Anthem, Pt. 2

Album: Take Off Your Pants And Jacket (2001)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song is about authority and how if your parents make bad decisions they come back to haunt you. >>>
    Suggestion credit:
    Myles - Morecambe, England
  • This follows the same theme as blink-182's song "Anthem," which closed their breakthrough 1999 album, Enema Of The State. While part one was about adolescents yearning for adult freedom, part two blamed adults for any of the negative consequences that might follow when they actually get a taste of it. When guitarist Tom DeLonge wrote the tune, he tapped into his own experience of experimenting with alcohol as a minor and getting expelled as a result.

    "I was thinking about how when I was in high school, I got kicked out for drinking," he told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer in 2001. "And I didn't even drink a lot. I drank, like, once, and I got caught. My parents were ultra conservative and they just went berserk on me. And I remember going, 'Hey, if I'm really that messed up as a kid, then you guys should be blaming yourselves a little bit too and not taking it all out on me.'"
  • During the making of the album, DeLonge was listening to a lot of post-hardcore bands like Fugazi and Refused, which influenced the heavier sound of the tracks.
  • This was used in the movies Boyhood (2014) and Stick It (2006).
  • Alt-rock singer-songwriter Julien Baker covered this for the digital compilation Save Stereogum: An '00s Covers Comp in 2020.
  • The album cover features three icons representing each of the three members of the band - a pair of pants for DeLonge, a jacket for bassist Mark Hoppus, and an airplane for drummer Travis Barker. Barker - who would survive a plane crash that killed four fellow passengers in 2008 - was upset by his symbol because he had an extreme fear of flying, but he eventually relented.
  • Jerry Finn, who produced the album and its predecessor, Enema Of The State, is also known for mixing/engineering Green Day's major label debut, Dookie. To support Take Of Your Pants And Jacket, Blink split the bill with Green Day on the Pop Disaster Tour in the spring of 2002.

Comments: 5

  • Sarah from San Luis Obispo, CaI love this song.. It always inspires me when I'm feeling low... :) Makes me want to just go out there and be who I am
  • Tim from Utica, NyI love this song, but i dont see how it has to do with living in the suburbs and waiting to turn 21. maybe waiting for 18 and voting and people listening to what u have to say?
  • Sashana from Nowhere, United Statesawesome, i can really realte to it and i love the like line, "If we're ****** up, you're to blame."
  • Ben from Niagara Falls, NjNumber one song ever
  • Kelly from Edmonton, Wythis the best song ever
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Andrew Farriss of INXS

Andrew Farriss of INXSSongwriter Interviews

Andrew Farriss on writing with Michael Hutchence, the stories behind "Mystify" and other INXS hits, and his country-flavored debut solo album.

Jethro Tull

Jethro TullFact or Fiction

Stage urinals, flute devices, and the real Aqualung in this Fact or Fiction.

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: Tarantino Edition

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: Tarantino EditionMusic Quiz

Whether he's splitting ears or burning Nazis, Quentin Tarantino uses memorable music in his films. See if you can match the song to the scene.

Mike Rutherford (Genesis, Mike + The Mechanics)

Mike Rutherford (Genesis, Mike + The Mechanics)Songwriter Interviews

Mike Rutherford talks about the "Silent Running" storyline and "Land Of Confusion" in the age of Trump.

Donald Fagen

Donald FagenSongwriter Interviews

Fagen talks about how the Steely Dan songwriting strategy has changed over the years, and explains why you don't hear many covers of their songs.

Soul Train Stories with Stephen McMillian

Soul Train Stories with Stephen McMillianSong Writing

A Soul Train dancer takes us through a day on the show, and explains what you had to do to get camera time.