From the recording Kids From The 'Burbs
At the end of Maryen's 2023 UK tour, she went into Echotown Studios with her mentor, legendary Rolling Stones producer Chirs Kimsey, and over the next 48 hours played 30 songs to a small audience whilst Chris captured the sound with an array of old fashioned vintage microphones. 9 songs have been cherry-picked for the first album (only available on vinyl until 3 May, when it will be fully released).
"Kids from the 'burbs is the true story of hanging out with my two best friends - who were in love - over the cold dark winter in Sydney when I was 15, and then the disintegration of their relationship due to the descent into addiction of one of them. It’s also about my own quest in life for more and the helpless futility of looking back at the past wondering what happened to old friends, friends who were in terrible trouble when last seen.
I wrote the song over 10 years later. I was living alone for the first time in my life and writing songs with my first cup of coffee in the morning… so I had the space to totally dive back into the past and remember how I felt at 15, and in this song I am back there with my friends, living in the moment. By telling the story, though, it’s obvious I’m older, I’m looking back at events and seeing them from a new perspective. I want people to remember that perspective changes, and also that we have a survival instinct that it is good to let kick in.
Lyrics
We were kids from the ‘burbs hanging out in the streets
Didn’t know what we were looking for
Everything out of reach, no one had a future
Didn’t wanna think about the past
My friend Michael with the shaggy hair fell in love with my friend Liz
And they were crazy and they were right
At fifteen this is how we lived
We hung out, we were out of it, we were bored, we got stoned
Had no money so we broke the law
Steal a car, hitch a ride, confident but no pride
Don’t think I even wanted more
My friend Michael with the laughing smile fell in love with my friend Liz
And they were crazy, street tough stick thin
At fifteen this is how we lived
This is how we lived, this is how we lived at fifteen
This is how we lived, this is how we lived at fifteen
Liz was my best friend, she was there for me and she understood the way I was
Too messed up in the head to take boyfriends to bed
Couldn’t leave the past alone
I went back to school, Liz and Mike still hung out
He became unreliable
Lovely Liz she was cool, eyes of stone, she’s no fool
She worked out what was going on
My friend Michael with the bedroom eyes making love to my friend Liz
So caught up in going down, harder habits was his new buzz
And this is how we lived, this is how we lived at fifteen
This is how we lived, this is how we lived at fifteen, at fifteen
Michael kept to his path, going down, going down
Happy in the world he lived
Thinner than you’d believe, in the park with company
Hustling takes up so much time
My friend Michael with the pinhead eyes always asking where’s my friend Liz
But he’s so busy filling the holes in his arms that he ain’t got no love to give
No love to give
And this is how we lived, this is how we lived at fifteen
This is how we lived, this is how we lived at fifteen, at fifteen
I left home, joined a band, I caught a plane to a distant land
Looking for another door
I fell in love, learnt to fight, got divorced, tried a wife
Always wanting more
My friend Michael with the love in his eyes, I never saw him again
He probably died years ago, well I guess I’ll never know for sure
But this is how we lived, this is how we lived at fifteen
This is how we lived, this is how we lived at fifteen,
This is how we lived, this is how we lived at fifteen, at fifteen
At fifteen