Songs about hating schools
Classes are in session. Here are our picks for catchy tunes that speak to all facets of school life. One of these songs will reference your own elementary or high school experience with teachers, schoolwork, and the pressures of youth, whether you loved school or despised it.
15 Songs about hating schools
1. Jonathan Pearl Jam
This song is almost certainly going to be the first song that comes to anyone’s mind when they are asked to mention songs about hating schools.
Bullying and teen suicide are two critical topics addressed in Pearl Jam’s timeless grunge song. When Eddie Vedder sings about how Jeremy spoke in class, he is capturing the emotional torment that bullied high school students experience.
This song illustrates the significant challenges high school students face and how kids might use their own behavior to push their classmates to commit suicide. Additionally, this song was released before social media risks and online bullying.
When Pearl Jam released this now-classic song in 1991 to raise awareness about teen suicide and bullying in schools, they were considerably ahead of their time. It’s a fantastic song with a lesson that all can take away.
2. “I Dont Like Mondays by The Boomtown Rats”
This song, which was written by Bob Geldof of Live Aid fame, is about a real-life tragedy that Bob Geldof read about: Brenda Ann Spencer, a 16-year-old who shot children at a playground in San Diego.
Due to the tragedy, which led in the deaths of two adults and the injuries of eight children, Geldof was moved to write a song about children leaving school and heading to the playground only to be attacked by people.
3. “Little Things by Good Charlotte”
Lyrically, “Dont Stay in School by Boysinaband” is one of the best songs about hating schools.
This timeless song by Good Charlotte, who were famed for their punk rock anthems in the early 2000s, was written in honor of all the misfits and outcasts we all knew in high school.
The song itself addresses some rather serious issues surrounding high school bullying, however it does conclude with a hopeful message that teenagers who feel abandoned and alone may discover a glimmer of hope in the little things.
4. “Dont Stay in School by Boysinaband”
The purpose of this song was to start a conversation, and telling young individuals to drop out of school typically succeeds in that goal. In contrast to what we actually study in high school, the narrator raises some rather insightful issues.
Why should you learn how to vote but not physics? Shakespeare while neglecting one’s health? not how to set up a budget, but the solar system? Isotopes, but not parenting advice? He comes to the conclusion that inside the school’s walls, childhood is essentially wasted.
5. “No Such Thing by John Mayer”
High school guidance counselors frequently advise kids to exercise caution and choose safe careers, while Mayer advises his audience to think about a life that is less rational. He pursued his own dream, which brought him happiness.
6. “The Futures So Bright I Gotta Wear Shades by Timbuk3”
Timbuk3 used to sing about getting a job in nuclear science after high school before STEM was fashionable. The song celebrates academic success and a student’s eagerness to begin a career in a field of study that he had been considering since high school.
There is a drive today to get high school students interested in STEM, but in 1986 the narrator’s future seemed bright because he had a well-paying job in science waiting for him.
7. “Shameika by Fiona Apple”
Because it was named after a classmate who had comforted the singer when Fiona Apple was bullied by a bunch of high school students, this song satisfies the criteria for being a reminiscing song about school.
The “mean girls” who torment other students and the continual grind of coming to school while dealing with this bad fate make the setting in the song, sadly, a typical one for many high school females. Apple even acknowledges that she was unafraid of the high school bullies, which only made matters worse for her during this challenging period of adolescence.
8. “(She’s) Sexy & 17” by the Stray Cats
This 1983 favorite, which has a schoolboy declaring that he won’t go to school and doesn’t care about reading, writing, math, or history, is a continuation of the 1950s parody songs.
The narrator prefers to be with Marie, a girl who is seventeen and, you guessed it, sexy. For this young man, skipping class and hooking up are more important than learning from his teachers.
9. “The Homecoming Queens Got a Gun by Julie Brown
Julie Brown’s original hit tells the tale of her best friend, Debi, and the murdering spree she executes during the high school homecoming dance, ranging from a serious song about continuing in school to a funny spoof from the 1980s ridiculing the tragedy ballads of the 1950s.
Before being apprehended by police, Debi commits the act immediately after being named homecoming queen. Can this song be finished now? Most likely not. But back in 1984, only MTV youth could enjoy it as a novelty.
10. “Getting Better by The Beatles”
The Beatles’ introspective look back at their school days is a must-have on any such list. The struggles a young man has focusing on his studies are examined in the song, which is not dissimilar to Paul McCartney and John Lennon’s actual high school years.
The lyrics of “Getting Better” and the narrative about the narrator being restrained by the stringent regulations of his schooldays reflect the fact that both McCartney and Lennon were rule breakers.
11. “You Gotta Fight for Your Right To Party by the Beastie Boys
Probably every Gen-Xer associates their early high school years with this party anthem. With this song about staying up late and not wanting to go to school, The Beastie Boys rose to fame.
The ideal 1980s party song, this rebellious hymn brilliantly articulates why young teens would rather party with pals than attend classes, complete their homework, or sit through lectures on topics they have no interest in.
12. “Another Brick in the Wall by Pink Floyd”
Roger Waters’ voice and the background singing of youngsters create the ideal eerie protest against schools and the educational system in this song. The notion that youngsters do not require an education is amplified as a result.
This anti-school song examines the power teachers supposedly had over their charges and the idea that in the long run, pupils were just better off with them, reflecting Waters’ personal problems with the educational system.
13. “School Days by the Runaways”
Twenty years after Berry’s masterpiece, an all-girl punk rock band that would go on to produce a number of influential musical figures in the 1980s premiered this song with the same name.
Joan Jett, the band’s lead vocalist, views her wasted childhood from the perspective of an older and wiser eighteen-year-old. She expresses sorrow for not being on the honor roll, hating to do her schoolwork, and generally not caring about school until it was too late.
14. “School Days by Chuck Berry”
Chuck Berry’s legendary rock anthem describes how kids in the 1950s looked forward to hanging out with pals after the chore of going to school, arguing with teachers, dealing with pesky males in class, and passing difficult tests, right from its first few well-known guitar riffs.
Berry’s description of a regular high school day would end up inspiring “School Days” to become a rock and roll smash for youthful listeners at the time who could identify with it. This is one of he songs about hating schools i find interesting.
15. “Fifteen by Taylor Swift”
When Taylor Swift wrote this song, she was still in her teens. It is about a freshman high school student who is fifteen years old and the struggles she faces as she navigates life and school.
Teenagers are still in the process of coming to terms with who they are, and Swift’s country song captures this wonder and terror of first love while a person is still in high school and trying to figure out who they are. It serves as the ideal memory of young love and heartbreak.
