Top ten "school songs"

I guess rock and roll has always been aimed at the teen market , and hence school as a topic often features prominently in music lyrics. So here it is, my top ten school songs – very high calibre collection of songs today, and interestingly, many of these songs don’t portray school in a positive light:

PS - for those of you that requested it, I have now tried to include a link to youtube for the songs...not sure I got all of them working though, so you will have to cut and paste them in if they don't work.

 

10 - Smokin in the Boysroom – Brownsville Station

Sitting in the classroom, Thinking it's a drag

Listening to the teacher rap, Just ain't my bag

The noon bells ring, You know that's my cue
I'm gonna meet the boys, On floor number two!
Smokin' in the boys' room
Smokin' in the boys' room
Now,teacher, don't you fill me up with your rules
But everybody knows that smokin' ain't allowed in school

 

Not that I condone smoking, I don’t care for it at all, but this is some fast 70’s rock about sneaking into the boysroom to smoke.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9zWw0Ru28w

9 - Teenage Dirtbag - Wheatus

Her name is Noel

I have a dream about her
 She rings my bell
 I got gym class in half an hour
 Oh, how she rocks
 In Keds and tube socks
 But she doesn't know who I am
 And she doesn't give a damn about me
 'Cause I'm just a teenage dirtbag baby

This is probably not the sort of song I would usually like, but for some reason, I reckon this track is great. Popular in 2000, and featuring on the soundtrack to the film “Loser”, it topped the Australian charts for four weeks. And there is something about winning over the guy with tickets to Iron Maiden!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FC3y9llDXuM

 

8 - Bad Boy – The Beatles

He don't want to go to school and learn to read and write

Just sits around the house and plays the rock and roll music all night
 Well, he puts thumb tacks on teacher’s chair
 Puts chewin gum in little girl's hair
 Now, junior, behave yourself

A great cover by the Beatles, Bad Boy is the story of a very naughty boy. Great vocal performance by John on this track.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSTwxxfR3LE

 

7 - Baggy Trousers - Madness

Naughty boys in nasty schools

Headmasters breaking all the rules
Having fun and playing fools
Smashing up the woodwork tools
All the teachers in the pub
Passing 'round the ready-rub
Trying not to think of when
The lunch-time bell will ring again.

Its ska time!! Go on, you know you just wanna get up and dance about with this catchy little ditty. But what an unusual sounding school!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc3AovUZgvo

 

6 - School’s Out – Alice Cooper

School's out for summer

School's out forever
School's been blown to pieces
No more pencils
No more books
No more teacher's dirty looks

 Not so much a song about school as more a song about finishing school, this is a great piece of rock and roll.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qga5eONXU_4

 

5 - Remember the Days of the Old Schoolyard – Cat Stevens

Remember the days of the old schoolyard

We used to laugh a lot, oh don't you
 Remember the days of the old schoolyard
 When we had imaginings and we had
 All kinds of things and we laughed
 And needed love... yes, I do
Oh and I remember you

And, Mr Stevens, (or Mr Islam) is able to bring us back on track with a nice little trip down memory lane that has positive memories of school.  He gets the number five spot on my list.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFwDEqLQ0bA

 

4 - Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard – Paul Simon

See me and Julio down by the schoolyard

The joy about having a blog is that you can make up your own rules for lists that you compile – and then promptly break them!! This song is not really about school, but Paul and Julio were down by the schoolyard, so that’s good enough for me. It was against the law though!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6VrKro8djw

 

3 - Another Brick in the Wall – Pink Floyd

We don't need no education

We dont need no thought control
No dark sarcasm in the classroom
Teachers leave them kids alone
Hey! Teachers! Leave them kids alone!

Wow – a song this great can only make it to number three on the list! Tells you how much I like the other songs on here. Such dark and sinister lyrics, this song is a great lyrics. I don’t have the Wall album that it is from, but I have heard that the track that precedes this one on the album also has a lot of school references.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34ZmKbe5oG4

 

2 - School Days – Chuck Berry

Up in the mornin' and out to school

The teacher is teachin' the Golden Rule
American history and practical math
You studyin' hard and hopin' to pass
Workin' your fingers right down to the bone
And the guy behind you won't leave you alone

Probably the most comprehensive analysis of school on this list, as it tracks a full day of school activities, this is such a great track.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHG5-GxI_Es

Daddy Cool also did a good cover.

 

1-      Caught in the Crowd – Kate Miller-Heidke

It was after school in the afternoon

The corridors were crowded as we came out of the rooms
Three guys I knew pushed him into the cement
Threw away his bag and said he had no friends
He yelled that he did and he looked around
Tried getting up but they pushed him on down
That's when he saw me, called out my name
And I turned my back and just walked away
Yeah, I turned my back and just walked away

  So we reach number one – possibly a controversial choice when I have overlooked such rock and roll luminaries as Chuck Berry, Pink Floyd and the Beatles, but this song really has made an impact on me. I remember the first time I heard it – I was in a shopping centre doing some shopping and was listening to this catchy song that just rolls along, but was intrigued that in the chorus she kept apologising. And then the twist in the song – the lyrics I have listed above – come through and hit you like a sledgehammer. Wow. Bullying is a very emotive issue and lots of people have suffered the effects of it in their lifetime, and I really think this song needs to be heard and understood more. So it tops my list of school songs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIDarYJHCpA

 

What would be on your list? As always I look forward to hearing your feedback/comments and other suggestions.

The bell just rang, so school is out...Until next time…