Punk Rock 101 – English Lyrics

• By: Bowling For Soup
• Album: Songs People Actually Liked Vol. 1 - The First 10 Years (1994 - 2003)

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the world of English pop-punk with Bowling For Soup's "Punk Rock 101"! This catchy and humorous track is perfect for learning everyday English slang and expressions, particularly those related to music subcultures and youthful rebellion. Its direct, narrative lyrics and relatable scenarios offer a fun way to grasp conversational English, while the band's distinctive pop-punk style makes for an engaging listening experience.

[English]

(upbeat punk music)

♪ Rock ♪

♪ She works at Hot Topic ♪

♪ His heart, microscopic ♪

♪ She thinks that it's love ♪

♪ But to him, it's sex ♪

♪ He listens to emo ♪

♪ But Fat Mike's his hero ♪

♪ His bank account's zero ♪

♪ What comes next ♪

♪ Same song, different chorus ♪

♪ It's stupid, contagious ♪

♪ To be broke and famous ♪

♪ Can someone please save us ♪

♪ From Punk Rock 101 ♪

♪ My Dickies, your sweatpants ♪

♪ My spiked hair, your new Vans ♪

♪ Let's throw up our rock hands ♪

♪ For Punk Rock 101 ♪

♪ She bought him a skateboard ♪

♪ A rail-slide, his knee tore ♪

♪ He traded it for drums at the local pawn shop ♪

♪ She left him for staring ♪

♪ At girls and not caring ♪

♪ When she cried 'cause she thought Bon Jovi broke up ♪

♪ Same song, second chorus ♪

♪ It's stupid, contagious ♪

♪ To be broke and famous ♪

♪ Can someone please save us ♪

♪ From Punk Rock 101 ♪

♪ My Dickies, your sweatpants ♪

♪ My spiked hair, your new Vans ♪

♪ Let's throw up our rock hands ♪

♪ For Punk Rock 101 ♪

♪ Don't forget the delay ♪

♪ On the very last word ♪

♪ Seven years later ♪

♪ He works as a waiter ♪

♪ She married a trucker ♪

♪ And he's never there ♪

♪ The story never changes ♪

♪ Just the names and faces ♪

♪ Like Tommy and Gina ♪

♪ They're living on a prayer ♪

- Did you just say that?

♪ I said ♪

♪ It's stupid, contagious ♪

♪ To be broke and famous ♪

♪ Can someone please save us ♪

♪ From Punk Rock 101 ♪

♪ My Dickies, your sweatpants ♪

♪ My spiked hair, your new Vans ♪

♪ Let's throw up our rock hands ♪

♪ For Punk Rock 101 ♪

♪ It's stupid, contagious ♪

♪ To be broke and famous ♪

♪ Can someone please save us ♪

♪ From Punk Rock 101 ♪

♪ My Dickies, your sweatpants ♪

♪ My spiked hair, your new Vans ♪

♪ Let's throw up our rock hands ♪

♪ For Punk Rock 101 ♪

♪ It's stupid, contagious ♪ ♪ Same song, different chorus ♪

♪ To be broke and famous ♪

♪ Can someone please save us ♪ ♪ Same song, different chorus ♪

♪ From Punk Rock 101 ♪

♪ My Dickies, your rock hands ♪ ♪ Same song, different chorus ♪

♪ My spiked hair, your new Vans ♪

♪ Lets shoplift some sweatpants ♪

♪ For Punk Rock 101 ♪

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
rock /rɒk/ A1	noun - a large stone noun - a genre of popular music
heart /hɑːrt/ A1	noun - the organ in your chest that pumps blood
love /lʌv/ A1	noun - a feeling of strong affection verb - to have a strong feeling of affection for someone
save /seɪv/ A2	verb - to rescue or protect from harm
hair /heər/ A1	noun - the fine, threadlike strands growing from the skin of humans or animals.
new /njuː/ A1	adjective - recently made, invented, or developed.
broke /broʊk/ B1	adjective - having completely run out of money
famous /ˈfeɪməs/ A2	adjective - known and recognized by many people.
bought /bɔːt/ A1	verb - past tense of buy; to acquire something by paying for it
cried /kraɪd/ A1	verb - past tense of cry; shed tears, typically as an expression of distress, pain, or sorrow.
works /wɜːrks/ A1	verb - to perform labor or duty
married /ˈmærid/ A2	verb - to become someone's husband or wife
changes /ˈtʃeɪndʒɪz/ A2	verb - to make or become different
living /ˈlɪvɪŋ/ A1	verb - to be alive; reside
stupid /ˈstuːpɪd/ A2	adjective - lacking intelligence or common sense.
contagious /kənˈteɪdʒəs/ B2	adjective - likely to spread to and affect others.

Key Grammar Structures

• She works at Hot Topic

  ➔ Present simple tense for routines and facts

  ➔ The sentence uses the **present simple** to state a habitual action or fact.

• His knee tore

  ➔ Past simple tense for completed actions

  ➔ The verb **tore** is the past simple form of **tear** to indicate a completed action in the past.

• Let's throw up our rock hands

  ➔ Imperative with **let's** (let us) to make a suggestion or call to action

  ➔ **Let's** is a contraction of **let us** used to suggest or propose an action together.

• She left him for staring at girls and not caring

  ➔ Gerund form after the preposition **for**

  ➔ The phrase **staring** is the gerund form of **stare**, used after the preposition **for** to indicate purpose or reason.

• Like Tommy and Gina

  ➔ Preposition **like** to introduce examples or comparisons

  ➔ **Like** is used as a preposition to give examples or make comparisons between people or things.

• My spiked hair, your new Vans

  ➔ Possessive adjectives + noun to indicate ownership or relationship

  ➔ The phrases **My** and **your** are possessive adjectives indicating ownership.