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"Bastards Of Young" criticizes corporate America, modernity, and the Baby Boomer generation, all in one shot. It bears the oversimplified, melodramatic perspective one would expect from 26-year-old, perpetually disgruntled frontman, Paul Westerberg. Yet it also shows the subtle philosophical and emotional depth the Replacements are loved for.
The word "bastard" has multiple meanings. It can be a term for a despicable, unruly person. It's also a word for something that has been debased from its original form. Its original meaning was a person born to unwed parents, which used to be considered quite a terrible thing. It's unclear which meaning Westerberg is using in this song, and the ambiguity is amplified by the grammatically incoherent chorus:
Outside of that, the song is direct and straightforward.
The video for the song features a steady shot of a stereo speaker in a living room, the edge of a couch, a foot, a cigarette in someone's fingers, and then the legs of the faceless person as he stands, kicks the speaker over, and leaves the room. The video is black-and-white, a stylistic choice. The minimalism comes across as rebellion against the typical big-budget music video.
The "Bastards Of Young" video didn't get a lot of airplay, but according to Replacements biography Trouble Boys by Bob Mehr, it did create a lot of conversation among industry insiders. It presaged the long, combative relationship between MTV and the Replacements, who were always known for being unruly jerks - deliberately so.
Some have speculated that the chorus is actually, "We are the sons of Norway" (somewhat fitting, given the Minnesota birthplace of all members) but, (famously) as no lyric sheet was ever provided by the band, it remains speculation.
In Trouble Boys, Mehr identifies the song as "residue of Westerberg's Catholic upbringing." He specifies an allusion to the Biblical gospel of Matthew and an exploration of the vacuousness of fame and fortune.
Westerberg's little sister Mary played into the song's inspiration. At 18 she'd left their Minneapolis home to take a crack at being an actress in New York City. Westerberg saw this as her need to fill an emotional gap with the love and praise of strangers.
"It is sort of the Replacements feeling the same way… not knowing where we fit," he says in Trouble Boys. "It's our way of reaching a hand out and saying, 'We are right along with you. We are just as confused.'"
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