Song Details
- Album Release Date: 2012
- Genre: piano
Song Meaning of “Young and Foolish” by Bill Evans
Young and Foolish is a track by jazz pianist Bill Evans that appears on the album Everybody Digs Bill Evans. It is a melancholic jazz standard composed by Arnold B. Horwitt and Arthur Altman.
The lyrics of the song tell the melancholic story of youth and the naivety that comes with it. The protagonist reflects on the shortness of life and the fleeting nature of their time spent being young and foolish. They look back on mistakes made in their youth, acknowledging the wisdom that comes with age and experience. As the lyrics suggest, it is inevitable that one day you have to “walk away and never look back.”
The song carries a sense of regret, but also what could be interpreted as a positive message of acceptance. The narrator accepts the choices they’ve made and looks back on their life with a sense of maturity and understanding. They ultimately know that life is full of mistakes and to forgive themselves for any bad decisions they made in their youth.
Overall, Young and Foolish is about coming to terms with the mistakes and experiences of youth—and the path forward in life. As the last line in the song goes: “We just had to learn in order to understand.”