The unromanticized take on the subject would have been easy for songwriter and Replacements frontman Paul Westerberg, who was 25 when he wrote it and still had his ear close to the ground of that world. The Replacements fanbase were largely teens, and Replacements bassist Tommy Stinson was 16 when this song was recorded.
As we become entrenched in adulthood, we tend to idealize youth and forget what a mess of uncertainty and confusion those years actually are, a time when we try to assert our individuality while feeling painfully uncertain of who we even are to begin with. We're trying to adopt our expected roles while letting go of the old ones we'd just gotten comfortable with. It's a tenuous time of transition.
"Sixteen Blue" captures the awkward pride of it all.
“Brag about things you don't understand
A girl and a woman, a boy and a man
Everything is sexually vague
Now you're wondering to yourself
That you might be gay”
The way that the verse jumps erratically from idea to idea sums up the herky jerky 16-year-old mind perfectly.
Let It Be is the album on which Westerberg's songwriting took a quantum leap forward in skill and maturity. We can see that in this song.
Westerberg enjoys shoveling snow because it reminds him that he's just a guy, not a rock star, when all is said is done. His insistence on staying humble and grounded in reality comes through in the clarity of observation in "Sixteen Blue."
Online rumors float around that this song is about Replacements bassist Tommy Stinson (best known to modern music fans for his 1998-2014 Guns N' Roses run), who helped form the Replacements when he was 12 years old. The rumor is understandable because Stinson is the subject of other Replacements songs and because he would have been 16 at the recording of "Sixteen Blue."
While nothing can be written off definitively about the rumor, there aren't any sources to confirm it, and it doesn't add up outside the fact that Stinson happened to be 16. The song sounds much more the story of a typical 16-year-old male, not one who started living the rock-and-roll lifestyle at 12 and never knew anything else after that.
Writing for The Boston Phoenix (September 21, 1990), journalist Tim Riley called this "the greatest ode to the dignity of adolescent inferiority since 'Every Picture Tells A Story.'"
Sixteen Blue
The Replacements Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
No one hears and no one calls
It's a boring state
It's a useless wait, I know
Brag about things you don't understand
A girl and a woman, a boy and a man
Everything is sexually vague
That you might be gay
Your age is the hardest age
Everything drags and drags
One day, baby, maybe help you through
Drive your ma to the bank
Tell your pa you got a date
You're lying, now you're lying on your back
Try to figure out, they wonder what next you'll
You don't understand anything sexual
I don't understand
Tell my friends I'm doing fine
Your age is the hardest age
Everything drags and drags
You're looking funny
You ain't laughing, are you?
Sixteen blue
Sixteen blue
Sixteen blue
Your age is the hardest age
Everything drags and drags
You're looking funny
You ain't laughing, are you?
Sixteen blue
Sixteen blue
Sixteen blue
Sixteen blue
Sixteen blue
Sixteen blue
You mine, if you want to
The Replacements' song Sixteen Blue explores the struggles of being a teenager and the confusion that comes with trying to figure out one's place in the world. The first verse describes the feeling of being stuck and unheard, driving oneself up the wall because no one listens or reaches out. The second verse discusses the confusion and vagueness surrounding sexuality and the pressure to understand it. The chorus emphasizes the difficulty of being sixteen, with everything feeling slow and unbearable. The bridge highlights the desire to be accepted and fit in, lying to loved ones about having a date and trying to figure out what to do next.
The lyrics in this song are relatable for many teenagers going through the process of growing up and figuring out where they belong. It speaks to the loneliness and confusion that can be experienced during these years, especially when it comes to sexuality and fitting in with peers. The Replacements capture these emotions in a raw and honest way, making Sixteen Blue a memorable and iconic song.
