Formed in 1985, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones started playing in Boston clubs in the mid-1980s. After a brief period of inactivity due to the schooling commitments of its members, they reformed and released their album Devil's Night Out on Taang! Records. The Bosstones toured relentlessly throughout the 1990s, playing hundreds of shows a year, releasing albums and spinning off the popular rock radio hit "Someday I Suppose". They were eventually signed to Mercury Records. The band appeared in the movie Clueless. In 1997, the success of their single "The Impression That I Get" and its follow up, "The Rascal King" earned them mainstream recognition. In 2000 they put out their critically acclaimed disk Pay Attention. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones released their last album on Side One Dummy Records. They officially went on hiatus in 2003, citing too much time on the road and desire to branch out and do different things. In 2007, the Bosstones announced that they were reforming. They played their 10th Hometown Throwdown in Boston and released a new album, Medium Rare, which consists of rare B-sides, and 3 new songs, including the single, "Don't Worry Desmond Dekker".
The band announced their split in early 2022.
Your Life
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You were to young so you blew it off
You were told you were gold but as you got old
You discovered that you were to soft
Delusions of greatness and grandeur
Life can be hard just to live
Demanding standards you'll never deliver
[Chorus:]
Nothing can prepare you for this
You were way off of your guard
Like it or not, it's how you were caught
Now try not to take it too hard
An accident no longer willing
No longer willing to wait
The recipe was for disaster
Disaster was out on the plate
Going down in a downward direction
The momentums been taking its toll
Passed the plate to take up a collection
It's been spiraling out of control
[Chorus x2]
The bottom was coming up quick
I guess it just has to be hit
The secret the key and the trick
Is learning to deal with it
It's uphill from this point on out
And the pinnacles up at the top
It hasn't been reached, only practiced and preached
So at this point you might want to stop
You might but might I suggest
I suggest it's best just to climb
Continue you've still got it in you
And be thankful you've still got the time
You've still got the time
Nothing can prepare you for this (Ohh oh)
You were way off of your guard (Ohh oh)
Like it or not, it's how you were caught
Now try not to take it to hard (Still got the time)
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones’ song “Your Life” is a warning against complacency and unrealistic expectations. The song is essentially about realizing that life is hard, and it’s not going to wait for you to catch up. The opening lines talk about how the singer was warned from the day they were born that life is difficult, but they didn’t take it seriously. They were told that they were destined for greatness, but as they got older, they realized that they were too soft to handle the harsh realities of life.
The chorus reflects the idea that nothing can prepare you for the challenges life throws at you. Even if you think you’re ready, you can still be caught off-guard. The next verse talks about how the singer’s life is spiraling out of control, and how they’ve hit rock bottom. However, they’re not giving up. They’re learning to deal with their problems and continue climbing to the top.
Overall, “Your Life” is a reminder that life is hard, and it’s important to stay grounded and realistic. It’s a call to action to keep pushing forward, even when things seem impossible.
Line by Line Meaning
You were warned from the day you were born
You were given warnings since your birth.
You were too young so you blew it off
But you were too young to heed them.
You were told you were gold but as you got old
As you grew older, you found out that you were not as special as you were told.
You discovered that you were too soft
You realized that you were not strong enough to face the challenges of life.
Delusions of greatness and grandeur
You had unrealistic expectations and aspirations.
Life can be hard just to live
Life is a difficult journey in itself.
Demanding standards you'll never deliver
You set high standards for yourself that you know you will never achieve.
If you had two of them to give
Even if you had two lives, you still couldn't meet your own expectations.
Nothing can prepare you for this
Nothing can truly prepare you for the realities of life.
You were way off of your guard
You were completely unprepared and caught off guard.
Like it or not, it's how you were caught
Whether you like it or not, this is the situation you find yourself in now.
Now try not to take it too hard
Try not to be too hard on yourself.
An accident no longer willing
You can no longer keep waiting for an accident to fix things.
No longer willing to wait
You can't afford to wait anymore.
The recipe was for disaster
The path you were on was always leading to disaster.
Disaster was out on the plate
You were always heading towards disaster, and now it's staring you in the face.
Going down in a downward direction
You are heading in a downward spiral.
The momentums been taking its toll
The momentum of your actions has been wearing you down.
Passed the plate to take up a collection
You are now relying on others to help you get back on track.
It's been spiraling out of control
The situation has been getting worse and harder to manage.
The bottom was coming up quick
You were approaching rock bottom fast.
I guess it just has to be hit
It seems inevitable that you will hit rock bottom.
The secret the key and the trick
The solution lies in a combination of secrets and keys.
Is learning to deal with it
And the key is to learn how to cope and deal with the challenges.
It's uphill from this point on out
Things are going to get difficult from here on out.
And the pinnacles up at the top
But there's still a chance to reach the summit.
It hasn't been reached, only practiced and preached
The pinnacle hasn't been reached yet, but people have been working towards it for a long time.
So at this point you might want to stop
At this point, you may feel like giving up, but don't.
You might but might I suggest
You may feel like giving up, but I suggest otherwise.
I suggest it's best just to climb
The best course of action is to keep climbing upwards.
Continue you've still got it in you
You still have what it takes to keep going.
And be thankful you've still got the time
Be grateful that you still have time to make things right.
Contributed by Landon W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.