It is a song about aging, or “rolling through life, to roll over and die,” and the somber reminiscing of happier days, or “remembering things just to tell 'em so long.” Because of the reverb and the hypnotic ‘la la’s, “Salad Days” has a dreamy, lazy sound. In Mac DeMarco’s song, he sings about how he has moved past the salad days era of his life and has already gone past the peak of his career. Therefore, an individual is in their salad days when they are in their prime and are young and naive. Salads are “fresh, crisp, and usually green” (Merriam-Webster, n.d.), which are all characteristics associated with youth and vitality. The first of the 11 tracks on Salad Days is “Salad Days.” But, what does the phrase, “salad days” mean? “Salad days” was a phrase first used by William Shakespeare in his play Antony and Cleopatra.
