No Doubt's live act began to attract regional interest, and Interscope Records signed them in 1991. The band's debut a year later, an odd fusion of '80s and ska, sank without a trace in the wake of the grunge movement. As a result, Interscope refused to support No Doubt's tour or further recordings. The band responded by recording on their own during 1993-94; the result was the self-released The Beacon Street Collection, much rawer and more punk-inspired than the debut. Eric Stefani left just after its release, later working as an animator for The Simpsons. By late 1994, Interscope allowed recordings to resume, and Tragic Kingdom was released in October 1995. The album's third single, Don't Speak, which although originally written by Eric was later altered by Gwen to document her breakup with bassist Tony Kanal. Tragic Kingdom went platinum and has sold over 15 million copies to date. As Tragic Kingdom obtained success, the band toured furiously until late '97.
After a long break, the band had prepared a more mellow, and powerfully dramatic album entitled Return of Saturn. It emphasized Gwen's encounters with men, her biological clock, and miscellaneous topics. Although the album had a completely different approach to it, the band was making rock music with less of a punk/ska flare. The album debuted at #2 on the Billboard charts in early April of 2000, and then declined to a flop. The public never did justice to the album, and it serves as a favorite for many die-hard fans.
While touring in Jamaica for Return of Saturn, the band wanted to try adding Reggae to their music, and making more of a dance rock record. 20 months after Return of Saturn debuted, the band was quick to jump on the creation of Rock Steady, released in December of '01. The singles Underneath It All and Hey Baby became international dance club symbols as top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. This album proved that No Doubt had not lost their potential with the public, and that they could appeal to various groups of people.
In 2004, No Doubt announced they would be going on hiatus after the release of the singles compilation The Singles 1992–2003, which contained one new song, a cover of experimental rock band Talk Talk's "It's My Life". Tony Kanal did several projects with Gwen and other artists. Adrian Young married and had a child; Tom Dumont formed a new band, Invincible Overlord, often plays with Matt Costa's band. Gwen embarked on a sucessful solo career which consisted of two albums - "Love. Angel. Music. Baby." and "The Sweet Escape". The first of these albums contains the single "Hollaback Girl", a song which was inescapable for most of 2005 and hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and won her a Billboard Award for first track to reach 1 Million legal downloads ever. The self titled track off "The Sweet Escape" went on to become her most notorious calling card.
With the hiatus officially over in late 2008 No Doubt announced tour plans for 2009, kicking it off in Atlantic City. The tour concluded with four dates in Irvine, CA. In May, 2009, the band was featured as a fictional 80's band, "Snowed Out", on CW Network's "Gossip Girl" The band performed their cover of Adam and the Ants 'Stand and Deliver.'
The group entered the studio in May 2010 to start recording on their sixth studio album: Push and Shove which will be release on September 25, 2012 and its first single will be "Settle Down". Their first music video for the new album will also be for "Settle Down" and it will be directed by Sophie Muller (who previously has done numerous music videos for No Doubt). The whole album has been recorded with producer Mark "Spike" Stent (who worked on their previous album Rock Steady) but they have also collaborated with Major Lazer (now Diplo's solo project). No Doubt previously revealed they are taking influence from ska, 80s new wave and Jamaican reggae music for the new record.
Sailin
No Doubt Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
So I'll just walk right out the door
Played a game right from the start
I trust you, you used me
And now my hearts all torn apart
So I'm sailin', well I'm sailin' on
Well I'm movin', hey I'm movin' on
Try to see if I'll give up
But there wasn't any luck
It's a fact, fact of life
That's the games, games of strife
Everything is all in stride
So I'm sailin', well I'm sailin' on
Well I'm movin', hey I'm movin' on
Sail on,sail on
There's too many years, with too many tears
And too many days with nothing to say
And how will we know
When there's nowhere to grow
And what's the facts for life to show
The lyrics to "Sailin" by No Doubt speak about a relationship that has gone sour. The singer realizes that their partner has been using them all along and they decide to walk away. The song starts with the singer acknowledging that their partner doesn't want them anymore, so they will just leave. They reflect on how they trusted their partner, but in the end, they used them and their heart is now torn apart.
The chorus talks about the singer moving on and sailing away from the relationship. They try not to give up, but it was a fact of life that their partner was playing games with them. However, they realize that everything is all in stride, meaning that they will overcome the hurt and move forward.
The second verse is more reflective as the singer thinks about how many years and tears were wasted on the relationship. They also mention that there were too many days with nothing to say, which suggests that the relationship had lost its spark. The singer then wonders how they will know when there's nowhere to grow in the relationship, indicating that they had reached a dead end. They end the song by questioning what the facts of life have to show.
Overall, "Sailin" is a song about a relationship that has come to an end due to one partner using the other. The singer decides to sail away and move on, reflecting on the pain and wasted time in the relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
You don't want me anymore
You no longer have any interest in being with me
So I'll just walk right out the door
Therefore, I am leaving this relationship without hesitation
Played a game right from the start
You deceived me from the beginning of our relationship
I trust you, you used me
I gave you my trust, but you took advantage of me
And now my hearts all torn apart
Consequently, my heart is shattered into pieces
So I'm sailin', well I'm sailin' on
As a result, I am sailing away from this relationship
Well I'm movin', hey I'm movin' on
I am moving forward with my life and leaving you behind
Sail on, sail on
I will continue sailing and moving on
Try to see if I'll give up
You attempted to see if I would quit or surrender
But there wasn't any luck
Your efforts were unsuccessful
It's a fact, fact of life
This is a reality, an inevitable truth of existence
That's the games, games of strife
This is how relationships work, through conflict and struggle
Everything is all in stride
I am taking everything in stride, moving forward and not looking back
There's too many years, with too many tears
There have been too many painful experiences in this relationship over the years
And too many days with nothing to say
We have reached a point where there is nothing left to say to each other
And how will we know
We are unsure of how we will find out
When there's nowhere to grow
When there is no room for growth and progress between us
And what's the facts for life to show
What are the lessons we can learn from this experience?
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind