Released September 19, 2006 Length 3.28 | Genre Pop punk Label Jive/Zomba | |
Format Digital download, CD single Recorded May 15 - June 14, 2006
Ruby Red Productions
Atlanta, Georgia
Pulse Recording
Silverlake, California
Rosewater Studios
Tulsa, Oklahoma | ||
"High School Never Ends" is a song by the Texas pop punk band Bowling for Soup. The song was the first single from the group's ninth album, The Great Burrito Extortion Case, and was released on September 19, 2006. The song deals with the frustration of graduating from high school and seeing that modern popular culture is very similar to the obnoxiously superficial and materialistic culture in high school.
Contents
The tune had a prominent outside songwriter, Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne and Tinted Windows, working with the band.
Music video
The video starts with the members of Bowling for Soup as kids, playing the end of their song "1985" for a school talent show audition. The person running the auditions says into the microphone "Guys, don't give up your day jobs." Then they walk off the stage, and pass the popular kids, who say "You guys suck". Then, as the popular kids walk away, the young Erik Chandler says to the rest of the band "Don't worry, after high school, everything will be better."
The video then fades to present time with the band members going to their high school reunion. They arrive, instantly recognizing people from the past that bullied them. During a montage of the band members getting back at their former bullies, many flashbacks occur.
First, it shows a flashback of Gary Wiseman getting a wedgie by some bullies. Than they hang him by his underwear on the flag. Gary takes his revenge by taking the underwear of the bully and putting it over his head while he is still wearing it.
The next flashback is of Erik Chandler, getting a note reading "kick me" put on his back by a jock. Erik gets him back by putting the punch bowl sign ("Punch") on his back which starts a queue of people ready to take a punch, including a nun, a pimp and a knight in armor.
After a sequence mentioning celebrities of the time, Jaret Reddick invites on stage a popular kid who had embarrassed him at high school by pulling down his trousers in front of a girl he was obviously keen on, revealing his pink underwear. The payback is that the older popular kid is now exposed on stage as Jaret pulls his trousers down. The popular guy then explodes in embarrassment just after a strategically placed sign "too small for TV" appears over his lower body.
Finally, Chris Burney has a flashback of him getting slipped a laxative by a cheerleader and manages to get his own back by downing (in no particular order) a massive sub sandwich, a chili recovered from his trousers, a goldfish, a white mouse, gasoline, and a match. After jiggling around he then confronts the popular girl and presents the contents of his stomach upon her—by projectile vomiting.
Jaret completes the video by sticking a pick to his rather sweaty forehead.
Radio Disney edit
A separate edit of the song was recorded for Radio Disney, which altered the lyrics throughout: