12 Smiths Lyrics That Sum Up The Angst of Your 20s

My entire Christmas list this year was narrowed down to a Morrissey autobiography and "all The Smiths CDs," so suffice to say, I'm psyched that Morrissey has announced a U.S. tour this summer. That charming man abbreviated his last North American visit after suffering from a "respiratory infection," so I'm not going to miss out on my chance to buy all the tickets. Real talk, tho? Though my iPod has a sprinkling of Morrissey's solo work, I'm really a thousand times more infatuated with The Smiths, mostly because those lyrics apply to my weird 20-something angst.

And I doubt I'm alone in this. Chances are, if you are the same sad kid who spent their early teens are sulking hardcore with Marilyn Manson CDs, you will eventually make that indie rock transition into crying with The Smiths in your twenties. It's inevitable. And having taken many melancholy drives listening to the sound of The Smiths, I've collected a bunch of lines that you can really relate back to your current everyday problems.

So let's reflect together on these magical lines that fall out of this beautiful gentleman's mouth and into our soul. (Oh, and for the record, I only ended up with a "Best of" compilation album, but two Morrissey autobiographies. So... there's that.)

1. "And if the people stare/then, the people stare/oh I really don't know/and I really don't care"

The perfect mantra when you're at a bar and feeling extra brave from too many Dirty Shirleys, right before you drop your phone and vomit on your Doc Martens.

2. "So for once in my life/let me get what I want/Lord knows it would be the first time"

You missed the presale for Sleater-Kinney and broke your bank scalping off Stub Hub, so if you don't get good seats for The Smashing Pumpkins tomorrow you will spaz, I swear to god.

3. "I can surely rely on you/and yet you start to recoil/heavy words are so lightly thrown/but I'd still leap in front of a flying bullet for you"

The guy you're with is so clearly wrong for you and once borrowed your car to pick up his drunk ex-girlfriend from a party. You will still date him for another six months, minimum.

4. "I wish I could laugh/but that joke isn't funny more/it's too close to home and it's too near the bone/more than you'll ever know"

It's late. You're driving home from another family gathering (honestly, like you care about your cousin Katie's baby shower). The entire night was spent fielding "So, are you seeing anyone right now?" questions with playful, "Oh, no, I think I'm just going to end up a crazy cat lady" responses. But after the fifth time, it starts to wear thin, and you're left on this road, introspective, wondering if you'll really end up alone with your cats. And, more importantly, if you even really care.

Actually probably not. Monsieur Whiskers is the only person you can stand.

5. "She was left behind, and sour/And she wrote to me, equally dour/She said 'In the days when you were hopelessly poor/I just liked you more'"

It's been nearly half a decade, but you're still not over Arcade Fire becoming mainstream.

6. "Driving in your car/Oh please don't drop me home/Because it's not my home, it's their home/And I'm welcome no more"

You're kind of on the outs with your roommates right now because you haven't done the dishes in three weeks, so whatever, you'll stick it out with your cute OkCupid date a little longer.

7. "I started something/I forced you into a zone/And you were clearly/Never meant to go"

Applicable to every time you unsuccessfully repurpose your friend as a lover, or vice versa.

8. "Last night I dreamt/That somebody loved me"

It was your 9th grade honors English teacher. Weird. Now you won't be able to wash that uncomfortable image of seducing an eyebrow-less 56-year-old from your brain.

9. "There's a club if you'd like to go/you could meet somebody who really loves you/so you go, and you stand on your own/and you leave on your own/and you go home, and you cry/and you want to die"

You went to your friend's show with the vaguest hope that maybe you'll meet someone, but everyone who hits on you is a part-time bartender and lives in a garage.

10. "You just haven't earned it yet, baby/You just haven't earned it, son/You just haven't earned it yet, baby/You must suffer and cry for a longer time"

Maybe it's just that "millennial sense of entitlement" you always hear about in think pieces, but you kind of don't understand why things are terrible right now. Why can't I afford to move out of my parent's basement? Why can't I find someone to date who isn't a sociopath? People keep saying you need to pay your dues, but you've held five internships, was editor-in-chief of your college newspaper, been retweeted by George Takei twice, and still can't snag a full-time job.

11. "I was looking for a job, and then I found a job/And heaven knows I'm miserable now"

See, then you sent out a kajillion resumes to snag that perfect post-grad editorial assistant position, and once you finally got it you found it creatively stifling and soul-crushing. "I'm post punk," you whisper to yourself, fingers grazing about the keyboard, "why am I writing about Taylor Swift?"

12. "Well I can smile about it now/but at the time it was terrible"

Fourteen words that sum up your short stint as an art major.

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