It’s been exactly 23 years since the pop-punk legends Blink-182 released their hit song What’s My Age Again? Even though the chorus says “Nobody likes you when you’re 23”, fans can confidently say they still love this catchy song on its 23rd anniversary. However, even if you’re a seasoned fan, you might not know the lyrics as well as you think you do.
Most people think the lyrics in the first verse are: “I took her out, it was a Friday night. I walk alone to get the feeling right”. It’s a weird choice of words since “walked alone to get the feeling right” doesn’t make much sense. Despite this, many people were convinced that those were the lyrics.
What might be a shock is that the actual lyrics are: “I took her out, it was a Friday night. I wore cologne to get the feeling right”. Wearing cologne to set the mood for a date makes a lot more sense than walking alone to get the feeling right! It’s easy to see how “I wore cologne” can be misheard as “I walk alone”. However, that didn’t stop fans from despairing at this embarrassing mistake on social media.
One Twitter user confessed: “When I first heard what’s my age again, way back, I genuinely thought mark sang, ‘I walk alone, to get the feeling right”. Others chimed in and fessed up to getting the words wrong. It soon became a meme to replace the words “I walk alone” in other songs with “I wore cologne”.
“Check my vital signs, and know I’m still alive and I wore cologne”
— Ambrosia Salad Burnside (@Dano5988) February 18, 2019
The ‘walk alone’ meme gained so much traction that Mark Hoppus, the very man who sang those confusing words, acknowledged the phenomenon.
Due to personal reasons I will be wearing cologne to get the feeling right.
— Louis Winthorpe III (@markhoppus) February 17, 2019
He then added that if you thought it was ‘walk alone’, then you’re a fake fan.
Science fact: if you thought the lyrics were “I WALK ALONE to get the feeling right,” you are a Fake Fan™️.
— Louis Winthorpe III (@markhoppus) February 17, 2019
Of course, Mark is joking, you can still be a true fan and mishear lyrics. But on the anniversary of this catchy pop-punk hit, you might want to brush up on the rest of the lyrics to avoid any more embarrassing mistakes.
What’s the story behind What’s My Age Again?
Beyond the ‘walk alone’ mishap, the lyrics of What’s My Age Again? are incredibly specific and seem maybe a little personal. The song follows a man who is 23 years old but still acts like a child. He turns on the TV when he’s about to have sex with a girl, pulls pranks and jokes that annoy people, and is left wondering if he is acting his age. He finally concludes that he shouldn’t care what people think of him and embraces his childish nature.
The song was written by Mark Hoppus and was based on the fact that he was often pointed out as being ‘immature’. Although Mark declined to label the song as strictly autobiographical, it was certainly inspired by how he spent his twenties not really acting like a grown-up. But who likes being an adult anyway?
English student at Queen's University Belfast
