12th July Seventeen going under

Known as an all out rocker that normally has thousands of people bouncing along with a mix of anger, frustration and passion, Sam Fender's most famous song has lyrics that go straight to the heart of the desperation many teenagers feel today, trapped in a downward spiral of drink, drugs and dead end lives. 

This wonderful acoustic version sung by Fender and fellow North East songwriter, Holly Humberstone, throws an added layer of poignancy into the mix, that just tugs at the heart strings.

The song chronicles Fender's life at 17 when his mother, Shirley was afflicted with firbomyalgia and became depressed because she could no longer work after 40 years of service as a nurse. Having become the owner of her apartment at 19 and having never missed a day at work, the Department for Work and Pensions (the DWP mentioned in the song) began harassing her with letters and treating her unjustly. 

Fender recalls: "That's when my rose-tinted glasses fell off." The song is a letter to his 17 year old self, explaining: "17 is when all the challenges begin: you're not a baby, but you're definitely not an adult able to solve the problem. And sometimes with everything going on around you feel as if you are going under."

I remember the sickness was forever
I remember snuff videos
Cold Septembers, the distances we covered
The fist fights on the beach, the bizzies round us up
Do it all again next week

 
An embryonic love
The first time that it scarred
Embarrass yourself for someone
Crying like a child
And the boy who kicked Tom's head in
Still bugs me now
That's the thing, it lingers
And claws you when you're down

 

I was far too scared to hit him
But I would hit him in a heartbeat now
That's the thing with anger
It begs to stick around
So it can fleece you of your beauty
And leave you spent with nowt to offer
Makes you hurt the ones who love you

 

You hurt them like they're nothing
(Oh, oh)
You hurt them like they're nothing
(Oh, oh)

 

See I spent my teens enraged
Spiralin' in silence
And I armed myself with a grin
'Cause I was always the fuckin' joker
Buried in their humor

 
Amongst the white noise and boys' boys
Locker-room talkin' lads' lads
Drenched in cheap drink and snide fags
A mirrored picture of my old man
Oh God, the kid's a dab hand
Canny chanter, but he looks sad

God, the kid looks so sad
God, the kid looks so sad

 

She said the debt, the debt, the debt
So I thought about shifting gear
And how she wept and wept and wept
Well, luck came and died 'round here

 
I see my mother
The DWP see a number
She cries on the floor encumbered
I'm seventeen going under

I'm seventeen going under
(Oh, oh)
I'm seventeen going under (oh, oh)
(Oh, oh)
I'm seventeen going under (oh, oh)
(Oh, oh)
I'm seventeen going under (oh, oh)
(Oh, oh)
(Oh)