I've got this idea,
let's go chase a band
See the world and travel
drive around in a van

Friends from all over the world
are starting to make plans
I'm trying to please 'em
to keep up with their demands

Who should we invite?
I've got a pretty good idea
though we both doubt your parents
though they've been so good to me

Will they be able to adapt
when there's things they can't control?
But not inviting ain't an option:
They say they'd love to see the world

I know you and your mom
it never works so well
'cause she wants all attention
when you've got something to tell

Half of the group
seems to have a thing to hide
All their hidden agenda's
put discomfort in your mind

And while everyone's excited
your folks only complain
There'll be way too much driving
and I bet it's gonna rain

He never saw the biker
he never reads the signs
He doesn't see the people
when the birds are flying by

But they were here in the seventies
They've been here before
but I've been living here, and I know
The seventies are gone

We're not a unit anymore
but they fail to comprehend
how it's shaking you uip
yet you fully understand

Something has to be said
I'm done with all this shit
none of this is normal
just because you're used to it

And when I carefully speak up
they say it's just a bunch of lies
they ask around of what is true
and everyone denies

They've been breaking you down
now it's breaking us up
But you won't let me deal with them
to make sure it'll stop

I've long said goodbye
but to this day they still complain
I've been holding my thunder
now I'm gonna make it rain

MOTIVATION

I had the idea to go chase a band on tour since 2008. When I'd gotten many more friends who were fan of the same band I managed to get it all organized so it'd be affordable for everyone. I discussed with my fiancee who we'd invite though we both had serious doubts whether her mom and dad would be able to adapt and realize it'd not be something they organized so they'd have to give in. We both agreed that not inviting them would be impossible due to everything they'd been giving me.

When organizing this it'd turn out that whatever was decided, it'd be wrong in the eyes of her mother. Would there be plans to go sightseeing we'd have to leave early, would we leave early we'd have to go sightseeing. During the actual holiday it turned out that many more people had claimed one thing but actually wanted the other. On top of that I knew her mom would put more pressure on my fiancee than she could handle, but in the end the entire group fell apart because of ridiculous decisions made by her parents. My fiancee understood, but felt horrible due to agreeing with everyone yet it still being her parents she cared for.

There was a lot of discussion about driving. Her dad considered himself the best driver out there, though he damaged the rental van several times, was incapable of following directions from a GPS and even though her mom had the map she couldn't read one for shit. Everyone was really excited about the plan, but we heard nothing but complaints from her parents which put a huge damper on everything. Then there was the girl who was bisexual and kept trying to hit on my fiancee, the typical American who "wanted to see culture and travel with friends" yet all she did was listen to music on her iPod and que up 5 hours before the others did. I spoke up to her parents and mentioned only the frustrations in regards to the driving they did and all hell broke lose. No one admitted to saying a word about them, and her dad would deny ever having complained about anything, even though he'd bitched to me about his wife's constant yapping and repeating of other people's directions pretending she'd found out herself.

What was supposed to be a brilliant holiday turned out to be quite the disaster due to 2 people not being able to adapt to an entire group and just simply being to old to keep up with the rest. Spontaneous decisions hade to be discussed over and over again and no matter what advice you gave, they knew better "because they'd been in Europe before" even though that was in the seventies, and you know, the world has changed a bit.

My fiancee told me to no longer try to talk to her parents, and as a result her parents, and especially her mom went absolutely insane with their actions, contacting friends of mine to tell them how nasty I'd been about them, even people who hadn't been involved were told of how horrible I was. At the wist of my fiancee I kept everything to myself despite a big part of my life being turned upside down due to them not being able to deal with critisism. I've long kept my silence, but decided that this song would mark the start of me starting to talk

EXPLANATION

"Though we both doubt your parents" refers to me and my fiancee lying in bed discussing who we'd invite. We were both questioning as to whether it'd be a smart idea to invite both her parents on a trip they didn't organize as anything beyond her mom's control or understanding would be bitched about to no extent.

"There'll be way too much driving and I bet it's gonna rain" are two complaints which were repeated endlessly both before and during the trip. Before a concert it'd probably be raining, during a stay in the city it'd be raining, and the driving was just too much, despite her mom encouraging everyone to drive more for more shows. It got to the point where someone else started making jokes about the rain complaints and her mom not picking up on how it was annoying but actually starting another conversation about it.

"She wants all attention when you've got something to tell" refers to her mom always, always trying to outdo her daughter in whatever her daughter was better at. Her daughter spoke Spanish? Her mom spoke Italian. But BETTER! The list was endless, and this resulted into her daughter not feeling comfortable talking when her mom was in the room, as her mom would constantly try to outdo her all the time.

"His experience with 18 wheelers never really shows" refers to her dad bringing up how he'd been a truckdriver for many years and thus being a really good driver, while it never really showed when he was driving. The only one who thought he was a good driver was his wife, all the others were fed up rather soon with his incapabilities of following directions, not following signs and just really, really slow driving.

"He doesn't see the people when the birds are flying by" refers to an Italian flipping her dad off when he was on the Italian highway slowing down to 90 km/h before an exit to have a look on the map his wife had on her lap while all other cars were passing him by at 130 km/h. He never picked up on it, and never noticed when he wasn't keeping up with other traffic.

"They were here in the seventies" refers to her mom bringing up how they'd been to Europe plenty of times in the seventies, so her knowing what Europe was like. Yet every small thing that was different to America had to be explained plenty of times due to her failing to understand a concept behind it or just being too stubborn that some things were better than in her home country.

"None of this is normal just because you're used to it" refers to my fiancee trying to calm me down and saying it'd always been that way. I refused to accept this, none of it was normal and I had no intention of being part of a family where 1 person dicates the atmosphere when being together in a group. Trying to convince my fiancee on how it wasn't normal was a lot harder than it should be as she'd never known any different situation.

"They've been breaking you down and now it's breaking us up" refers to her mom and dad trying to break their own daughter so she'd break up with me and they'd be able to gain control over their own lives, but more importantly, their own lies. Her own daughter put in print all the things they'd said and yet they flat out denied ever having said certain things, and would convince her I was the worst person in the world, a thing she eventually started to believe.