‘Baby Seat’ is a track from Barenaked Ladies’ 2000 album Maroon, their fifth record and the last to go platinum. The band had a pretty rapid decline following five straight hits between ’92 and ’00. They were a 90s act, through and through.
‘Baby Seat’ has an interesting lyric. The first verse and chorus seem to be about a woman who abandoned her child and hoped to sail through life without taking responsibility. Pretty straightforward.
But then we get a shift from second person to third person point of view in a verse that contains allusions to Jesus. OK.
The bridge and third verse bring us into first person, with another Biblical allusion but also references to Jack Kerouac and Bob Dylan.
Finally, the verses wrap up with a great line that makes the whole song worth it, no matter what the rest means: “If you think growing up is tough then you’re just not grown up enough, baby.”
You left Billy with the kid
And all the selfless things you did with Billy
You left your home town in the spring
And turned your back on everything
[Pre-Chorus 1]
You thought your life would just go by
Without a pause to wonder, don’t be silly
[Chorus]
But you can’t live your life in the baby seat
You’ve got to stand on your own, don’t admit defeat
[Verse 2]
He came down from his retreat
She saw him later on the street
He said “You are the only one
To recognize that I’m the son”
[Pre-Chorus 2]
So she bent down and kissed his feet
And then that night, between the sheets she told him
[Chorus]
You can’t live your life in the baby seat
You’ve got to stand on your own, don’t admit defeat
You can’t live your life in the baby seat
Aaaaah, aaaaah
[Bridge]
Forty days at sea
Then she turned and said to me
“If we make it back
I’ll renounce Jack Kerouac
And all of that romantic crap
Like I’m an artist, don’t look back”
[Verse 3]
Now we’re living somewhere else
We keep opinions to ourselves
But still we seek a sneaky peek at heaven
When the working week defeats us
If you think growing up is tough
Then you’re just not grown up enough, baby
[Chorus]
You can’t live your life in the baby seat
You’ve got to stand on your own, don’t admit defeat
You can’t live your life in the baby seat
Aaaaah, aaaaah
You can’t live your life in the baby seat
Aaaaah, aaaaah
Meet Me In Montauk 
That is a good line…