Tuesday, March 15, 2022

Younger Me


Younger Me

Songwriters: Kendell Marvel / John Osborne / Thomas Osborne

 

Younger me

Made it harder than it had to be

Trying hard to dodge my destiny

Would get the best of me

 

Younger me

Way too young to pace a bedroom floor

Always dreamed of kicking down the door

What were you waiting for

 

Younger me

Was as reckless as he should have been

Close calls and downfalls and getting back up again

And doing it all again

 

Younger me

Overthinking, losing sleep at night

Contemplating if it's worth the fight

If he only knew he'd be alright

Yeah, younger me

 

Youth ain't wasted on the young

These trips around the sun

I needed every one

To get where I'm standing now

It's an uphill road to run

For my father's son

Keep it together

It won't be that way forever

 

Younger me

Hanging out but not quite fitting in

Didn't know that being different

Really wouldn't be the end

Younger me (yeah)

 

Yeah

Yeah, oh

Yeah

 

Youth ain't wasted on the young

These trips around the sun

I needed every one

To get where I'm standing now

It's an uphill road to run

Yeah, for my father's son

Keep it together

It won't be that way forever

 

Younger me

You got me where I am today

Got a few things right along the way

You'll see, just wait

Younger me 



About the Song

 

T.J. Osborne publicly came out as gay in an interview with Time on February 3, 2021. Following his coming out, Osborne wrote “Younger Me” as a letter to his younger self. Like many of us who have come out, Osborne said, “I’ve always wished I could speak to my younger self, give him a hug and show him who he’d become and what he’d achieve. Once I came out, that feeling was so overwhelmingly strong that this song was born.”

 

One of the things that makes country music so popular is that it is relatable. “Younger Me” blends that relatable country storytelling with a bit of a pop anthem. The song is a refreshing take on country music nostalgia. Often, nostalgic songs look back fondly on the songwriter’s childhood and simpler times, and the present is either presented as hard or having lost its innocence along the way. “Younger Me” is a different kind of story.

 

The song perfectly encapsulates a more compelling kind of nostalgia that does not rewrite the complexities and confusion of childhood: “Overthinking, losing sleep at night / contemplating if it’s worth the fight”. The lyrics are crisp and vital, evoking specific details (“To pace a bedroom floor”), and are wonderfully free of cliché. For Brothers’ Osborne, the future hold both threat and possibility, and the past contains both hurt and experiences from which to learn and grow. 

 

Brothers Osborne’s music has always had a broad appeal amongst pop and country fans, and “Younger Me” perfects this balance. This is a dazzling pop anthem if ever I heard one, yet the sharp storytelling proves that Osborne is a bona fide country songwriter too. 

 

T.J. Osborne is gay and proud with this song and shows that it is possible not only to be queer in country music, but also to celebrate these aspects of ourselves. “Younger Me” is the perfect embrace that a queer kid might need, a Pride anthem for country music fans.



Thank you, Dylan for introducing me to this song.

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