The Grouch song meaning

The narrator in this song is a man who's wasted his life and now all he can do is complain about it. He spends his days bitching about everything: his empty life, his apathy, his health...He even bitches about bitching ("I'm always rude, I got a bad attitude"). He exists, but he lost his will to live - he hates everything and drowns himself in regret and hatred. He realizes that he's turning out like his dad, which for him means becoming something that he hates. Now he hates everything, including himself.

Unfortunately, the character described in The Grouch is quite typical. Thousands of people who failed to fulfill their dreams end up with a "wasted youth and a fistful of ideals", and not all of them can cope with it. A lot of people turn into old grouches who can't or don't want to do anything with their life, and therefore hate the younger generation for still having the opportunity to do something good with their life. They believe that their age and misery give them the right to belittle the talents and abilities of younger people or people who are more successful in life. And they say "the world owes me, so fuck you", because that's the only way for them to convince themselves that their life is still worth something.