Pennywise is an American punk rock band from Hermosa Beach, California, for… Read Full Bio ↴Pennywise is an American punk rock band from Hermosa Beach, California, formed in 1988. The band took its name from the antagonist in Stephen King's horror novel It known as Pennywise the Dancing Clown. Between their 1991 self-titled debut and 2005's The Fuse, Pennywise released an album every two years on Epitaph Records, a label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. To date, the band has released twelve full-length studio albums, one live album, two EPs and one DVD. Although their first two studio albums were critically acclaimed, Pennywise would not experience worldwide commercial success until the 1995 release of their third studio album, About Time, which peaked at number ninety-six on the Billboard 200, and number fifty-five on Australia's ARIA Charts. The band's mainstream success coincided with a growing interest in punk rock during the 1990s, along with fellow California bands NOFX, Rancid, Blink-182, Bad Religion, Green Day, The Offspring, Lagwagon and Sublime. By 2007, the band had independently sold over three million records worldwide.

Pennywise's current line-up consists of Jim Lindberg (vocals), Fletcher Dragge (guitars), Randy Bradbury (bass) and Byron McMackin (drums). They had kept their original line-up together until bassist Jason Thirsk died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in 1996, due to issues with his alcoholism, after which Bradbury joined as his replacement. In August 2009, Lindberg decided to leave the band; he was replaced in February 2010 by Ignite singer Zoli Téglás. With Téglás, the band recorded their tenth studio album All or Nothing, which was released on May 1, 2012. Lindberg rejoined the band later that year after Téglás was sidelined by a back injury.

Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennywise_(band)

Studio albums
Pennywise (1991)
Unknown Road (1993)
About Time (1995)
Full Circle (1997)
Straight Ahead (1999)
Land of the Free? (2001)
From the Ashes (2003)
The Fuse (2005)
Reason to Believe (2008)
All or Nothing (2012)
Yesterdays (2014)
Never Gonna Die (2018)

Need To Know
Pennywise Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

HEY!
Don't understand
WHY!
You change your mind
YOU!
Don't wanna face the truth
FRIENDS!
And family

TRY!
To make you see
YOU!
Do what you wanna do

HEY!
What makes you cry?
Don't know whay you waste your time
You wait, for one to come to you
TRY!
To make you see, many times
You wouldn't bring me back, again to misery

(Chorus)
There's only one thing I want you to know
So take it with you when you go
There's much more out there that you need to know
That you need to know

HEY!

THINK!
About your life
TRY!
To reason why
YOU!
Don't wanna face the truth
YOU!
Don't understand
WHY!
You waste your time
WHEN!
There's so much more for you

HEY!
You must decide
Never know, but you, my fucking friends
Are waiting there for you
TRY!
I can't believe
Wanna trade reality
For what? it must be brought to you

(Chorus)

I can't understand why you must pretend you
Don't have so much to lose
I tried many times
I tried so fucking much but now,
I leave it up to you

HEY!
Don't understand
WHY!
You change your mind
YOU!
Don't wanna face the truth

FRIENDS!
And family
TRY!
To make you see
YOU!
Do what you wanna do

(Chorus)

HEY!
YOU!
TRY!
It's time to face the fucking truth
HEY!
WHY!

YOU!
Do what you wanna do

Overall Meaning

The song "Need to Know" by Pennywise is about the agony of watching someone you care about making poor decisions, and consistently avoiding the truth. The artist laments the frustration of observing this person's mistakes and feeling powerless to make them change their ways. The song offers a message of urging the listener to think about their own life and why they are wasting their time, and to take control of their life and make better choices. The chorus passionately delivers the message of the song; there is much more out there that you need to know.

The artist uses heavy guitar riffs and percussion to convey the urgency and intensity of the lyrics. The emotions of the writer and the character they are portraying come through powerfully in the song. The singer seems to be pleading with the person to wake up and see that they can't continue to waste time and make bad choices; they have to face the truth and move on to better things.

Line by Line Meaning

HEY!
A call for attention

Don't understand
Confused about what's going on

WHY!
A question asked in frustration

You change your mind
Inconsistent in making decisions

YOU!
Referring to someone specific

Don't wanna face the truth
Avoiding reality

FRIENDS!
People who care about you

And family
Loved ones who want what's best for you

TRY!
Making an effort

To make you see
Helping you understand something

YOU!
Referring to someone specific

Do what you wanna do
Making your own choices

What makes you cry?
Questioning someone's emotional state

Don't know why you waste your time
Questioning someone's actions

You wait, for one to come to you
Expecting things to happen without making an effort

To make you see, many times
Repeated attempts to help someone understand

You wouldn't bring me back, again to misery
Refusing to return to a bad situation

There's only one thing I want you to know
An important message

So take it with you when you go
Remember this message

There's much more out there that you need to know
A reminder to keep learning and growing

THINK!
Encouragement to consider something

About your life
Reflecting on one's choices and experiences

To reason why
To find an explanation or justification

You don't wanna face the truth
Avoiding reality

You don't understand
Confused about what's going on

Why you waste your time
Questioning someone's actions

When there's so much more for you
Opportunities to explore

You must decide
Making a choice is necessary

Never know, but you, my fucking friends
Acknowledging the unknown future with friends

Are waiting there for you
Supporting someone through their decisions

TRY!
Encouragement to make an effort

I can't believe
Expressing doubt or disbelief

Wanna trade reality
Desiring something other than reality

For what? it must be brought to you
Questioning the value of an alternate reality

I can't understand why you must pretend you
Confused about someone's behavior

Don't have so much to lose
Underestimating one's own value or potential loss

I tried many times
Making an effort to help someone understand

I tried so fucking much but now,
Expressing exhaustion or frustration

I leave it up to you
Giving someone the responsibility to make their own choices

TRY!
Encouragement to make an effort

It's time to face the fucking truth
Urging someone to confront reality

Do what you wanna do
Making your own choices

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: BYRON MCMACKIN, FLETCHER DRAGGE, JIM LINDBERG, RANDY JAMES BRADBURY

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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