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

Philip Cody

Philip CodySongwriter Interviews

A talented lyricist, Philip helped revive Neil Sedaka's career with the words to "Laughter In The Rain" and "Bad Blood."

Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty

Rob Thomas of Matchbox TwentySongwriter Interviews

Rob Thomas on his Social Distance Sessions, co-starring with a camel, and his friendship with Carlos Santana.

Mike Scott of The Waterboys

Mike Scott of The WaterboysSongwriter Interviews

The stories behind "Whole Of The Moon" and "Red Army Blues," and why rock music has "outlived its era of innovation."

Metallica

MetallicaFact or Fiction

Beef with Bon Jovi? An unfortunate Spandex period? See if you can spot the true stories in this Metallica version of Fact or Fiction.

Dwight Twilley

Dwight TwilleySongwriter Interviews

Since his debut single "I'm On Fire" in 1975, Dwight has been providing Spinal-Tap moments and misadventure.

Leslie West of Mountain

Leslie West of MountainSongwriter Interviews

From the cowbell on "Mississippi Queen" to recording with The Who when they got the wrong Felix, stories from one of rock's master craftsmen.