Billy Idol’s “Sweet Sixteen” Lyrics Meaning
“Sweet Sixteen” is based largely on Billy Idol’s study of an early 20th century Latvian immigrant to the United States named Edward Leedskalnin. Leedskalnin was what people refer to as an eccentric. What that meant in his particular case for instance is that he survived on a diet of sardines and crackers and singlehandedly built a still-extant tourist attraction known as Coral Castle even though, formally, he only had a fourth-grade education.
But more importantly as far as this song is concerned, dude was left standing at the altar in his homeland by one Agnes Skuvst (aka Agnes Scuffs). It was apparently said event which prompted him to migrate stateside in the first place.
And he also built the above-mentioned Coral Castle as a tribute to what he referred to as his “Sweet Sixteen”. And yes, Skuvst was in fact 16 years old when that whole marriage fiasco went down (compared to Leedskalnin’s 26). But according to Leedskalnin’s own explanation of “Sweet Sixteen”, it was more of an ideology than an actual person, considering that he was seriously into female purity and things of the such.
Billy Idol’s Narrative
But Billy Idol had taken the whole Coral Castle narrative more literally, as if Leedskalnin had built it directly in honor of Skuvst. So for example, in the first section of the song, the singer alludes to be jilted at the altar, just as Edward was. After that though the lyrics become more ambiguous for a bit.
But the latter half of the first verse going into the pre-chorus and chorus imply that the vocalist has never gotten over his “sweet sixteen” and will “do anything” to please her. Or looked at more precisely based on the historical backdrop of the song, he implies that he actually “built a candy castle” for her. Indeed when looking at the Coral Castle it doesn’t appear to be particularly habitual but more like a really cool place to chill.
And along that same line of thought, the second verse appears to illustrate just how futile the singer considers Leedskalnin’s efforts to be. Or as he metaphorically puts it, “memories will burn you”. And overall, the vocalist doesn’t present one’s brain being filled with thoughts of old as a positive thing. Or put plainly, it can be ascertained that Idol perhaps thought that Leedskalnin had become unconstructively obsessed with Skuvst.
Billy finds Leedskalnin’s Situation Relatable
But it’s like still, he can totally relate. That’s why the bridge switches from the third person to first-person perspective. You see, at the time this song was dropped, during the 1980s, Billy had his own “sweet sixteen” in his life, a lady by the name of Perri Lister.
This is not to imply that Perri left Billy at the altar. In fact they never actually married despite being in a decade-long relationship. Nor does it mean that she had dumped Billy, as he lets on in said passage. Rather it’s more like he could empathize and sympathize with what Leedskalnin went through.
Or put differently, just as Coral Castle served as Leedskalnin’s tribute to Skuvst, this song is meant to serve as Billy Idol’s “memorial” to Perri Lister (even though at the time they were still together).
Conclusion
So there you have it. Behind the relatively-complex lyricism at hand, we have, simply put, a love song. Moreover the lyrics have an actual, even if a bit stretched, historical context, being based on the story of a real-life man.
And at the end of the day, as far as the thesis sentiment is concerned, it can be said that Billy Idol really feels sorry for what Edward Leedskalnin went through, as he seemingly never got over, even for a single day, his “sweet sixteen”. Or as Idol explained in his own, non-musical words, this tune is based on a feeling of “heartfelt lament”.
In all, Billy sympathizes greatly with Edward Leedskalnin over his inability to ever get over a love he lost.
Music Video
There are two music videos to this track. The first one, a black-and-white affair, was directed by an individual named Peter Sinclair. And the second was shot in color but even more notably featured actual footage from Coral Castle. In fact there are reportedly pics on display at the castle from when Idol and co. filmed said visual.
Writing Credits for “Sweet Sixteen”
“Sweet Sixteen” was written exclusively by Billy Idol. And the producer of the song is Keith Forsey.
On which Billy Idol album does “Sweet Sixteen” appear?
This track is from Billy’s third album, “Whiplash Smile”. Chrysalis Records originally released it with the rest of the project on 20 October 1986. And the following year they also issued it as the third single from the album.
This song was a notable hit, charting well in the record charts of over a dozen countries. Where it peaked highest was on the German Singles Chart, getting as high as second place on the list. But it also appeared on the Billboard Hot 100 and UK Singles Chart, breaking the top 20 in both cases.
Who is Perri Lister?
The aforementioned Perri Lister is a British dancer who dated Billy Idol throughout the 1980s. In fact she gave birth to Idol’s first child, Willem Wolf Broad, in 1988.
Coral Castle
One of the reasons that to this day Coral Castle is officially listed as a ‘Historic Place’ by the US government is because no one seems to be quite sure how Edward Leedskalnin constructed the site, considering that he was a petite man who didn’t employ any help.
Indeed it is not actually a castle but rather a bunch of carved, organized rocks, “each weighing several tons”, with some even being stack on top of others. In fact scientists have even studied the site looking for clues on how the Stonehenge and the Great Pyramids of Egypt were constructed.
Moreover it wasn’t like Billy Idol just stumbled across the story of Edward Leedskalnin just like that. Rather Coral Castle was featured on a 1981 episode of a television show called “In Search of…” which dealt with subjects like unexplained phenomenon.
