Youth Brigade can refer to two different punk music groups.

(1) The … Read Full Bio ↴Youth Brigade can refer to two different punk music groups.

(1) The first was a punk music trio formed by brothers Mark Stern, Adam Stern, and Shawn Stern, in Hollywood, California in 1980. The band has broken up and subsequently re-formed a number of times. They have been together again for several years as of 2006, and playing shows throughout California. Youth Brigade have only released a few records, but were influential as the founders of the Better Youth Organization, an independent record label and concert booking firm.

(2) Youth Brigade was also another, unrelated punk band from Washington D.C., who released a 7" EP on Dischord Records in 1981. This band subsequently, during their short life, called themselves DC Youth Brigade. Youth Brigade DC also has 3 tracks featured on the 1982 Dischord compilation Flex Your Head. An unreleased song entitled "I Object" is also featured on the 20 Years of Dischord compliation set. Although only around for a short period of time the DC Youth Brigade played shows with the legendary Minor Threat. Their style is also now considered a classic example of American hardcore punk.

Treachery
Youth Brigade Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

You come from England to play for us
Tell us the truth
But all you do is disillusion us
We can't be heard
Upstarts against the world like us
Everyday's another clash
Preach silly rules to us
When all you want is cash

Treachery from the old world
Treachery you've been bought and sold
Treachery is all you hold
When you've nothing to prove
Oo-ee-oo
We don't need you
Oo-ee-oo
To tell us the fucking truth

Trying to deny us
It that really fair
To say you've done things before us
Is neither here nor there
Don't try to compete with us
Cause we don't care
All your smart ass attitudes toward us
Are death warrants over here

Treachery from the old world
Treachery you've been bought and sold
Treachery is all you hold
When you've nothing to prove
Oo-ee-oo
We don't need you
Oo-ee-oo
To tell us the fucking truth

Treachery from the old world
Treachery you've been bought and sold
Treachery is all you hold
When you've nothing to prove
Oo-ee-oo
We don't need you

Oo-ee-oo
To tell us the fucking truth

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of the Youth Brigade's song Treachery talk about the disillusionment that the band felt towards a group of English musicians who came to play in America. The song's contemptuous tone towards these English musicians stems from their perceived hypocrisy: they promised to tell the truth but only cared about making money. The Americans, who call themselves "Upstarts against the world," see themselves as struggling against the establishment, and the English musicians as sellouts. The song strikes an anti-establishment note throughout, highlighting the punk ethos of not being taken in by the pretensions of society.

Line by Line Meaning

You come from England to play for us
You arrived from England to perform for us

Tell us the truth
Be honest with us

But all you do is disillusion us
However, you only disappoint us

We can't be heard
Our voices are not being listened to

Upstarts against the world like us
We are young and rebellious against society's norms

Everyday's another clash
We face conflict every day

Preach silly rules to us
You tell us pointless guidelines to follow

When all you want is cash
And your only motivation is money

Treachery from the old world
Dishonesty from the previous generation

Treachery you've been bought and sold
You have betrayed us by being manipulated

Treachery is all you hold
Your only possession is deceit