Drama
Vandal Lyrics

Hot step moms and surrogate dads
Referring to parents who are not biologically related to the child but have married into the family.

It breaks my heart to see him so sad
The singer feels empathy for the boy who is experiencing sadness.

Lying alone in his room with a frown on
The boy is spending time by himself and appears to be unhappy.

Reruns show him what he's missing out on
The boy is watching TV re-runs and wishing he had the same kind of family life he sees on screen.

If life could be, like he sees it on TV
The boy is idealizing the family and social situations he sees on television, wishing his life could be the same way.

He wouldn't have to hurt so bad
The boy is in pain from his current familial situation and believes if things were different, he wouldn't feel this way.

Hurts so bad 'cause
The pain he feels is attributed to the drama and instability of his family structure.

It's too much drama, too much drama Dad and Mama
The family is filled with drama and it causes the boy to feel overwhelmed.

Traded back and forth til he turns eighteen
The boy has experienced multiple parental figures who have split apart and traded custody of him throughout his childhood.

It's too much drama, the kid don't need no new step grandma
The boy doesn't want to go through the process of gaining another new extended family member at this point in his life.

So he joins a family on the screen
The boy finds solace in the portrayals of happy families presented on television.

Can't you see? Too many parents leave
The artist is expressing frustration that so many parents (biological or otherwise) abandon their children.

Too many sets of parents leave a kid who can't believe
The frequency of parental abandonment has left the boy in a state of disbelief and emotional turmoil.

How they can think that he can take it
The boy feels like his parents (biological or otherwise) don't understand the impact their decisions have on him.

It's all he can do to fake it
The boy is struggling to present a facade of normalcy to the world.

Off for a weekend with real Dad but
The boy is going to visit his biological father for the weekend.

The only thing real is how real bad he
The visit with his biological father is not satisfying and causes the boy to feel worse.

Just wants his life to be black and white
The boy wants a simpler, more straightforward life without the instability and drama of his current family situation.

Those people never fight
The boy idealizes the fictional families he sees on TV who never have conflict.

If he could Xerox a home from the talking picture box
The boy wishes he could replicate and paste a perfect family life from a TV show onto his own life.

He wouldn't have to hurt so bad
The boy believes that if he had a perfect family life like the ones he sees on TV, he would feel less emotional pain.

So he turns to TV for help and for guidance
The boy seeks comfort and advice from the fictional characters he sees on television.

A lot of his virtues he picked up from Linus
The character Linus from the Peanuts comic strip has taught the boy valuable life lessons.

Fonzie taught him what it means to be cool
The iconic TV character Arthur 'Fonzie' Fonzarelli has influenced the boy's concept of coolness.

From Doogie he learned that he must go to school
The character Doogie Howser from the TV show of the same name has influenced the boy's desire to prioritize his education.

Three's Company taught him that just acting gay
The TV show Three's Company has shown the boy that acting in a certain way (in this case, gay) can have social benefits.

Could lower the actual rent he would pay
The boy has learned that pretending to be something he's not can have tangible benefits.

Cops showed beating your wife and your neighbor
The TV show Cops has presented violence as something that can be glorified and applauded.

Could immortalize you and your double wide trailer
The boy has learned that violence and aggression can garner attention and a degree of fame, which seems appealing in his unstable world.