21 and Invincible - Something Corporate

Artist: Something Corporate
Song: 21 and Invincible
Album: North

Some days go by, I wish I were famous
Or maybe religious, so I could go to heaven
Just like you
I can have a big house, complain about taxes
Payoff my ex's, ain't that living
No one makes fun of me, cause I can't stand up for myself

We're 21 and invincible
Can't wait to screw this up
We're 21 and invincible
I'm in power for the hour
I guess today's gonna blow us away

i've got a girlfriend
she tells me she needs me
and she loves me
we'll probably get married
oh no, and everyone will bit their tongues so hard they'll bleed

when mom hears this song
she'll tell me im crazy
and she'll say to me
"son you're much too young, go have some fun don't waste your youth like i did"

and whoa, 21 and invincible
whoa, can't wait to screw this up
and woah, 21 and invincible
i'm in power for the hour
i guess today's gonna blow us away

and it's been autumn since the day that i met you
if i had bottomed must i crawl out alone
and i dont wish you know the secrets of summer at all

and whoa, 21 and invincible
whoa, can't wait to fuck this up
and woah, 21 and invincible
i'm in power for the hour
i guess today's gonna blow us away


This is a song I first heard back in 2004, about a year after North came out. I chose it primarily because, like all the songs I will review, I enjoy it. Also though is that it has a relatively clear meaning, not withstanding a little detail.

As the title suggests this song is about growing up and, more specifically, the magical age of 21. Twenty one is an important age for several reasons, first, you can drink, but more importantly this is about the age you would graduate college. Even if you did not go to college by the time you are twenty one years old you are considered an adult and probably (living) on your own. Reaching twenty one years is a sign that you have come of age and this song is about dealing with being an adult for the first time. More specifically I think that it deals with the sudden exhiliration and nervous excitement that comes with reaching twenty one years old. This is especially reinforced by the fast energizing pace of the song. The aspect of invincibility might even supposed to be ironic - the nervous energy might make you feel invincible but in reality you are anything but, and I think the narrator demonstrates that throughout the song.

The chorus immediately shows the narrators nervous energy and the inevitability of him making some sort of mistake. This is the primary theme and reinforces the idea of invincibility being ironic.

The first verse seems to be the narrator reflecting on life and what it might have in store for him. He talks about houses, taxes, being famous - all things that one does or aspires to in (adult) life. More interesting is the line about going to heaven, "just like you." I think that religion fits in as another thing you are forced to think about as an adult (especially later in life) and so that would not be totally out of place, but the last little stanza about it is interesting. Is he talking to somebody else (maybe his girlfriend) or just people in general who are religious? And of course he cant stand up for himself because he is still young and learning how to live on his own.

The next two verses reflect another common element of growing up - falling in love and getting married. The biting of the tongues is supposed to reflect the bittersweet aspect of him getting married. Certainly its a beautiful thing when two people fall in love, but he is having a hard enough time managing his own life and might have trouble being married. The comment from his mother, "your much too young", is reinforcing the idea that first, he should probably wait to get married, and second, that he still has a lot to learn (about life). The fact that his mom considers twenty one years old to be his youth just adds to the conflict of growing up - he wants to start being an adult but here is mom is telling him that he shouldnt worry about that yet.

The last verse is the most perplexing of all. What does it mean, "Its been autumn since the day that I met you"? He must be talking about his girlfriend, does this imply that he met her maybe in the summer or spring and autumn has since passed? The next two lines dont make things easier to understand, did he actually "bottom out" or is it just a hypothetical situation? What are the "secrets of summer"? Further adding to the mystery is the connection to the "just like you" line in the first verse, might his girlfriends religion play some part in this verse?

My best guess is that he is being literal with that verse. He met the girl sometime in the spring or summer and autumn has since passed. He then asks that if he had "bottomed" or somehow messed up his life, would she have helped him? The secrets of the summer then are things that happened to him during the summer, probably trials of growing up, that he just doesnt want to share. One person on Song Meanings offered an interesting interpretation: Often love is compared to a summers day, and in this case he doesnt want her to know about it or maybe doesnt think their relationship is like a summers day. I reject this simply because he has already said that he loves his girlfriend and might marry her.

Other than that last verse the song seems pretty clear. The narrator is growing up and having trouble doing so, he is anything but invincible.

Someone from SongMeanings.net mentioned that, in a show, Andrew (McMahon - the writer of the song) talked about the meaning of this song. Apparently it was originally intended to be about being young and having the chances to mess up, thus being invincible. However, after Andrew was diagnosed with luekemia the song took on more of an ironic twist as he was anything but invincible. It is interesting that it was intended to be literally invincible. I think the invincible line definitely conveys more irony than anything else, but I can see how you can look at it from just the opposite view.

Also mentioned, and perhaps more correct than my interpretation, is about the go to heaven, "just like you" line. It makes more sense if he is talking too someone, a friend or relative, who has recently passed away. This would of course add to the list of worries that come with growing up.

So the meaning? It is about the tribulations of growing up and the inevitibility of making mistakes along the way. You can take the invincible line to be ironic or not - I think that it works both ways. Either you are not invincible because you make mistakes or the mistakes you make arent big enough to hurt you (yet) - and so you are invincible.