I haven’t heard this song on the radio in too long. Sometimes you should really return to this song to just put things in perspective. It’s really good advice. If you have never heard this song, then hear it now. It’s not really a story, but it’s something everyone of any age needs to hear. Because everyone is free…to wear sunscreen.
Contrary to beliefs, this song comes not from a commencement speech but an editorial by Mary Schmich entitled “Advice, like youth, probably just wasted on the young”, published in the Chicago Tribune in 1997. You can read it here, where she opens with…
Inside every adult lurks a graduation speaker dying to get out, some world-weary pundit eager to pontificate on life to young people who’d rather be Rollerblading. Most of us, alas, will never be invited to sow our words of wisdom among an audience of caps and gowns, but there’s no reason we can’t entertain ourselves by composing a Guide to Life for Graduates.
I encourage anyone over 26 to try this and thank you for indulging my attempt.
The funny part is the guy this is attributed to, author Kurt Vonnegut, didn’t even give a commencement speech that year, at least according to the Wikipedia article I linked to in the opening paragraphs. In 1998, Australian musician Baz Luhrmann converted it into a song but it wasn’t until radio producer Aaron Scofield edited it into his “Modern Mix” show that it began to take off. This is the full-version, which contains sampling from Rozalla‘s “Everybody’s Free (To Feel Good)”, with Quindon Tarver on vocals (background singing, I think). The speech itself was read by “Australian voice actor Lee Perry”.
I hope this brought a little light into your day, or at least gave you something to think about.
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