18 Years
Daughtry Lyrics

Sit down with an old friend
Reconnecting with a friend from the past.

Like time it never stopped
The passage of time brings changes, but old friends can still pick up where they left off.

From the cradle to the coffin
Life is fleeting and finite.

We drink until we drop
Drinking and partying were a big part of their youth.

Yeah, we grew up on the same street
They grew up in a small town where everyone knew each other.

Small town under the hill, yeah
The town was geographically situated under a hill.

But dreams get lost and buried down
Growing up can lead to crushed aspirations and unfulfilled dreams.

Deep inside the soil there, yeah
These unfulfilled dreams can become buried deep within oneself.

All day all night
Constantly thinking about their past.

Keep pressing rewind
Wanting to relive their youth or revisit memories.

I remember
Nostalgia for the past.

We were young, we were wild
They were free-spirited and reckless when they were young.

We were halfway free
They had a taste of freedom but were still bound by circumstances.

We were kids on the run
They were restless and constantly moving forward.

On a dead-end street
Despite their restlessness, they were stuck in a place with limited opportunities.

Looking back in the rear view mirror
Reflecting on their memories.

You know the view used to be much clearer
Their memories used to be more vivid and less clouded by time.

But we'll laugh and we'll cry
Mixed emotions when revisiting memories.

Till there's no more tears
Feeling emotionally drained after revisiting memories.

Yea tonight can we just hold on to those 18 years
Wanting to hold onto the memories of their youth.

Some ran down the highway
Some people choose to leave the town for good.

To chase away their ghosts
They leave in hopes of leaving their past behind them.

Some frozen in the same place
Others remain stuck in the same place with no hope of moving forward.

This time inside their bones
The feeling of being stuck is a visceral and internal one.

Remember throwing TVs off the overpass onto the tracks, yeah
Revisiting a specific memory from their wild youth.

But the trains roll on through the small towns and never looked back, and yeah
Life goes on even when people are left behind.

All day, tell me do you remember
Again, asking for a shared reflection on their past.

We were building a bridge
Metaphorically trying to grow and conquer their dreams through hard work and perseverance.

Out of broken dreams
Their past failures and losses motivate them to keep building for a better future.

We were crashing like cars
Their impulsive and reckless behavior also led to negative consequences.

When we were 18
The age of 18 represents their youth and naivete.

Can we just hold on?
A plea to hold onto the memories of their youth.

18 years
The amount of time since leaving their youth behind.