Wear Sunscreen

"Advice, like youth, probably just wasted on the young", commonly known by the title "Wear Sunscreen",[1] is an essay written as a hypothetical commencement speech by columnist Mary Schmich, originally published in June 1997 in the Chicago Tribune.[2] The essay, giving various pieces of advice on how to live a happier life and avoid common frustrations, spread massively via viral email, is often erroneously described as a commencement speech given by author Kurt Vonnegut at MIT.[3]

The essay became the basis for a successful spoken word song released in 1997 by Baz Luhrmann, "Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)", also known as "The Sunscreen Song".[4][3] The song reached number one in Ireland and the United Kingdom and inspired numerous parodies.

  1. ^ Alvarez, Justin. ""Wear Sunscreen": The Story Behind the Commencement Speech That Kurt Vonnegut Never Gave". Open Culture. Retrieved January 31, 2014.
  2. ^ Schmich, Mary (June 1, 1997). "Advice, like youth, probably just wasted on the young". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 28, 2020.
  3. ^ a b MacNeill, Kyle. "How we made: 'I thought it was a speech by Kurt Vonnegut': Baz Luhrmann on making Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)". The Guardian. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  4. ^ "The Sunscreen Song (class of '99)" is used as an alternative title on the cover of the single; see also the single's "Editorial Reviews" on Amazon, and "The Cyber-Saga of the 'Sunscreen' Song" by the Washington Post.