Line by Line Meaning
Drive yourself right up the wall
You're going crazy, you're upset and anxious
No one hears and no one calls
You feel ignored, like nobody notices you
It's a boring state
Life is dull and uninteresting
It's a useless wait, I know
You don't expect anything good to happen and you feel hopeless
Brag about things you don't understand
You talk about things you don't really know, trying to impress others
A girl and a woman, a boy and a man
You're confused about sexual maturity and what it means to be an adult
Everything is sexually vague
You don't really know what's going on or what things mean in terms of sexuality
Now you're wondering to yourself
You're questioning your own sexuality and identity
That you might be gay
You're considering the possibility that you're attracted to the same gender
Your age is the hardest age
Being 16 is really tough
Everything drags and drags
Time goes by slowly and everything seems to take forever
One day, baby, maybe help you through
Things might get better one day, but for now you're just stuck
Drive your ma to the bank
You're doing things for your family, even if you don't want to
Tell your pa you got a date
You're trying to act cool and impress your dad with your love life, even if it's not true
You're lying, now you're lying on your back
You're pretending to be something you're not, and it's leading to bad consequences
Try to figure out, they wonder what next you'll
You don't know what to do, and people are judging you for it
You don't understand anything sexual
You're confused and don't really get what's going on
I don't understand
Even the singer doesn't know what's happening
Tell my friends I'm doing fine
You're putting up a front to your friends to try to make them think you're okay
You're looking funny
People are making fun of you and it's starting to get to you
You ain't laughing, are you?
Even if you pretend to be okay, you're not really happy
Sixteen blue
Being 16 is really tough, and it's hard to get through it
You mine, if you want to
Someone is telling you that they're there for you if you need them
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: PAUL WESTERBERG
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Nonexistanthuman
Drive yourself right up the wall
No one hears and no one calls
It's a boring state
It's a useless wait, I know
Brag about things you don't understand
A girl and a woman, a boy and a man
Everything is sexually vague
Now you're wondering to yourself
That you might be gay
Your age is the hardest age
Everything drags and drags
One day, baby, maybe help you through
Drive your ma to the bank
Tell your pa you got a date
You're lying, now you're lying on your back
Try to figure out, they wonder what next you'll
You don't understand anything sexual
I don't understand
Tell my friends I'm doing fine
Your age is the hardest age
Everything drags and drags
You're looking funny
You ain't laughing, are you?
Sixteen blue
Sixteen blue
Sixteen blue
Your age is the hardest age
Everything drags and drags
You're looking funny
You ain't laughing, are you?
Sixteen blue
Sixteen blue
Sixteen blue
Sixteen blue
Sixteen blue
Sixteen blue
You mine, if you want to
Gardner Lepp
Whenever I get frustrated with my teenage children, I can listen to this song and instantly remember how hard it is to be a teenager, and all is forgiven. "I don't understand / I tell my friends I'm doin' fine."
Emma Stokes
Paul Westerberg is honestly one of the greatest song writers ever. He deserves to be up there with Bob Dylan.
Monsieur La Guillotine
I have a hot take for you. I feel he's better than Dylan in some respects. Paul really took off with his writing in the span of a few years.
Lynda Land
@Monsieur La Guillotine He's way better than Dylan could ever hope to be, just doesn't know it.
Matthew Workman
@Monsieur La Guillotine you know Dylan did the same thing, right? I don't think he wrote a song on his debut. Then, he started writing songs like "a hard rain's gonna fall" and "the times, they are a changin'".
Christopher Witteman
As much as I love Dylan I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't every now and then a little conflicted about him and his "genius " reputation... I could go on but I'm not gonna lol
Oppothumbs M
@Matt_Dylan Townes never did a song I like. It's just taste. Westerberg with the Replacements were as good a Dylan, The Beatles, Neil Young but missed one thing .. some longevity. I discount his first two records so from 1981- 1989 he was great . Neil - 40 great songs, Dylan 40 great, Beatles 40 great, Replacements - 41 great songs. You're gonna make me lonesome when I'm gone is not as good as most Replacement's songs and not as good as Dylan's You're a Big Girl Now. Who could write "you're lookin funny you aint laughin are you?" The beatles, stones, dylan .. no only Paul
winonaforever
“no one hears and no one calls”
“and you wonder to yourself that you might be gay”
“everything drags and drags”
these quotes. this has to be my favourite song of all time ❤️
austin78993
I feel like this song does a great job of capturing a lot more than just being 16. Maybe this age is one of the first big "transitionary periods" in one's life, but it certainly won't be the last. This is kind of like an anthem for all of that.
Vincenzo
i love how it sounds,westerberg's voice, the lyrics and everything about this song. i can't believe this even exist. only close to 50000 views/listens? i wish there are more of us out there who can understand this sort of raw emotion, how music should retain it's sincerity, every aspect of how it sound.