Little Boxes

Little Boxes, by Malvina Reynolds

Little boxes on the hillside,
Little boxes made of ticky-tacky,
Little boxes, little boxes,
Little boxes, all the same.
There's a green one and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one
And they're all made out of ticky-tacky
And they all look just the same.

And the people in the houses
All go to the university,
And they all get put in boxes,
Little boxes, all the same.
And there's doctors and there's lawyers
And business executives,
And they're all made out of ticky-tacky
And they all look just the same.

And they all play on the golf-course,
And drink their Martini dry,
And they all have pretty children,
And the children go to school.
And the children go to summer camp
And then to the university,
And they all get put in boxes
And they all come out the same.

And the boys go into business,
And marry, and raise a family,
And they all get put in boxes,
Little boxes, all the same.
There's a green one and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one
And they're all made out of ticky-tacky
And they all look just the same.

***

Hearing this song when I was young I think turned me off the idea of living in the 'burbs forever. I was talking to a friend tonight about how horrifying the idea of buying a house is. And it's not just that we can't imagine buying a house today, it's buying a house at any time. When my mother was my age she would be married within two years. The idea of getting married any time in the distant future is an extremely foreign and peculiar idea to me.

Is it just that the timetables for our lives have changed since our parent's generation, or is the change something more? As a whole, do our generation want the same things as our parents (if at different times in our lives), or do we want something completely different? I know personally that the thought of 'settling down' in a nice McHouse in the suburbs at any point brings with it an almost visceral feeling of repugnance. Are there actually people my age out there who strongly desire this 'average', middle-class family life that politicians are so eager to appeal to?

I wouldn't mind living in a yellow or blue house, as long as it isn't a little box and as long as it is not made out of ticky-tacky.

Thoughts/comments/rants on the subject people?