See Childhood Footage of Nikki Sixx in Video for New Song

The First 21: How I Became Nikki Sixx is the title of Motley Crue legend Nikki Sixx's upcoming memoir and now his band Sixx: A.M. have debuted a music video for the song inspired by the book, which features never before seen footage from the rocker's childhood.

The memoir looks back on Sixx's pre-fame days as Frank Ferrana and offers a fresh perspective on how he came to love and appreciate music with ambitions of one day forming his own band and becoming a rock superstar.

On "The First 21," Sixx: A.M. serve up a reflective song with a swaying tempo and theatrical atmosphere that feels a bit like a rock opera in the way everything builds up to climactic moments which match the theme of innocence and limitless dreams. The video, meanwhile, features various video clips off a child-age Sixx, interspersed with photos of the young adult and man he'd later become.

Watch the music video and read the lyrics for "The First 21" further down the page.

This track appears on the band's Hits collection (out Oct. 22) that also features five unheard songs and mixes in addition to standouts from the Sixx: A.M. catalog, which is intended to serve as a musical companion to Sixx's new memoir (out Oct. 19).

Pre-orders for the book can be placed here and to pre-order Hits, head to this location.

Sixx: A.M., "The First 21" Lyrics

When we were young
Well, the first 21
It's a criminal ride
Whatever you've done
You can get out alive
The first 21
Is it Heaven or Hell?
But who really cares
We were under a spell
The first 21
And those hot summer nights
We were high as the stars
Under big city lights
(When we were young)
But when we were young
We learned how to tell our own lies
Telling ourselves it was paradise
And sometimes we even believed it
When we were young
Was like nothing that we'd ever seen
Pushing ourselves to have bigger dreams
And sometimes we even believed it
When we were young
The first 21
Was a coming of age
We would take on the world
Like we're turning a page
The first 21
It's not what you think
Sometimes you fly
But sometimes you sink
(When we were young)
But when we were young
We learned how to tell our own lies
Telling ourselves it was paradise
And sometimes we even believed it
When we were young
Was like nothing that we'd ever seen
Pushing ourselves to have bigger dreams
And sometimes we even believed it
When we were young
But when we were young
We learned how to tell our own lies
Telling ourselves it was paradise
And sometimes we even believed it
When we were young
Was like nothing that we'd ever seen
Pushing ourselves to have bigger dreams
And sometimes we even believed it
When we were young
When we were young
When we were young
When we were young
When we were young
We were just 21
When we were young

Sixx: A.M., "The First 21"

Sixx: A.M., Hits Album Art + Track Listing

Better Noise Music

01. "Life is Beautiful"
02. "This is Gonna Hurt"
03. "Lies of the Beautiful People"
04. "Pray for Me"
05. "Rise"
06. "Stars"
07. "Maybe It’s Time"
08. "Skin"
09. "Belly of the Beast"
10. "Are You With Me Now"
11. "Girl with Golden Eyes"
12. "Accidents Can Happen"
13. "Gotta Get it Right"
14. "We Will Not Go Quietly"

Bonus Tracks

01. "The First 21"
02. "Talk to Me"
03. "Penetrate"
04. "Waiting All My Life"
05. "Skin" (Rock Mix)
06. "Life is Beautiful" (piano and vocal)