[Verse 1]

When I was only seventeen, 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 the pocket change would quickly disappear

Upstairs at Lowry's Tavern, 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

Now I look back and I have to smile 'cause, boy, it was fun

Bein' seventeen, wishin' I was twenty-one

[Verse 3]

And now I'm only twenty-six, feeling more like forty-three

My hairline's disappearing and I never get ID'd

My clothes are out of fashion, no, I'm not cool anymore

In the bed by ten o'clock each night and up at half-past four

Still, I go down to that college town when the Bulldogs play at home

I drink keg beer from a trash can 'til the whole damn thing is gone

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"