Boomer's “We Grew Up Different”

Lyrics

G’day kids… sit down for a minute. You lot with your phones and your safe spaces… let me tell you how we actually grew up. Born in the fifties and sixties… we lived in a different Australia. We rode bikes with no helmets till the sun went down, Mum yell from the front door when the streetlights turned brown. Climbed trees, built cubbies out of old tin and scrap, Fell off and got up with a bandaid and a slap. No seatbelts in the car, windows down, wind in our hair, Dad smoking, Mum laughing, not a single care. We grew up different, yeah we grew up free! No screens, no likes, just you and me! We learned to be tough, we learned to be fair, In a world that’s gone now… it just isn’t there! One income bought a house when you were twenty-three, A car in the driveway and still money left for tea. Jobs were plenty, wages actually grew, You could buy a home on a factory wage — imagine that view! We drank from the garden hose… tasted like iron and adventure. Played footy on the street till someone’s mum called “Dinner!” No organised sport every night — we made our own games. Lost a few teeth, got a few scars… and we were proud of the names. You could disappear for hours and nobody panicked on an app… They just knew you’d be home when the hunger hit your gut. We grew up different, yeah we grew up free! No screens, no likes, just you and me! We learned to be tough, we learned to be fair, In a world that’s gone now… it just isn’t there! Four TV channels and that was plenty, We argued over the remote like it was worth twenty. Got lost on family holidays with a paper map, Asked strangers for directions — imagine that! No Google, no trackers, no constant control, Just freedom, scraped knees, and a stubbie for the soul. We fixed our own bikes. We climbed roofs. We knew every kid in a five-block radius by name. Boredom wasn’t a curse — it was the mother of invention. We built go-karts out of prams and wood. We fought, we made up, we learned how to be mates. Now they’ve got padded playgrounds and anxiety at eight. We weren’t perfect, we made our mistakes, But we learned resilience in our own way. No trigger warnings, no safe spaces then, Just get up, dust off, and try it again. We grew up different, and we turned out alright! No Google, no TikTok, but we survived the night! We played outside, we took real risks, Made memories that your generation misses! We grew up different — yeah the world was wide, Before the screens took over and the freedom died… But we’re still standing, still telling the tale, Of the lucky generation that rode the boom trail! So next time you roll your eyes at us old blokes, Remember… we grew up in a world that actually let kids be kids. We weren’t softer. We weren’t luckier in every way. But we damn sure grew up different. And that made us who we are. Now pass me another snag… and turn that bloody phone down. Yeah… we grew up different… and we’re still here.