Entertainment

You Need This Song On Your 4th Of July Playlist

by Alex Kritselis

Looking for some new music for your Fourth of July playlist? Look no further: Bonnie McKee's "Wasted Youth" is just the song you've been searching for. The inspirational mid-tempo anthem, which appears on McKee's new Bombastic EP, reminds listeners to live in the moment and make the most of their time here on Earth, because, as we all know, you only live once (that's the closest I'll ever come to making a "YOLO" joke, by the way). It's not exactly a groundbreaking message for pop music, but no one delivers it quite as powerfully as McKee — which doesn't surprise me. After all, the 31-year-old singer-songwriter has co-penned massive No. 1 hits for artists like Katy Perry and Britney Spears — she knows her way around a good pop tune!

In a recent interview with Idolator, McKee called "Wasted Youth" the most personal song on Bombastic and opened up about what its lyrics mean to her:

It’s about, it sounds very cliché, but it’s much deeper than it sounds. We’re all as young as we’re ever going to be, right this second, right in this moment and right now I’m older than I was five seconds ago. It’s just about really taking advantage of the moment and enjoying your youth and not wasting it. There’s a celebratory party vibe about it.

On the first verse and chorus, McKee sings:

They say youth is wasted, wasted on the young

So then tell me why are we having so much fun?

Oh, the midnight dreamers falling into love

In our torn up sneakers, yeah, we were born to run

So I'm begging you

Hold on, hold on to your wasted youth

Hang on, hang on 'cause it's gone so soon

So let's get it while we're young

The last minute and a half or so of "Wasted Youth" is going to make your spirit soar like a firework — I can almost guarantee it. Happy Fourth of July, indeed.

McKee's Bombastic EP is available on iTunes and Spotify now.