"Graduate" is a song by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Third Eye Blind Third Eye Blind is an American rock band formed in San Francisco, California, in 1993. After years of lineup changes in the early and mid-1990s, the songwriting duo of Stephan Jenkins and Kevin Cadogan signed the band's first major-label reco ...

from their eponymous debut studio album (1997). It was released to radio as the second single from the album in July 1997 by

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the 1 ...

. Frontman Stephan Jenkins and guitarist

Kevin Cadogan Kevin Rene Cadogan (born August 14, 1970) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and guitarist. A founding member of the band Third Eye Blind, he performed with the band from 1993 to 2000. He co-wrote some of Third Eye Bl ...

are credited as co-writers on the song. Production on the song was helmed by Jenkins and

Eric Valentine Eric Dodd, known professionally as Eric Valentine, is an American record producer who began his career as drummer and producer in the heavy metal band T-Ride. He subsequently produced albums for artists such as Good Charlotte, Lostprophets, Tak ...

. According to Jenkins, the song is about the band's experience after being signed to a major record label. The song reached number 26 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in the U.S, and number 14 on the

Hot Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...

chart. Additionally, it was featured in the 1998 film ''

Can't Hardly Wait ''Can't Hardly Wait'' is a 1998 American teen romantic comedy film written and directed by Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont. It stars an ensemble cast including Ethan Embry, Charlie Korsmo, Lauren Ambrose, Peter Facinelli, Seth Green, and Jenni ...

'' starring Seth Green and Jennifer Love Hewitt. The band played the song at the 25th Annual American Music Awards, changing some of the lyrics to "can I

masturbate Masturbation is the sexual stimulation of one's own genitals for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation may involve hands, fingers, everyday objects, sex toys such as vibrators, or combination ...

" in place of "can I graduate." In 2011 former Third Eye Blind members Cadogan and Arion Salazar performed the song and made an unofficial video.

Writing and inspiration

"Graduate" was written by frontman Stephan Jenkins and guitarist

. According to Cadogan, the song originated from a bandmate jokingly saying the phrase "It's ready to roll!!", with Jenkins then crafting the lyrics "can I graduate?" in the same style. In an interview with ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'', Jenkins said that the concept of the song was developed through the band's experience as they tried to get signed by a major record label. He further explained the meaning of the song:

"Graduate" is about after we got signed, and it’s the process of getting signed. I’m still standing in front of some suit at a record company asking permission. I felt like some kind of lap-dancer, some student again, like I was still in high school. Can I get my grade on my paper? What it's really saying is "I’m not really asking if i can graduate. I'm not asking for your permission. I'm beyond your permission. I'm beyond your control.

Composition

According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by

Alfred Publishing Alfred may refer to: Arts and entertainment *'' Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series * ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne * ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák *"Alfred (Interl ...

, the song is written in the key of

D major D major (or the key of D) is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor. The D major scale is: : Ch ...

and is set in

time signature The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...

of common time with a

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

of 141

beats per minute Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ( ...

. Jenkins’s vocal range spans one octave, from A₄ to B₅.

Chart performance

In the United States, "Graduate" peaked at number 26 on ''Billboard's''

Mainstream Rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent the middle ground between classic rock and active rock ...

chart.

Live performances

The song was performed at the 25th Annual American Music Awards, with the band substituting the lyric "can I graduate" with "can I masturbate". Third Eye Blind performed the song alongside

Billy Idol William Michael Albert Broad (born 30 November 1955), known professionally as Billy Idol, is a British-American singer, songwriter, and musician. He first achieved fame in the 1970s emerging from the London punk rock scene as the lead singer o ...

at the 1998

KROQ Weenie Roast KROQ Weenie Roast is a multi-artist music concert, presented annually in May by the Los Angeles, California, modern rock radio station KROQ-FM. Since its beginning in 1993, it has been traditionally held on a Saturday in May or June, but due to th ...

. In January 2020, the band performed the song as a duet with

Yungblud Dominic Richard Harrison (born 5 August 1997), known professionally as Yungblud (pronounced "Youngblood"), is an English singer, musician, songwriter and actor. In 2018, he released his first EP, ''Yungblud'', followed shortly after by the albu ...

at the Roxy Theatre. Jenkins has acknowledged that "Graduate" is a staple on their performance set lists, further commenting: "I'm not sick of layingit because the audience, they ignite off of it."

In popular culture

The song was featured in the film and on the soundtrack to the 1998 American

teen Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with the te ...

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

film ''

''.

Track listings and formats

*European CD single #"Graduate" – 3:08 #"Graduate" (remix) – 3:25 #"Horror Show" – 4:00 *Australian CD single #"Graduate" – 3:12 #"Semi-Charmed Life" (clean version) – 3:43 #"Semi-Charmed Life" – 4:30 #"Graduate" (remix) – 3:27 *Japanese CD single #"Graduate" – 3:08 #"Semi-Charmed Life" (clean version) – 3:42 #"Semi-Charmed Life" – 4:27 *7–inch vinyl #"Graduate" – 3:08 #"Horror Show" – 4:00

Credits and personnel

Credits and personnel are adapted from the ''Third Eye Blind'' album liner notes. * Stephan Jenkins – writer, vocals, percussion, producer *

– writer, guitar, vocals *Arion Salazar – bass, vocals *Brad Hargreaves – drums *

– engineering, producer, mixing *

Ted Jensen Ted Jensen (born September 19, 1954) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered many recordings, including the Eagles' ''Hotel California'', Green Day's '' American Idiot'' and Norah Jones' ''Come Away with Me''. Biography Ted ...

– mastering

Charts

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Graduate (Song) 1997 singles Song recordings produced by Eric Valentine Songs written by Stephan Jenkins Songs written by Kevin Cadogan Third Eye Blind songs