5 Songs From the 20th Century That Prove Feeling Like You Don’t Fit in Is a Timeless Experience

Some aspects of songwriting—technology, social norms, etcetera—can quickly become outdated and antiquated. But certain emotions and experiences transcend the boundaries of time, including feeling like you don’t quite fit in. Plenty of people were feeling that way in the 1960s and 70s. And these five incredible songs from those two decades prove it.

Here’s to all the fellow weirdos, loners, and introverts from any and all time periods.

“I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times” by The Beach Boys

Few songs feel as true and authentic to Brian Wilson’s innermost thoughts as “I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times”. And ironically, it’s one of his most universally relatable tracks. Not everyone can fully connect to sunny songs about surfing and hanging out with cute girls on the California coast. Most of us can relate to feeling out of place and awkward. Maybe even like we weren’t born at the right time.

“I keep lookin’ for a place to fit in where I can speak my mind / and I’ve been tryin’ hard to find the people that I won’t leave behind.”

“At Seventeen” by Janis Ian

For most of us, high school is one of the key times in our lives when we feel like we don’t belong. And unfortunately, that’s true no matter what decade you were a teenager in. If you weren’t conventionally attractive, it was likely even worse. Janis Ian’s “At Seventeen” encapsulates these feelings with a heartbreaking clarity that some of the unluckier amongst us know all too well.

“I learned the truth at seventeen that love was meant for beauty queens / and high school girls with clear-skinned smiles / who married young and then retired.”

“I’m Not Like Everybody Else” by The Kinks

The Kinks, as their band name would suggest, built their career on being a little bit more eccentric than everyone around them. Their 1965 track, “I’m Not Like Everybody Else”, was a proud testament to this fact. Sure, they didn’t quite fit in. But why did that have to be a bad thing? Even six decades later, this song still serves as an empowering anthem for oddballs everywhere.

“I don’t want to ball about like everybody else / and I don’t want to live my life like everybody else / and I won’t say that I feel fine like everybody else / ‘Cause I’m not like everybody else.”

“Help!” by The Beatles

The Beatles’ 1965 track “Help!” was one of the earliest instances of John Lennon imbuing his songwriting with a sense of emotional vulnerability. He wrote this song during a particularly low point in his life. But it serves as a help-ful reminder that it’s okay to reach out and ask for support when you need it. In fact, it’s one of the best things you can do.

“Help me if you can, I’m feeling down / and I do appreciate you being ‘round / help me get my feet back on the ground / won’t you please, please help me?”

“People Are Strange” by The Doors

Jim Morrison of The Doors took great pride in going against the grain, even when it got him arrested. “People Are Strange” is a bit tamer of a take on this rebellious spirit. But it captures the feeling of what it’s like to walk amongst people with whom you feel like you have nothing in common. It can be a lonely, somewhat scary experience, and one that this song captures quite effectively.

“People are strange when you’re a stranger / faces look ugly when you’re alone / Women seem wicked when you’re unwanted / streets are uneven when you’re down.”

Photo by Earl Leaf/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images