[Verse 1]

When I was only seventeen, I couldn't wait for twenty-one

I'd hang around on Clayton Street in the bars there, gettin' drunk

A baseball cap and a fake ID would get me in the clubs

Then I would dance with the college girls and lie about who I was

I'd say, "I'm pre-Med, here at UGA, live on Milledge Avenue

I was raised over in Buckhead, I drive a BMW"

I was breakin' hearts and takin' names and numbers just for fun

Stealin' kisses, wishin' I was twenty-one

[Verse 2]

Thursdays came and thе pocket change would quickly disappear

Upstairs at Lowry's Tavеrn, we'd pay a nickel for every beer

Shootin' pool, smokin' cigarettes with a dizzy head and a grin

At 4 AM on a school night, still hangin' out with my friends

One hour's sleep on a dirty couch, no shower, off to school

Smellin' just like a brewery with a bad hangover too

The teachers all would hassle me, "Stay awake, pay attention"

I was catchin' hell, wishin' I was twenty-one

[Bridge]

The youngest one of all my friends, I didn't act my age

Too cool for the football games and the homecomin' parades

[Verse 3]

Now I'm somewhere in the gray of middle class and middle age

The man in the mirror looks more like my father every day

My clothes are out of fashion, my hair is gettin' thin

And my favorite conversation starts with "I remember when"

Still we go down to that college town, dancin' at the '80s bar

We drink until we feel a whole lot cooler than we are

Then I look at all those college girls, so innocent and young

And I just check 'em out and say, "Damn, I wish I was twenty-one"