“What’s My Age Again” is about the struggle to develop in maturity at the rate that society expects you to.

A Wandering Mind

In the first verse, sung by Mark Hoppus, we hear:

“I took her out, it was a Friday night / I wore cologne to get the feelin’ right / We started makin’ out, and she took off my pants / But then I turned on the TV”

The second line is often misheard as, “I walk alone,” “I work alone” or even, “I woke alone,” although Hoppus personally cleared up the record with a tweet on February 17th, 2019: “Due to personal reasons I will be wearing cologne to get the feeling right.” This was the moment many fans realized their mistake, and it wasn’t even the first time Hoppus publicly corrected the misquote.

This first verse leaves the listener to wonder if the narrator is truly disinterested in the sexual situation or suffering from a mental disorder. The lyrics suggest that he’s unable to focus and turns to distractions, betrayed by deeply ingrained bad habits and seductively addictive technology-based media.

His girlfriend is not amused or endeared by his behavior as we find out when Tom Delonge joins Hoppus in the chorus:

“And that’s about the time she walked away from me / Nobody likes you when you’re twenty-three / And are still more amused by TV shows / What the hell is ADD? / My friends say I should act my age / What’s my age again? / What’s my age again?”

Although Mark was 26 at the time, as he explained in a Billboard interview, “It’s about being in my 20s and acting like a jackass teenager. It’s absolutely autobiographical. I still make prank phone calls, insult people, and put my foot in my mouth.”

The titular line might also be read as a show of narcissism as the narrator is unable to face the truth. He can’t accept how old he is and that he’s not behaving with the socially accepted level of maturity.

Giving Some Attention to ADD

This song puts a spotlight on the widespread issue of attention deficit disorder. When a person struggles to focus on what they’re doing and pay attention to the task at hand, it’s a frustrating struggle. You often don’t feel like you’re developing at the same rate as those around you, and it’s easy to forget how old you are.

The second verse describes more immature behavior in the form of a prank call used as an act of revenge or cruel joke:

“Then later on, on the drive home / I called her mom from a payphone / I said I was the cops and your husband’s in jail / This state looks down on sodomy”

Although sodomy wasn’t illegal in California at the time, it still was in 14 other states. But his prank runs awry as he is exposed by caller ID.

Just Be Yourself

The lyrics end on a hopeful note:

“That’s about the time that she broke up with me / No one should take themselves so seriously / With many years ahead to fall in line / Why would you wish that on me? / I never wanna act my age / What’s my age again? / What’s my age again?”

These lines are broken up by the refrain, “Please stay with me.” The message is to live your life, be yourself and don’t worry about what others think.

Lyrics

I took her out, it was a Friday night
I wore cologne to get the feeling right
We started making out and she took off my pants
But then I turned on the TV

And that’s about the time she walked away from me
Nobody likes you when you’re twenty-three
And are still more amused by TV shows
What the hell is ADD?
My friends say I should act my age
What’s my age again?
What’s my age again?

Then later on, on the drive home
I called her mom from a payphone
I said I was the cops and your husband’s in jail
The state looks down on sodomy

And that’s about the time that bitch hung up on me
Nobody likes you when you’re twenty-three
And are still more amused by prank phone calls
What the hell is call ID?
My friends say I should act my age
What’s my age again?
What’s my age again?

And that’s about the time she walked away from me
Nobody likes you when you’re twenty-three
And you still act like you’re in freshman year
What the hell is wrong with me?
My friends say I should act my age
What’s my age again?
That’s about the time that she broke up with me
No one should take themselves so seriously
With many years ahead to fall in line
Why would you wish that on me?
I never wanna act my age
What’s my age again?
What’s my age again?

What’s my age again?

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Mark Hoppus / Thomas DeLonge / Travis L. Barker

What’s My Age Again? lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc