Nineteen fifty-eight was a very interesting year that included three songs of teen life, ones I remember thinking in my 1958 year of high school, "those sure are accurate." Summertime Blues by Eddie Cochran sure reflected the boredom of summer, of not seeing many other kids, having nothing to do, half wanting to be back in school for social reasons but half dreading having to go back to dealing with assignments and just being in school for the reasons of being in school--school work.
"Get a Job" by the Silhouettes, really reflected the anxiety of wishing so much to have a job to earn some money but having trouble getting one, the pain of being constantly turned down. Of course, having a job would also mean less time to mess around or meet with other kids. It's understandable that parents would rather have their kids working, so that they wouldn't have to give them allowances, their kids could earn money to buy their own things and learn responsibility.
Another song of the same year, "Yakety-Yak" by the Coasters was about the problems of parents and their kids, of listening to parents give order, telling their kids what to do and not do, one of the most irritating things in a kid's life. The teen years are the beginning of personal freedoms, but this is a difficult time for parents to accept as to just how much freedom they should have. Parents don't want to lose control, and they expect their kids to do their chores and other family responsibilities. But, as we grow up and have our own kids at the teen age, we do our own yakety-yaking and have to deal with our kids' defiances, complaints and shirking of doing their chore duties. Being on the other side of parent-kid conflict of the teen years is the most challenging period for parents, especially the earliest years of kids, ages 13-15. But, as the kids enter the ages when they can drive, go out at nights, meet with members of the opposite sex, party, those years parents have to deal with are filled with worries and concerns. Under what circumstances do we say "Yes" when our kid will ask, "Dad, can I have the keys to the car?" What do parents think when their daughter tells them she said yes to going out on a date with a boy we know nothing about? Every parent knows what might happen. What adult doesn't remember the hot hormones of a teenager?
So it goes. Songs reflect life. That's what we enjoy about music and creates and brings back memories--good and bad.