found objectionable
3 years ago
Referencing another time when punk rock was not trendy or popular
Forming in 75
The band refers to their formation year of 1975
I'm a new waver
The singer identifies as a 'new waver,' a genre of music that originated in the late 70s
My girlfriend's a surfer
The singer's significant other identifies as a surfer
She's more posed than you are
The singer's girlfriend is more genuine than the person they are addressing
And she don't fuck you anyways
The person being addressed is not desirable to the singer's girlfriend
Eh, it doesn't matter, you all suck
Regardless of any insults thrown, the singer still believes the other person and their friends are inferior
You don't know shit about punk rock
The singer believes their adversary possesses little to no knowledge of punk rock culture
Bunch of fucking drug addicts
The artist believes the other person and their friends are drug abusers
Screwing up what we call fun
The artist believes the other person and their friends are ruining something they see as enjoyable
I hate everything, that means you
The singer expresses their hatred for the addressee, as well as everything else
I hate you more than, I do
The singer hates the addressee more than anything else
I'm a real punk and she's a drug addict
The singer sees themselves as true to punk rock culture, while their girlfriend is struggling with drug addiction
I have a stick, it doesn't matter
The singer's possession of a stick is irrelevant to the overall conflict
I have a 2" x 2", it doesn't matter
The singer's possession of a 2" x 2" object is also irrelevant to the conflict
Fake hardcore
The singer believes the other person and their friends are not real or genuine in their punk rock persona
You're fake hardcore
Reiterating the belief that the other person and their friends are not genuine in their punk rock identity
You spit on Urinals
The singer sees the other person as having shown disrespect towards the band The Urinals
Contributed by Kaitlyn A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.