When We Were Young
| "When We Were Young" | ||
|---|---|---|
Alone XI cover art
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| Demo by Rivers Cuomo | ||
| Writer(s) | Rivers Cuomo, Josh Alexander | |
| Status | unreleased (fan recreations exist) | |
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This song is part of the "High as a Kite" lineage of songs
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"When We Were Young" (formerly "Second Chance") is a song written by Rivers Cuomo in collaboration with Josh Alexander.
Appearances
- Alone XI: The EWBAITE Years (2020)
Background
"When We Were Young" was demoed in the years leading up to the release of Weezer's 2014 album, Everything Will Be Alright in the End. The song is not currently in circulation, but has been played to fans, who have attempted to recreate the song by memory. The song's verse melody was later appropriated for the song "High as a Kite" from Weezer's eponymous Black Album in 2019. Early work demos (under the title "Second Chance") were released in 2020 as part of the demo compilation Alone XI: The EWBAITE Years.
The song's chorus melody has been compared to the 1967 song "A Whiter Shade of Pale" by British rock band Procol Harum. It is unknown whether this similarity was the reason for the song being reworked.
Fan re-creation
On September 25, 2018, All Things Weezer users Richard and MyNameIsLuke released a cover of "When We Were Young" under the moniker Social Exclusion.
Lyrics
 | I write these stupid words The lyrics for this song are incomplete or missing. Can you help us fill them in? If so, we encourage you to make a move! |
Yeah it used to be so simple
Yeah we thought we'd never die
But now it doesn't feel so simple
Anymore, anymore
Now the leaves have changed their colors
And the wind has come and gone
Now I'm not too sure of anything
Anymore, anymore
When we were young
It all came so easily
And ??? for the melody
We would never never ever fade away
Known recordings
| Performer(s) | Title | Filename | Date of recording | Recording location | Length | Appeared on | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rivers Cuomo | Second Chance | second chance 1.mp3 | 2011—2014 | 3:40 | Alone XI: The EWBAITE Years | ||
| Rivers Cuomo | Second Chance | Second Chance 2.mp3 | 2011—2014 | 1:34 | Alone XI: The EWBAITE Years | ||
| Rivers Cuomo | When We Were Young | Work 11-6-2012 13h44m17s.mp3 | November 6, 2012 | 1:05 | Alone XI: The EWBAITE Years | ||
| Rivers Cuomo | When We Were Young | Work 11-27-2012 17h5m3s.mp3 | November 27, 2012 | 1:51 | Alone XI: The EWBAITE Years | ||
| Rivers Cuomo | When We Were Young | When We Were Young 3.m4a | |||||
| Rivers Cuomo | When We Were Young | When We Were Young 6.m4a | |||||
| Rivers Cuomo | When We Were Young | When We Were Young 7 alt melod.m4a | |||||
| Rivers Cuomo | When We Were Young | When We Were Young 9.mp3 | |||||
| Rivers Cuomo | When We Were Young | When We Were Young 10.mp3 | |||||
| For additional recordings, see "High as a Kite" | |||||||