Rancid has had two lineup changes since its inception, with Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman being continuous members. Their current lineup consists of Armstrong on guitar and vocals, Freeman on bass and vocals, Lars Frederiksen on guitar and vocals, and Branden Steineckert on drums. The band was formed by Armstrong, Freeman, and former drummer Brett Reed, who left the band in 2006 and was replaced by Steineckert. This lineup recorded their first album, with Frederiksen joining the band on their subsequent tour.
To date, Rancid has released ten studio albums, one split album, one compilation, two extended plays, and a series of live online-only albums, and has been featured on a number of compilation albums. The band has sold over four million records worldwide, making it one of the most successful punk rock groups of all time. The band rose to fame in 1994 with its second studio album, Let's Go, featuring the single "Salvation". In the following year, Rancid released its highly successful album ...And Out Come the Wolves, which produced its best-known songs "Roots Radicals", "Ruby Soho", and "Time Bomb", and was certified gold and platinum by the RIAA, selling over one million copies in the United States alone. Its next six albums – Life Won't Wait (1998), Rancid (2000), Indestructible (2003), Let the Dominoes Fall (2009), ...Honor Is All We Know (2014) and Trouble Maker (2017) – were also critically acclaimed, though not as commercially successful as ...And Out Come the Wolves. The band released their tenth album, Tomorrow Never Comes, in June 2023.
Studio albums
Rancid (1993)
Let's Go (1994)
...And Out Come the Wolves (1995)
Life Won't Wait (1998)
Rancid (also known as "Rancid 2000" or "Rancid 5") (2000)
Indestructible (2003)
Let the Dominoes Fall (2009)
...Honor Is All We Know (2014)
Trouble Maker (2017)
Tomorrow Never Comes (2023)
Evil
Rancid Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Unsympathetic Put you in the ground
System systematic Survival in the town
Only if you let it Gonna drag you down
Evil's my friend
Evil's my friend again
You're never gonna let 'em take away your right
And the bad ones forget them Running to the night
And the good ones regret them Ready to ignite
Evil's my friend
Evil's my friend again
The song "Evil's My Friend" by Rancid is about the continuous crime wave happening in town, which is not going down. Despite the systematic survival system in town, the only way to escape the town is by not letting it drag you down. Evil is portrayed as the only friend that the singer has who is always present, waiting to be called upon. It serves as a symbol of the bad elements that exist in society, which we often have to fight against. The lyrics talk about how crime is unsympathetic and will put you in the ground, which means that it can be dangerous and has the power to harm anyone.
The chorus of the song highlights how 'Evil's my friend again' signifies that evil is always present and will never leave us. The song talks about how we need to stand up and fight for our rights, or we will never be able to overcome the bad elements present in society. On the other hand, the good ones might regret not fighting back against crime, while the bad ones can quickly forget as they run to the night. Through this song Rancid is warning the public of the dangerous and continuing problem of crime in society.
Line by Line Meaning
Crime epidemic Never going down
The increase in crime rate seems endless and is not likely to end soon.
Unsympathetic Put you in the ground
The authority is harsh towards lawbreakers, and they will not hesitate to imprison or kill them if necessary.
System systematic Survival in the town
The government has a structured approach to maintaining order in the town, and people must learn to adapt to this system to survive.
Only if you let it Gonna drag you down
If people allow the negative influences in their environment to affect them, it will lead to their downfall.
Evil's my friend
The artist is comfortable with evil and enjoys its presence.
Evil's my friend again
The singer has had a previous experience with evil and is happy to have it back in their life.
If you wanna go and get 'em you better stand and fight
If someone wants to confront their enemies, they must prepare themselves for a battle.
You're never gonna let 'em take away your right
People should always stand up for what they believe in and not allow others to take away their freedom.
And the bad ones forget them Running to the night
The artist suggests that it's better to forget or ignore the evil people, who will eventually disappear and run away.
And the good ones regret them Ready to ignite
The good people will always remember the evil, but they will use it as fuel to ignite their passion and determination to fight against it.
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing
Written by: LARS FREDERIKSEN, ROGER M. FREEMAN, TIMOTHY ARMSTRONG
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@nyomanswastika1551
Grind a pathetic
Never going down
And sympathetic
Put you in the ground
System systematic
Survival in the town
You're only if you laid it
Gonna drag you down
Evil's my friend
Evil's my friend again
If you wanna go and get her
You better stand your fight
You're never gonna let her
Take a way you ride
And the bad was forgetting her
Running in to the night
And the good will regret her
Running to ignite
@insurgent8542
Crime epidemic – Never going down
Unsympathetic – Put you in the ground
System systematic – Survival in the town
Only if you let it – Gonna drag you down
Evil’s my friend
Evil’s my friend again
If you wanna go and get ‘em – you better stand and fight
You’re never gonna let ‘em – take away your right
And the bad ones forget them – Running to the night
And the good ones regret them – Ready to ignite
Evil’s my friend
Evil’s my friend again
@nyomanswastika1551
Grind a pathetic
Never going down
And sympathetic
Put you in the ground
System systematic
Survival in the town
You're only if you laid it
Gonna drag you down
Evil's my friend
Evil's my friend again
If you wanna go and get her
You better stand your fight
You're never gonna let her
Take a way you ride
And the bad was forgetting her
Running in to the night
And the good will regret her
Running to ignite
@Agussetiawan1980_
Mantap
@Capnsensible80
You managed to get almost every line wrong, even when someone else posted the correct lyrics already 5 years prio 🤦♀
@MartinTundra
Drain Epidemic
Never Going Down
System Systematics
Put You In The Ground
Only If You Let IT
Gonna Keep You Down
@jasontondre1024
Matt Freeman with the pick-less effort warms this bassist’s heart
@DadpoolM46
He is so damn good!! Definitely one of the best bassists in punk music 🤘🖤🤘 I will never tire of listening to this song.
@czorian1
i missed seeing these guys back in the day of Lets Go! i remember sleeping on the street for 3 days in 3 different citys to see them 3 nights in a row. Best memories and great people.
@user-nf6qx8lu4z
This group is highly underrated.
@thebarrochannel
Ian Bundy say what? They were just "covered" by almost 60 bands in a tribute album. And some of those bands were big (in the punk scene)
@user-nf6qx8lu4z
thebarrochannel
Damn !! I didn't know thanks.