Below you will find the lyrics to a song called Lyrics to "Everybody is free to wear sunscreen". The lyrics were worked into a song by Baz Luhrman and the voice is by But the words were actually advice written by columnist called Mary Schmich.
The first time I heard this song was quite amazing for me. I was standing in an A & P supermarket feeling quite normal. When I heard the song and especially the lyrics I paused and listened very carefully. Although I wasn’t crazy about the music the spoken words blew me away. In the middle of this neon-lit supermarket surrounded by moody people, I started to smile and saw everything around me in a different light. For a moment I realized how much I had to be grateful for. Maybe the lyrics will do something –minor or major- for you too…
If you want
to download the song or want more info on the song check: http://www.stanford.edu/~calbear/sunscreen.html
On there
you’ll also find some fairly funny parodies.
Straight after the lyrics I have given my own ideas on some of the things that are said in the song.
Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of '97,
1. Wear sunscreen.
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it.
The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas
the rest of my advice has no basis or reliable then my own meandering experience.
I will dispense this advice....now.
2. Enjoy
the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind, you won't understand
the power and beauty of your youth until they've faded, but trust me in
20 years, you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you
can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you
really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine.
3. Don't
worry about the future, or worry, but know that worrying is as effective
as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles
in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind:
the kind that blindsides you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.
4. Do one
thing every day that scares you.
5. Sing.
6. Don't
be reckless with other people's hearts; don't put up with people who are
reckless with yours.
7. Floss.
8. Don't
waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind.
The race is long, and in the end, it's only with yourself.
9. Remember
compliments you receive; forget the insults. (if you succeed in doing this,
tell me how).
10. Keep
your old love letters; throw away your old bank statements.
Stretch.
11. Don't
feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life.
The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to
do with their lives; some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still
don't.
12. Get
plenty of Calcium. Be kind to your knees -- you'll miss them when
they're gone.
13. Maybe
you'll marry, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have children, maybe
you won't. Maybe you'll divorce at 40; maybe you'll dance the funky
chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary.
14. Whatever
you do, don't congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself, either.
Your choices are half chance, so are everybody else's.
15. Enjoy
your body: use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or what
other people think of it; it's the greatest instrument you'll ever own.
16. Dance...even
if you have no where to do it but in your own living room.
17. Read
the directions (even if you don't follow them).
18. Do not
read beauty magazines; they will only make you feel ugly.
19. Get
to know your parents; you never know when they'll be gone for good.
20. Be nice
to your siblings: they're your best link to your past and the people most
likely to stick with you in the future.
21. Understand
that friends come and go, but that a precious few should hold on.
Work hard to bridge the gaps and geography and lifestyle, because the older
you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.
Live in
New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard.
Live in
Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.
Travel.
22. Accept
certain inalienable truths: prices will rise, politicians will philander,
you too will get old; and when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were
young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble, and children respected
their elders.
Respect
your elders.
23. Don't
expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you'll
have a wealthy spouse, but you never know when either one might run out.
Don't mess
too much with your hair or by the time you are 40, it will look 85.
Be careful
whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice
is a form of nostalgia; dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from
the disposal--wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts, and recycling
it for more than it's worth.
But trust
me on the sunscreen.
1. Well I
dunno about that. I am sure it can’t hurt though I guess it’s importance
is dependant on where you live.
2. through
6. Yes, yup uhu etc.
8. Yeah,
I reckon jealousy eats you up. It is a hard nut to crack though. I sure
haven’t yet.
9. Maybe
I should started writing down the first ha ha! I always seem to forget
compliments quite quickly.
10. Yes,
definitely keep love letters, I am not sure why, even though I haven’t
read mine for years it still feels like the right thing to do? No, to tossing
bank statements. Throwing away bank statements has gotten me in trouble
with the taxman, the utility company and others. I reckon it depends on
how you live and how old they are.
11. I agree
that nobody should feel guilty if they don’t know what to do with their
lives. But it is good to know or to at least try to find out. Your life
can obviously be very interesting if you do know also.
12. Yeh.
Sometimes I wish I had spend my youth doing martial arts of gymnastics
rather than skating the day away.
13. My preference
goes to never even considering a “typical” marriage, I don’t think many
people are suited or capable to be together for life. But I would add,
whatever you do if you do get married get a pre-nuptial agreement!!!
14. I agree
with the first with the second only partially. I would like to believe
that to a fairly large extent one can be a master of their own destiny
by the choices one makes.
15. Hell
Yeah! 16. For sure. 17. Yup.
18. I like
reading these! I don’t feel ugly but that’s because I take only 20% of
the content serious and read the rest to laugh at it or to inform myself
of some trivial stuff.
19./20.
Sounds like very good advice to me except in those rare cases were your
family are truly undeserving of your attentions and are very unlikely to
change.
21. Definitely
and I would add that some rare friends can become family.
22. Acceptance
of these things sounds good but I wouldn’t want to condone all of them
since I think one could easily lapse into cynicism and apathy.
23. Hmm,
there is a lot that could be said about this and related topics such as:
unemployment benefits, voluntarily frugality, alternative living/building,
legal tax evasion, morality etc, but I won’t get into it here. Maybe another
time.