Used to Be One of the Rotten Ones and I Liked You For That

I won't necessarily admit to liking kitschy teenage songs with lyrics that show up on tumblrs or as Facebook statuses. But this is the exception to the rule:

Anthems for a Seventeen Year Old Girl

My first introduction to this song was purely an accident and it wasn't until years later that I learned that it was a song, rather than a poem or a phrase created from refrigerator magnets. My friend from early college, Irene, had "painted" some of the lyrics onto the wall of her dorm room, right next to mine. I didn't think to ask at the time where it was from; I just knew that I liked it.

Flash forward three years later.

I'm lying on the bed of the boy I like, after a long difficult day. I picked him up from BART and instead of going to a neighborhood meeting, we bailed to get Thai food for dinner. I offered to work on his back, in exchange for dinner. Next thing, I'm lying down in the dark, twinkling string lights overhead, music in the background. I sat up suddenly when I heard the lyrics. I recognized them immediately. It was only then that I learned where they came from.

The lines and music are stuck in my head, always taking me back to those moments of quiet, comforting darkness in his room with him. Those are the moments I live for, moments that leave me silent and in awe of the world around. Whimsical, weightless, sprawled out on your back with your hands cupping your head, drifting off to sleep. Peaceful.

Used to be one of the rotten ones
and I liked you for that
Now you're all gone, got your make-up on
and you're not coming back
Bleaching your teeth, smiling flash,
talking trash, under your breath
Park that car, drop that phone, sleep on the floor,
dream about me