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You Don’t Know What You Got

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You Don’t Know What You Got Lyrics

One of the underlying themes of all the recent blink-182 tracks is how they reference classic material, adding to these echoes of the past with new melodies and hooks. ‘You Don’t Know What You Got’ leans on reflections of ‘Adam’s Song’ and ‘Always’.

The song’s chorus could easily have been ‘you don’t know what you got ’till it’s gone’, and you can feel the emotion of how close it all way in this song. Thankfully, the outcome was different and the line closes with ”till it’s almost gone’.

The lyrics tackle Mark Hoppus getting his cancer diagnosis – ‘One phone call wiped out a year’ – and talks about both the aggressive effects of the treatment and the desire for reconciliation. It’s a powerful and emotive track, yet still bangs out a big stomping beat for the anthemic chorus.

It feels like this is the album we all needed, the band and fans alike!

Listen to blink-182 – ‘You Don’t Know What You Got’.

You Don’t Know What You Got Lyrics

One phone call wiped out a year
Like waves swept under the pier
Long weeks of impending doom
Stuck in life’s waiting room

Always so close to goodbye
Pushed so far over the line
No new light under the moon
Stuck in life’s waiting room

You don’t know what you’ve got
You don’t know what you’ve got
You don’t know what you’ve got
’Til it’s almost gone
You don’t know what you’ve got
You don’t know what you’ve got
You don’t know what you’ve got
’Til it’s over

Another day in the life
You can’t look me in the eye
There’s nothing left you could say
It wouldn’t help anyway
This poison skin you can’t touch
Go on without me, my love
No kiss to send you away
It wouldn’t help anyway

You don’t know what you’ve got
You don’t know what you’ve got
You don’t know what you’ve got
’Til it’s almost gone
You don’t know what you’ve got
You don’t know what you’ve got
You don’t know what you’ve got
’Til it’s over

I begged for your forgiveness
I made a deal with God
I took you all for granted
You can write my epilogue

You don’t know what you’ve got
You don’t know what you’ve got
You don’t know what you’ve got
’Til it’s almost gone
You don’t know what you’ve got
You don’t know what you’ve got
You don’t know what you’ve got
’Til it’s over

And over, And over, And over
And over, And over, And over
And over, And over, And over
And over, And over, And over

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Written by Fenton on 22nd October 2023

Steve Fenton writes in our music, words, and culture categories. He was Editor in Chief for The Mag and covered live music for DV8 Magazine and Spill Magazine. He was often found in venues throughout the UK alongside ace-photographer, Mark Holloway. Steve is also a technical writer and programmer and writes gothic fiction. Steve studied Psychology at OSC, and Anarchy in the UK: A History of Punk from 1976-1978 at the University of Reading.