Barenaked Ladies – “The Old Apartment” Lyrics Meaning

“The Old Apartment” is a nostalgic trip down memory lane with a twist. It’s about someone revisiting their former home, now occupied by new tenants, and reflecting on the changes that have occurred—not just to the apartment but within themselves. The song captures the universal longing for the past, and the bittersweet realization that you can’t go back. The lyricist, weaving personal anecdotes with broader themes of growth and change, invites us to consider our own past haunts and the memories they hold. It’s a song about the passage of time, the impermanence of “home,” and the continuous search for identity amidst life’s inevitable transformations.

Curious about why someone would break into their old apartment and what it symbolizes? Keep reading as we unpack the layers of nostalgia, change, and personal growth hidden within this iconic song.


“The Old Apartment” Lyrics Meaning

Barenaked Ladies take listeners on a visceral journey through the remnants of a past life. The opening lines, “Broke into the old apartment,” show the desperation and longing to reconnect with a former self. The song masterfully uses the physical space of the apartment as a metaphor for the emotional and psychological changes that the protagonist—and, by extension, the listener—has undergone.

The questions posed to the new tenants, such as “Why did you paint the walls?” and “Why did you plaster over the hole I punched in the door?” are not just queries about alterations to the apartment. They symbolize the erasure of personal history and the attempts to cover up the scars left by previous experiences. The specificity of the memories, including the broken glass and the mousetrap, highlights how deeply personal objects and spaces become intertwined with our identity.

Breaking into the apartment where the protagonist no longer lives underscores a profound sense of displacement and the human instinct to reclaim pieces of our past—even when it’s impossible. The repeated line, “This is where we used to live,” serves as a poignant refrain, emphasizing the gap between past and present, between what was and what is.

The song also touches on the theme of moving forward, as evidenced by mentioning a new home on the Danforth, where the protagonist and their partner have built a new life. Yet, despite this progression, the yearning for the past remains a testament to the complex nature of human memory and attachment.

In essence, “The Old Apartment” is a bittersweet ballad that resonates with anyone who has ever left a piece of their heart in a place they used to call home. It speaks to the inevitability of change, the pain of letting go, and the enduring power of memories to define who we are.

The Story Behind “The Old Apartment”

At the heart of the songwriting process was a desire to capture the universal experience of returning to a place imbued with personal history, only to find it irrevocably changed. This theme resonates deeply with listeners, as it taps into the shared human experience of growth, loss, and the passage of time. The songwriter, drawing from personal anecdotes and a keen observation of human behavior, crafts a narrative that is both intimate and universally relatable.

The emotional depth of the song is further enriched by the context in which it was written. Amidst a significant change in the songwriter’s life, “The Old Apartment” served as a conduit for exploring feelings of nostalgia, displacement, and the quest for identity. It’s a reflection on the impermanence of “home” and the continuous evolution of the self amidst life’s transitions.

The choice to frame the song around the act of breaking into an old apartment serves as a powerful metaphor for the struggle to reclaim and come to terms with the past. It underscores the intensity of the protagonist’s longing for a connection to a former life, even as they recognize the impossibility of returning to it in any meaningful way.