Younger Generation lyrics

Why must every generation think their folks are square

And no matter where their heads are, they know mom's ain't there

'Cause I swore when I was small that I'd remember when

I knew what's wrong with them that I was smaller then

Determined to remember all the cardinal rules

Like sun showers are legal grounds for cutting school

I know I have forgotten maybe one or two

And I hope that I recall them all before the baby's due

And I know he'll have a question or two

Like, "Hey, Pop, can I go ride my zoom?

It goes two hundred miles an hour suspended on balloons

And can I put a droplet of this new stuff on my tongue

And imagine frothing dragons while you sit and wreck your lungs?"

And I must be permissive, understanding of the younger generation

Then I'll know that all I've learned, my kid assumes

And all my deepest worries must be his cartoons

And still I'll try to tell them him all the things I've done

Relating to what he can do when he becomes a man

And still he'll stick his fingers in the fan

And "Hey, Pop, my girlfriend's only three

She's got her own videophone and she's taking LSD

And now that we're best friends she wants to give a bit to me

But what's the matter Daddy, how come you're turning green?

Can it be that you can't live up to your dreams?"

• Artist:The Lovin’ Spoonful
• Album:Everything Playing (1967)