"History Lesson – Part II" is a song by the American

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

band

Minutemen Minutemen were members of the organized New England colonial militia companies trained in weaponry, tactics, and military strategies during the American Revolutionary War. They were known for being ready at a minute's notice, hence the name. Min ...

from the 1984 album '' Double Nickels on the Dime''. The song, written by

Mike Watt Michael David Watt (born December 20, 1957) is an American bassist, vocalist and songwriter. He co-founded and played bass guitar for the rock bands Minutemen (1980–1985), Dos (1985–present), and Firehose (1986–1994). He began a solo ca ...

, is about the relationship between Watt and singer D. Boon as they first played music together. The song is subtitled "Part II" as an earlier Minutemen composition titled "History Lesson" was included on their 1981 release, '' The Punch Line''. Watt claims he wrote the song to humanize themselves.

Lyrics

The song was penned by Watt and, as such, makes specific reference to Boon in the third person ("me and D. Boon, we played for years"). However, when the song was recorded, Boon performed lead vocals and changed the third person references to Watt ("me and Mike Watt, we played for years"). The lyrics, as printed on the cover of ''Double Nickels on the Dime'', contain the original references to Boon despite the difference in the actual recording. Additional references are made to E. Bloom of

Blue Öyster Cult Blue Öyster Cult ( ; sometimes abbreviated BÖC or BOC) is an American rock band formed on Long Island, New York, in the hamlet of Stony Brook, in 1967. They have sold 25 million records worldwide, including 7 million in the United States. ...

Richard Hell Richard Lester Meyers (born October 2, 1949), better known by his stage name Richard Hell, is an American singer, songwriter, bass guitarist and writer. Hell was in several important early punk rock bands, including Neon Boys, Television (band), ...

of the Voidoids,

Joe Strummer John Graham Mellor (21 August 1952 – 22 December 2002), known professionally as Joe Strummer, was a British musician. He was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist, and lead vocalist of punk rock band the Clash, formed in 1976. The Clash' ...

The Clash The Clash were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they are considered one of the most influential acts in the original wave of British punk rock, with their music fusing elements ...

, and

John Doe John Doe (male) and Jane Doe (female) are multiple-use placeholder names that are used in the British, Canadian, and American legal systems, when the true name of a person is unknown or is being intentionally concealed. In the context of law ...

of X, as well as to

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

Legacy

The song's iconic first line was used as the title of the book '' Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground, 1981–1991'', by

Michael Azerrad Michael Azerrad is an American author, music journalist, editor, and musician. As a graduate of Columbia University, he has written for publications such as ''Spin'', ''Rolling Stone'', and ''The New York Times''. Azerrad's 1993 biography '' Com ...

. The first stanza of the song also includes the line "Punk rock changed our lives." The band Sublime sampled this line for their song "Waiting for My Ruca" on their debut album '' 40oz. to Freedom''. Mat Honan of

Gizmodo ''Gizmodo'' () is a design, technology, science, and science fiction website. It was originally launched as part of the Gawker Media network run by Nick Denton. ''Gizmodo'' also includes the sub-blogs ''io9'' and ''Earther'', which focus on pop ...

has claimed the DIY ethos of the band as epitomized in this song "is a hacker mindset. It is geek-forward." In 2022, the band Horsegirl released a cover of the song.

References

1984 songs Minutemen (band) songs Sequel songs {{punk-song-stub