When I was only 17
Couldn’t wait for 21
I’d hang around on Clayton Street
In the bars there getting drunk
A baseball cap and a fake id
Would get me in the club
Then I would dance with the college girls and lie about who I was
I’d say I’m pre-med here at UGA, live on Milledge Avenue
I was raised over in Buckhead, I drive a BMW
I was breaking hearts and taking names and numbers just for fun
Stealin’ kisses, wishing I was 21
Thursdays came and pocket change would quickly disappear
Upstairs at Lowery’s Tavern we’d pay a nickel for the beer
Shooting pool, smoking cigarettes
With a dizzy head and a grin
4am on a school night, still hanging out with my friends
One hour sleep on a dirty couch,
No shower, off to school
Smelling just like a brewery, with a bad hangover, too
The teachers all would hassle me
Stay awake, pay attention
I was catching hell, wishing I was 21
The youngest one of all my friends
I didn’t act my age
To cool for the football games and homecoming parades
Now I look back and I have to smile
Because, boy, it was fun
Being 17, wishing I was 21
Now I’m only 26, feeling more like 43
My hairline’s disappearing,
And I never get ID-d
My clothes are out of fashion
No, I’m not cool anymore
In the bed by ten o’clock each night
And up at half-past four
Still I go down to that college town
When the Bulldogs play at home
I drink keg beer from a trashcan
‘Til the whole damn thing is gone
Then I look at all those college girls
So innocent and young
I just check ‘em out and say,
“Damn, I wish I was 21”