Song Details
- Album Release Date: 2012
- Genre: ska
Song Meaning of “If I Can’t Smoke or Swear, I’m Fucked” by We Are The Union
This punk-pop banger is a heartfelt ode to fitting in, while standing out as an individual. The song paints a vivid picture of the singer’s desire for self-expression and identifies the hardships the singer faces in trying to conform to “the norm”.
The chorus spells out the artist’s feelings of angst and confusion: “If I can’t smoke or swear, I’m fucked/I’m stuck right between the green grass and the grey sky.” Here, the singer is conveying a sense of feeling lost, wanting to fit in but ultimately resigned to a feeling of angst and anxiety at not being able to reconcile their desires with the norms and expectations of their surrounding culture.
The song also speaks to the pressures the singer feels to stay young and embrace the status quo: “My body is on repeat/But I stay young while frowning down as I rise up not so sweet.” These words describe the feeling of being stuck in a cycle of never completely fulfilling your desires, while always trying to maintain an air of upbeatness and coolness.
Ultimately, the song conveys that it is okay to be different and to express yourself in different ways than the status quo may dictate; that being different can bring with it a sense of freedom and joy: “If I raise my voice like a riot/And open my door and I feel alive.”