2011 Lyrics
I miss the days when we were young and not too wise
Only doin' what felt right
With open hearts and open eyes
I miss the days before I second guessed my life
Wasn't always asking why
I remember what it's like
[Pre-Chorus: Calum]
Maybe it's just too late for the old me
Maybe there's no point in holdin' on to something closely
I should let it go, I should let it fade
'Cause nothing lasts forever and nothing stays the same
[Chorus: All, Ashton]
Why do we complicate it?
Why do we get so jaded?
Can we just go back, go back to 2011?
(Can we go back?)
Why do we ruin our dreams?
Why do we sabotage things?
Can we just go back, go back to 2011?
(Can we go back) to 2011?
[Verse 2: Calum, Michael]
I miss the days when we could live outside our heads
Before we were all nervous wrecks
But that's the thing about regret
We used to talk about our lives
And all the things we didn't have
We fantasized about the future
But now we dream about the past
Maybe it's just too late for the old me
Maybe there's no point in holdin' on to something closely
I should let it go (Go), I should let it fade (Fade)
'Cause nothing lasts forever and nothing stays the same
[Chorus: All, Ashton]
Why do we complicate it?
Why do we get so jaded?
Can we just go back, go back to 2011?
(Can we go back?)
Why do we ruin our dreams?
Why do we sabotage things?
Can we just go back, go back to 2011?
To 2011
[Bridge: Calum, Calum & Ashton]
Back to the days when the days were better
Back to the days when the days were better
Back to the days when the days were better
Back to the days when the days were better
[Outro: All, Michael]
Back to the days when the days were better
(Back to the days when the days were better)
Back to the days when the days were better
(Back to the days when the days were better)
Back to the days when the days were better
(Back to the days when the days were better)
Back to the days when the days were better
(Back to the days when the days were better)
About
On “2011” 5 Seconds of Summer looks back at the beginning of their career after ten successful years together.
The band announced the song via their socials on November 30, 2021, as a celebration for the group’s ten year anniversary:
This Friday, we’re releasing a new song called “2011,” just for you. We wrote “2011” to celebrate 10 years of this band, 10 years of adventures through life, and most of all, 10 years of you, our fans. We love you, and we can’t wait for the next 10. Out everywhere December 3rd.
Drummer Ashton Irwin has also posted a drum teaser of “2011” months before the song’s release.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
On an interview with Random 30 Countdown, Michael Clifford commented:
It was really an amazing experience. We’ve worked with John Feldmann on this, who we did our first two albums with. This song, specifically, for us, we needed to make that it had to have that old school 5SOS feel, but also felt reminiscent of the third and fourth record, but also felt like it was pushing fowards as well. So, we wanted it to be this mix of everything. Feel like a throwback, but also moving fowards at the same time. We’re really, really proud of this one, and we bloody nailed it!
The narrative of the song is just, you have this tendency to look back on things with this super rose coloured glasses way of the past. It’s interesting, because we were finding the concept of saying 2011, and it’s not really that long ago, but, if you think about it, you were probably so different. My favourite part about it is that there’s no other band that could release a song like this, and for it to make sense. We connect with it, our fans definitely connect with it, and some of our Australian fans, who maybe have been there since 2011. It’s also fun, in a song, being able to just play into the fact that 2011 was, maybe, a better year. You could get jaded, and you grow up, and things fer a little bit more serious, so why not look on the past funly?
On a 2021 interview with Notion Magazine, the band’s bassist, Calum Hood, explained:
A lot of our music is very reflective, so it came second nature to be able to talk about something that’s so close to us in terms of our experience, because we live very similar journeys, yet everyone sees it from a different point of view. “2011” flowed very easily because it almost became, as we were writing the song, more selfless in terms of what you’re writing about – in terms of really just celebrating the people that have shared this journey with you. And it felt like we were not writing it for ourselves. We knew we were writing it for anyone that’s been a part of 5SOS’ first 10 years. And that was the amazing part. The way I feel life is, the present is always the best place that you can be. Although you might reminisce about the good old days, that’s those things that you learned then, and it’s why you’re in the position you are today. It’s just nice to be able to look back and give a subtle nod to it. And, you know, thank the lessons and thank people and keep moving forward.
Drummer Ashton Irwin added:
The masterplan was really wanting to create a song for the 10th anniversary that felt truthful to the beginning, middle and where we’re at now, but also looking inwards and asking how we release something that has the best bits of everything that we’ve done. That starts with asking who’s going to be on the team to create the song. Calum and Michael wrote that song, and Michael co-produced it with the producer who did the first two records, John Feldmann. That alone says to me that it was the right thing, that we were creating a hybrid between older relationships and new relationships, and releasing a single that would kickstart the next decade of our careers. Everything felt spot on – it’s truthful to the communication we’ve had with people we’ve worked with for a really long time.
The fact that we can still make a single together is still so cool. Songwriting relationships come and go, but we’ve been really lucky to have some really consistent songwriting and production relationships for our whole career. It’s a nice kickstart into the next chapter of what we get up to.