If you were around in the late 1990s, you definitely heard it. A slow, downtempo beat kicks in. Then, a calm, authoritative male voice delivers a line that has become a permanent part of the cultural zeitgeist: "Ladies and gentlemen of the class of '99: Wear sunscreen."
It’s a weird track. Honestly, it’s not even a song in the traditional sense. It’s a spoken-word essay set to a remix of Rozalla’s 1991 club hit "Everybody's Free (To Feel Good)." Yet, despite the lack of a chorus or any singing from the narrator, the baz luhrmann everybody's free lyrics managed to top the charts in the UK and Ireland, and it became a massive graduation staple in the United States.
But here’s the kicker. Most of the things people "know" about this song are actually wrong.
The Viral Hoax That Fooled the Internet
Before Baz Luhrmann ever got his hands on the text, these words were the subject of one of the internet’s first truly massive urban legends. In 1997, an email started circulating. It claimed to be a transcript of a commencement speech given by legendary author Kurt Vonnegut at MIT.
People loved it. It sounded like Vonnegut—cynical but warm, wise but slightly eccentric. The problem? Kurt Vonnegut never gave a speech at MIT in 1997. The actual speaker that year was Kofi Annan, the Secretary-General of the United Nations. Annan spoke about global politics; he didn't mention dental hygiene or Northern California once.
Vonnegut himself was reportedly amused but baffled by the whole thing. His lawyer was flooded with requests to reprint the speech, and Vonnegut eventually had to go on the record to say, "What I wrote was funny, but it wasn't my wittiness."
📖 Related: The A Wrinkle in Time Cast: Why This Massive Star Power Didn't Save the Movie
The Real Author: Mary Schmich
The actual person behind the baz luhrmann everybody's free lyrics wasn't a world-famous novelist. It was Mary Schmich, a columnist for the Chicago Tribune.
She wrote the piece for the June 1, 1997, edition of the paper. It was titled "Advice, like youth, probably just wasted on the young." Schmich has since explained that the idea hit her while she was walking along Lake Michigan. She saw a young woman sunbathing and thought to herself, "I hope she's wearing sunscreen."
That one thought spiraled into a hypothetical graduation speech filled with the kind of advice she wished she’d followed when she was twenty-something. She wrote it in a single afternoon, fueled by coffee and M&Ms.
How Baz Luhrmann Turned a Column Into a Hit
Baz Luhrmann, the visionary director behind Romeo + Juliet and later Elvis, didn't originally intend to make a global hit. He was working on a remix album called Something for Everybody.
His team, including producer Anton Monsted, came across the "Vonnegut speech" email. They loved the vibe and decided to set it to music. They actually spent time trying to track down Vonnegut for permission before they discovered the Chicago Tribune connection. Once they found Mary Schmich, they moved fast.
👉 See also: Cuba Gooding Jr OJ: Why the Performance Everyone Hated Was Actually Genius
They hired Australian voice actor Lee Perry to read the text. He wasn't a famous singer; he was a guy who did voiceovers. That choice was brilliant. Perry's voice has this specific "older brother" quality—authoritative but not preachy. It made the advice feel like a gift rather than a lecture.
Why the Lyrics Still Hit Hard Today
The reason the baz luhrmann everybody's free lyrics didn't just disappear into the 90s nostalgia bin is because the advice is actually... good. It’s practical.
Take the line about worry: "Worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum." It’s a ridiculous image, but it’s 100% accurate. Or the advice on aging: "Don't mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will look 85."
The song touches on themes that haven't aged a day:
- Comparison Culture: "The race is long, and in the end, it's only with yourself."
- Nostalgia: Schmich describes advice as a way of "fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts."
- Health: Flossing, stretching, and yes, wearing sunscreen.
It’s basically a three-minute therapy session.
✨ Don't miss: Greatest Rock and Roll Singers of All Time: Why the Legends Still Own the Mic
The Cultural Legacy and Misconceptions
Even decades later, people still quote this song during graduation season. It’s been parodied by everyone from Chris Rock (who did "No Sex (In the Champagne Room)") to various internet creators.
One of the most interesting things is how the song changed the text. In Schmich’s original column, she addressed the "Class of '97." By the time Luhrmann released the single in 1999, they changed it to the "Class of '99." This slight tweak helped the song feel current and contributed to its massive success that year.
Surprisingly, the song only reached number 45 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US, but its "airplay" was everywhere. You couldn't turn on a Top 40 station without hearing Lee Perry tell you to "do one thing every day that scares you."
Actionable Takeaways from the Sunscreen Speech
If you’re revisiting the baz luhrmann everybody's free lyrics today, don't just treat it as a trip down memory lane. There’s a reason this "song" has stayed relevant for nearly thirty years.
- Check Your Comparisons: In a world of Instagram and TikTok, the line "Sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind" is a necessary reality check. Your timeline doesn't have to match anyone else's.
- Focus on the Mundane: The song emphasizes things like flossing and being kind to your knees. It reminds us that big life happiness often comes from small, boring habits.
- Accept Unpredictability: "The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind." This isn't meant to be scary; it's a reminder to stop over-planning and start living.
- Wear the Sunscreen: Seriously. Dermatologists have been thanking Mary Schmich since 1997. It’s the only piece of advice in the song that’s actually backed by hard science.
Next time you hear that opening beat, listen past the 90s production. The wisdom in those lyrics isn't just for the class of '99—it's for anyone who's trying to figure out how to be a person in a chaotic world.
Next Steps for the Reader
To truly embrace the spirit of the song, try the "Tuesday Test": the next time you find yourself worrying about a hypothetical future disaster, remind yourself of the "algebra and bubble gum" line. Focus instead on one small, physical thing you can do for your future self today—whether that's flossing or, yes, finally putting on some SPF 30 before you head out the door.